MISTY autumnal morning walks around the farm and the trees are laden with fruit, what to do with so many? Autumn is my favourite season, the land abundant with food, as if the sweet memories of summer are given back to us stored in root vegetables, on a bite of a juicy pear, in colourful cabbages and the honey-comb like texture of sunflowers. Storing and pickling is an ancient practice, preserving food takes me back to my childhood, standing around the skirts of the women in my family, wondering what to do with the surplus peaches, with the game my uncles used to bring back from their outings. For jams and chutneys we had a brazier with hot coals and a copper pot, where things will cook for hours.

Nowadays preserving turns the kitchen into an alchemy lab, always reminiscing on the memories whilst focussing on the bounty I am working with. In September I spent ten days cooking for a silent illumination retreat in the mountain in Wales and took an enormous crate with windfalls and made three batches of chutney, trying to experiment using less sugar or no sugar at all.
This recipe is a good attempt to steer away from the sugar- laden alternatives, and the chutney is deliciously sweet and sour, with spicy undertones and a subtle savoury note from the onion. Enjoy with pretty much anything you can find as an excuse to tuck into this relish.

Apple, sultana and date chutney
1/2 cup finely diced Spanish onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
4 cups peeled and chopped apples (I used windfall Granny Smiths )
1/2 cup sultanas 
1/4 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup date syrup
1 chili deseeded and sliced
1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds 
1/2 cups water

Wash, peel and chop the apples, as you are doing this place them in acidulated water to stop them going brown. When all the other ingredients are ready, place them in a pot with the sultanas, the onion and the ginger. Mix in the date syrup and the spices and chilli. Pour in the apple cider vinegar and water and stir to combine. Place the pot on the stove and bring to the boil over a medium heat, reduce it as soon as the mixture is bubbling to avoid burning, stirring constantly. You can always add a bit more water if you think is necessary. It should be chunky and thickish. Keep cooking for 30-40 minutes. It will set more when it cools. I quite like my chutneys chunky but if you prefer a smoother appearance you can always use a masher to blend the apples a bit more. 

As soon as the mixture is ready decant into sterilised jars and store. Leave for at least two weeks for favours to develop. It will keep for up to three months. Please check how to sterilise jars properly as this is a key stage for preservation. 


Florencia Clifford is a zen cook and the author of Feeding Orchids To The Slugs: Tales Of The Zen Kitchen. For more, Visit feedingorchidstotheslugs.wordpress.com