Summertime Abundance

I love to can food and summer is my season. My favorite recipe is stone fruit chutney a crazy concoction of stone fruit, red onion, raisins, chiles, vinegar and honey. My spice blend usually includes cinnamon, allspice, smoked paprika and cumin—-the resulting flavors add a zing to just about anything but I especially like it with a soft creamy farm cheese. I also love to can pickled vegetables and often riff on recipes in a Bell Canning Jar how to book left to me by my Southern grandmother—Goldie Janie Todd. I spent my childhood summers at her farm in Arkansas, usually under her feet in her kitchen, learning how to cook, preserve, freeze and enjoy all the wonderful things that grew on her farm. I can feel her near me when pull out my jars and line them up on the counter the first step in my canning process. We didn’t have fruit trees on the farm except for one huge mulberry tree that my granny had a love/hate relationship with because my bare feet were stained with mulberry juice all summer and consequently her kitchen floor.Lots of folks “gift” me fruit tree presents and the plums in the picture below ended up in one of my first chutneys and also in galettes and fruit crisps.

I’m going to include a recipe in this post because it’s so much easier to can than most people think and it’s such a satisfying past time to know you are making something that will reward you when with season is long past. If you google how to can it will give you a crazy list of stuff you need to buy first but honestly all you really need is jars (they come with lids) $10 for 12, a large stock pot for boiling your jars and a pair of tongs.

Dee’s Stone Fruit Chutney (makes 8 8 oz jars)

• 4 yellow peaches, nectarines or plums (about 8–9 cups once peeled and chopped) 

• 1 medium red onion chopped (about 1 cup) 

• 2 small jalapeños chopped

• 2 cups golden raisins 

• 1¾ cups champagne vinegar 

• 1½ cups honey 

• 1 tablespoon pickle spice

• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds

• 1 tablespoon grated ginger 

• 3 tablespoons sea salt 

• ½ teaspoon red chili flakes 

• zest and juice of 1 lemon

  Instructions

  First thing I do, is round up my jars, usually the night before, if I’m reusing ones from the cabinet and run them through the dishwasher. I recommend always buying new lids for the jars—-you can reuse them but they don’t cost much new and they are one of the most important components of the process.

  Cut fruit (don’t peel) into quarters, remove pits and chop coarsely and then add to a large pot with all the other ingredients. Bring to a bubbly boil over high heat then reduce to medium and cook, stirring regularly for an hour until the chutney starts to thicken. You are done with this part when the chutney gets to “your” desired consistency. I like it to be a bit chunky with some bite to it so I usually cook it a little less than an hour but if you want it to be more “spreadable” let it keep cooking. While the chutney is cooking, put a pot of water on the stove and bring it to boiling. You want enough water to submerge your jars.

  When the chutney is at your desired consistency put the hot chutney into the waiting jars leaving about a 1/2 inch of headspace. Wipe everything down and put on the lids and rings. funnel it into prepared jars, leaving ½ inch of headspace. Wipe rims, apply lids and rings, and place in the boiling water for 15 minutes. You want the water to completely cover the top of the jars about an inch. Remove them with tongs to the counter and let cook completely. Then check the seals to make sure that they are secure. If you find one that isn’t sealed securely eat it first! Chutney can be stored in a cool place for up to a year. Eat this with cheese, put it in beans, top chicken, fish, pork or tofu.