Eat This - Green Tomato Chutney

I eat so much of my Mother-in-Law's green tomato chutney I though this year I would actually make some of my own. I never knew before that the inside of green tomatoes is almost exactly the colour of Spring.

I actually enjoyed all the chopping which I decided to do by hand rather than with the food processor as I couldn't be bothered with the washing up. I rarely get that much time to do something so dull so it was a nice change! I prepped all the veg last night and then left it all to soak in vinegar till this morning. Let me tell you that making chutney is not an activity to undertake in the morning when you are pregnant. The stench was almost unbearable when combined with morning sickness.
Four hours hellish simmering later and I had my marvellous chutney though. I won't be able to tell you how it tastes until next year though, it needs a good three months to mature!

Here's the recipe I used:

Green Tomato Chutney (makes about 8 lb)

2.5 lb green tomatoes

2.5 lb cooking apples, peeled and cored

2 lb onions

6 large cloves garlic, crushed

1 lb raisins

1 lb 6 oz brown sugar

1 oz pickling spice

1/2 tbs cayenne pepper

1/2 tbs salt

2 tbs ground ginger

3 pints malt vinegar

Chop everything up nice and small and put it all in a big preserving pan. Wrap the pickling spice in muslin and tie the parcel to the handle of the pan so it can freely sit in the middle of the mixture. Pour in the vinegar and bring to the boil. Simmer for 3.5 hours or so, stirring occasionally and more frequently towards the end. Once the liquid has reduced significantly and the mixture thickened nicely pour into hot sterile jars and seal immediately. Leave for 3 months to mature.