Christmas Chutney

This is it my first blog post ...

So I'm preping for Christmas and this year I am going for Homemade especially for the olds, we never know what to get Ian's Granparents so this year I am being even more fabulous and making them stuff from scratch !

I've done them a hamper before but it was full of things we had bought and not very 'personal' so I am being organised and starting relatively early.  To be included in the hamper are jams (a post for another time) and chutneys as well as a Family Photo calendar and bits and bobs made by the kids.

Having researched the net for appropriate (and easy) recipes I went to my favourite foodie site BBC Good Food the recipes on here are rated and tried and tested by others.  You can type what you are looking for into the Search Bar and up pop lots of lovely recipes by well known cooks and chefs, there is also a facility to add recipes to your binder to save for a later date.

The chutney recipe I decided was easy enough for me was an Apple and Cranberry Chutney which can easily be made up to 6 months in advance...Perfect.

The recipe and Method are here Apple and Cranberry Chutney

Warning this recipe involves peeling and chopping quite a few apples 1.5kg to be precise but other than that it looks after itself.  The only liquid you add to this is Cider Vinegar which I have to say does smell a bit during cooking but the final product does not taste at all of vinegar.

After about an hour of bubbling away on the hob this is what it looked like, you add the Cranberries after 50 minutes hence why they look lovely and full. 

This is the final product minus a few decorative ribbons and labels etc, the jars are similar to Kilner jars but are lots cheaper from Ikea at 90p each and were washed and sterilised before use Here's how to sterilise jars for food

I am going to assume that the longer they sit and mature the darker red they will become but on initial tasting it was lovely and sweet with a slight tang.  I think it will work great with cheese, in sandwiches or sitting alongside your turkey for Christmas dinner.

Go on try it,  it's so easy to do and very impressive when you hand your lovely homemade goodies to a friend or family member and it means in this very commercialised time that you are thinking about personalising your presents.