Great on pork chops or pot roast, excellent with goat cheese on crackers, and a nice surprise on a turkey sandwich, this spicy, complex chutney is the first thing to disappear at parties. It even makes unique and flavorful mini-tarts, and when served with real vanilla ice cream, is an unforgettable dessert. I find endless uses for this chutney so I make several batches each Fall. Make up a batch or two now, while apples are still at the farmer’s markets, and enjoy it all summer long.
This recipe yields 6-7 pints of chutney, so if you do not plan to preserve the chutney by canning, cut the recipe accordingly.
Adapted from Curried Apple Chutney in The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, J. Kingry and L. Devine, eds.
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Curried Apple Chutney
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups cider vinegar or white vinegar (at least 5% acidity)
- 3 lbs (10 cups) chopped, cored apples, peeled or unpeeled
- 1 and 1/2 lbs (4 1/2 cups) raisins, regular or golden
- 1 cup (1 and 3/4 oz) dried apples, chopped
- 1 lb (aabout 3 cups loosely packed) brown sugar
- 5 oz (3/4 cup) chopped onions (about 1 large)
- 3 and 1/2 oz (1 cup) chopped red bell pepper, diced
- 3 tbsp yellow mustard seeds
- 2 tbsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground allspice
- 2 heaping tsp curry powder
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped
- 3 large cloves garlic, minced
- 2 oz (4 medium) jalapeno peppers, chopped, ribs removed, partially seeded as desired (always wear gloves!)
- 2 tsp sea salt
METHODS
- Measure vinegar into a large, stainless steel or enamel stockpot (do not use aluminum). As you chop apples, toss in the vinegar to prevent browning.
- Add raisins, dried apples, sugar, onions, and red pepper to apples. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently until fruit has softened and liquid thickened, about 30 – 60 minutes.
- If canning, prepare canner, lids and jars.
- Add mustard seeds, ginger, allspice, curry, salt, jalapeno and garlic. Boil gently, stirring frequently, until thick enough to mound on a spoon, about 30 minutes.
- Fill sterilized half-pint or pint jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace, and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
Yields about 6 – 7 pints.
OPTIONS
- You may increase or decrease the amount of sugar safely; I’ve found that with less sugar than the 3 cups, the chutney has a difficult time thickening. I’ve tried it with honey and it is an acceptable substitute, but the texture does suffer somewhat – I prefer it made with sugar.
- If canning, do not increase the amount of non-acidic ingredients (onions, red pepper, jalapeno, garlic) or you will affect the safety of the recipe. Do not decrease the amount of apples or vinegar (although you can safely decrease or eliminate the dried apples).
- Golden raisins make a nice color contrast to the brown of the chutney.
- Other spicy chile peppers can be used in place of, or in combination with, jalapenos. Wear gloves when chopping jalapeno or other chile peppers and be careful to avoid touching your eyes. Remove seeds, or not, as you desire to moderate the heat. I generally include half the seeds, then add more at the end of cooking if I want more heat.
STORE
Canned chutney will last at least 1 year stored in a cool, dark place. Opened chutney seems to last indefinitely in my refrigerator, although we may just eat it too quickly! I suggest using within 2 to 3 weeks.
SEASON
Apples are in peak season in the fall and are available in farmer’s markets all winter long.
localkitchenblog.com 
I can’t wait to try this recipe!
This sounds great. My friends and I are having a canning party on Sunday and one of them suggested this recipe. Your blog is beautiful, and I love all your canning recipes. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Punk Domestics for leading me here (although, I should have just started here!). About to partake in my annual apple pick and looking for a new apple chutney recipe to try. Found it! 🙂
I just finished making this delicious chutney today. I can see why you said it was one of your favorites. This recipe made 8 half pints and two pints. It will make the most delicious holiday gift. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
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I made this the other night. You aren’t kidding about it being excellent with goat cheese! We had guests over last night and they raved about it.
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Sorry if this is a stupid question…why dried apples. I have 20 lbs of fresh apples to use up and am wondering if I really need to dry/dehydrate some in order to make up this recipe… Please advise.
There is no need. Chutney normally contains some sort of dried fruit (raisins are classic): it’s mainly for differences in texture. But you can easily omit the dried apple if you like.
Thank you for the lovely recipe. We have an apple tree in our backyard and shockingly, my boys are tired of apple crisp(-:
I made this recipe today but didn’t have the 4.5 cups of raisins so I used a combination of raisins, dried cranberries, chopped figs and dates. I think it turned out quite well, can’t wait to serve it at thanksgiving with sharp cheese and baguette.
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Hmm these look delicious, thanks for posting up this recipe, looks quite simple to make.
Simon
Hi there,
I am planning to make this to can for my wedding in October. Which apples do you think are best to use?
Thanks!
Hi Jennifer,
Congratulations! As for apples, I like to use a mix of what’s available: some sweeter, some tart. It honestly depends on what you like – a firmer apple, like a Mutsu or Granny Smith, with stay firmer in the chutney, while a softer, baking apple will break down more and lend a saucier texture to the preserve. Maybe make a couple of small test batches first, to determine how you like it best.
Is it safe to replace some of the raisins or dried apples with other dried fruit, ounce for ounce?
Fancied something different for my 3rd batch of apple chutney, something curried perhaps, your recipe came up when I googled. It is bubbling away on the stove now, thanks for posting. Looking forward to tasting it!