Nigel Slater's Sweet & Hot Plum Chutney

I love the red plums at my local farm stand. After reading Nigel's book, I was inspired to try one of his lovely chutney recipes. This is a loose adaptation.

 He says the character of a chutney changes over time. Thus the reason they must be heat sealed after you make them.

 I think they would make a great holiday gift. Chutney is great over cheese and to accompany meat dishes. The following recipe makes a couple of small jelly size jars.

1 1/2 pounds of plums seed removed and quartered
12 ounces of onion diced large
3/4 of a cup of raisins,
I mixed half currants with half golden raisins
1 cup of light muscovado sugar
1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
zest of one orange
1 star anise
2/3 cup cider vinegar
2/3 cup of champagne vinegar
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon of candied ginger
2 teaspoons of yellow mustard seeds



Put all the ingredients into a stainless steel pot and bring to a boil. Once it is at a boil, turn down the heat and simmer for one hour. Spoon into sterilized jars and process with a heat seal for 10 minutes.         

Note if your chutney is not very thick, you can add 1 teaspoon of pectin to thicken it up.