Raymond's Recipes CXIX - Bonny Bee's Spicy Plum Chutney

It's that time of year again, when the fruit rains down off the trees all over the northern lands, yet people ignore it and buy theirs from supermarkets selling it from somewhere else very far away for a whacking great profit. It always bewilders me, how people would prefer to pay copious amounts of cash to get their sprayed fruit out of plastic packaging at their local shop rather than go out to a nearby field and shake a tree. In any case, this tidy little lot came from our plum tree at the top of our garden, and a very nice little batch it is too.

This chutney is one to remember - a truly remarkable one that will go very nicely indeed with some decent sausages, a mature cheese or something grilled. 

The beautiful view from our plum tree

Ingredients:

1.5 kg plums - make sure they are halved, stoned and chopped how you like them. I like big pieces, but you might prefer them more finely sliced.
2 large red onions, chopped into short, thin pieces
100g raisins, roughly chopped or even left whole
1 litre wine vinegar, preferably red
1.5 tbsp ginger
1.5 tbsp mustard seed
1.5 tbsp cumin powder
1.5 tbsp paprika
1 tsp chilli powder
450g brown sugar
250g ordinary sugar



Instructions:Put everything except the sugar into a large thick-bottomed saucepan, slowly bring to the boil. Once it is at boiling point, turn down the heat, cover it and simmer for half an hour, allowing the ingredients to soften and blend.



Add the sugar gradually, stirring in to make sure it doesn't sink to the bottom and burn.

When putting into jars, make sure you use equipment that will help you spill as little as possible over surfaces and on the outside of the jars.



Note: To sterilise your jars, wash them thoroughly and place them in the oven on 100°C for 20 to 30 minutes beforehand. Put them in a cool, dry place and wait at least 10 days before you open a jar, as the flavours need some time to blend.