Rhubarb and apple chutney

The first Saturday of each month is a bit special in our house as it means a trip to the Pyrmont Growers Market. The growers market runs from 7am-11am opposite Star City Casino. There are approximately 50-100 stores selling everything from hazelnut and fig soda bread through to organic free range meat and hand made cheese. It’s a cooks dream!

I am getting to the chutney recipe so bear with me. As spring is on the horizon I visited ‘Dynamic herbs’ and bought a selection of potted fresh herbs for the window boxes.

There is also plenty of sampling to be had from a lot of the stores so it would be rude not to try, after all a lot of love went into them. I was particularly impressed by the chestnut mushrooms from ‘Li-Sun Mushrooms’ and the meats at Eumundies charcuterie.

There are also cooking demonstrations, last Saturday it was Armando Percuoco from the restaurant ‘Buon Ricordo’ on the epicurean podium. He walked us through a mouth watering artichoke and fennel salad. He delivered the demo in a thick Italian accent. This was punctuated with amusing anecdotes and stories celebrating the strength of Aussie produce such as ‘Bonnes Truffles’ and the quality of Australian olive oil. All in all it’s a great morning excursion and I really enjoy the chance to talk to the owners about their produce.

Laden with edible goodies I left feeling inspired to make some chutney. I wanted something a little more unusual and decided to make rhubarb and apple chutney and support Aussie Apple growers. The results were a straight 10 first time, sweet and fruity with a spicy tang. The best part, it was easy peasy lemon squeezy to make.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

500gms Rhubarb – roughly chopped
850gms Eating apples (I used Granny Smiths) – peeled, cored and sliced
½ Cup sultanas
500ml Cider vinegar
500gm sugar
250gm Onion (about 1 ½ onions)
1 tsp powdered ginger
2 tsp salt
Juice and zest of ½ lemon
½ tsp cloves (about 10-12 cloves)
1 chilli – sliced (add the seeds for extra heat)

Put all of the ingredients into a heavy based pan and gently heat until the sugar has melted. Boil for 10-15 minutes, simmer for a further 20 minutes. Draw a spoon along the bottom of the pan, if you see liquid boil for a further 10 minutes until set and no liquid can be seen. You may need to repeat this process depending on the sugar/pectin content of the rhubarb and apples. If the chutney isn’t setting you can use pectin setting.

Sterilise the jars and lids, this is vital to prevent mould and bacteria. I usually wash my jars and lids in hot soapy water, rinse then put them in the oven for 5-10 minutes on 180 degrees. This also helps ensure the jars don’t shatter when I put the hot chutney into them.

Once the jars are ready and the chutney has set, put the hot chutney straight into the jars and put the lid on. Be careful not to spill the hot chutney on yourself as it gives you a nasty burn as I found out the hard way, ouch!

The recipe makes about 3-4 jars of chutney.

Serving suggestion: Fresh bread, baby spinach leaves, vintage mature cheddar cheese, free range off the bone leg ham and a generous spoonful of rhubarb and apple chutney.

An image of rhubarb and apple chutney on a chopping board

The best of the autumn produce

Tags: Apples, Chutney, rhubarb

About the Author

Gareth Englishman in Sydney loves a whisky, pies and all things savoury. Digital Marketer by day, cook the rest of the time. Amateur writer, photographer & aspiring anthropologists.