What do you do at the end of the season when you have a bunch of green tomatoes that aren’t going to ripen on the vine? Well, according to a recent New York Times article, “there’s only so much you can do with a green tomato.” They suggest a green tomato soup, but I decided to make a green tomato chutney.
I was making some more fig jam, and I had about a quarter cup of it left in the saucepan after canning the rest. To this sweet and sticky fig mixture I added about a cup of chopped green cherry tomatoes and several small shallots that I had peeled and chopped. Salt, a chopped jalapeno, cinnamon, cumin, and white wine rounded out the mixture. I simmered it until the tomatoes got good and soft, but the mixture was still somewhat chunky. Then I canned it up and stuck it in the cupboard for some future use. Maybe I’ll serve it over a winter pork roast or something.
Looks delicious.
I’ve been thinking about making chutney too – but with apples (I’m going apple picking this Saturday). Do you just can it in sterilized jars in a water bath? Or is there something else special you have to do?
Yeah, I did the whole canning thing with the water bath to create a vacuum seal. I am assuming that the chutney is acidic enough that it’s like jam, and so regular canning is sufficient (as opposed to pressure canning or whatever).