I’m still looking for things to do with pears, so here’s a chutney I’m hoping will be fantastic with cheese or meat, later in the winter, when it’s had time to mature.
Pear recipe #4 for 2017
Ingredients
1kg pears, peeled, cored and finely chopped
About 30 dates – stoned and chopped
300ml cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
375g sugar – I used a mixture of dark and light brown sugar
1.5 teaspoons ground ginger
Some cinnamon (a bit more than a pinch!)
A pinch of nutmeg and a pinch of cayenne pepper
Method
Put the chopped pears, cider vinegar and garlic into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 20-30 minutes.
This makes about 3 x 360ml jars of chutney plus 1 smaller 200ml jar, so get the jars ready. Heat clean jars in the oven at 100C. Have waxed paper and the lids ready
Add the sugar, dates, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cayenne pepper and cook for another 20-30 minutes until the liquid has reduced and the chutney is thick and gloopy.
Pour into hot jars, cover with wax discs and screw the lids on. Store for around 3 months to allow the taste to mature.
Tasting Update
This chutney is yummy if you like a really sweet chutney. I love it on savoury sandwiches or on the bun with your BBQ burger. It’s great with strong cheese too. However, next time I’d probably use a little less sugar as the pears and dates are already really sweet. And I might up the quantity of garlic and ginger to spice it up a bit more!
Storage & Another Tasting Update
September 2020 – found a jar of this 2017 chutney at the back of the cupboard and it’s still YUMMY!
