This apricot date chutney is a family recipe that Emmaline was given by her Grandmother. There is something about the smell and taste of old family recipes that bring fond memories flooding back. For a quick appetizer, spread cream cheese and this sweet spiced apricot date chutney on top of small slices of rye bread. It’s also lovely with baked ham and turkey breast.
Ingredients
Ingredients:
Makes: 4 half-pints
1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 small chopped Onion
2 Tsp grated fresh Ginger
4 Cloves Garlic, minced or crushed
⅔ Cup Sugar
½ Cup Red Wine Vinegar
¼ cup bottled Lemon Juice
½ Tsp ground Mustard
½ Tsp ground Allspice
1/8 Tsp ground cloves
3 Cups chopped, ripe Apricots
¾ Cups snipped, pitted Dates
Preparation:
Prepare your water bath canner by filling it about halfway full with water and place it on the stove on medium heat.
Place your jars in the oven to heat up at 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
cut apricots
Wash whole apricots under cold running water; drain. Cut apricots in half lengthwise. Remove pits and fibrous flesh. Chop apricots to measure 5 cups.
Finely chop the onion
Peel and finely chop the onion.
Grate the ginger
Grate the fresh ginger.
Crush the garlic
Peel garlic and mince.
Snip dates
Pit and snip the dates.
Cook Apricot Date Chutney:
Sauté onion, garlic, and ginger
In a medium stainless-steel, enamel, or nonstick heavy saucepan heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, ginger, and garlic. Cook until onion is tender, stirring occasionally.
Add all but dates and apricots and simmer
Stir in sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, dry mustard, allspice, and cloves. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
Add dates and apricots and return to a simmer
Stir apricots and dates into the onion mixture. Return to boiling. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
Fill Jars:
Fill jars
Ladle hot chutney into a hot jar, leaving ½ -inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Clean the jar rim. Center the lid on the jar and adjust the band to finger-tip tight. Repeat until all of your jars are full.
Process Jars:
Place the filled jars into the water bath canner. Make sure the water covers the jars by at least 1 to 2 inches. Adjust heat to medium-high, cover the water canner, and bring water to a rolling boil. Process half-pint jars for 10 minutes.
Apricot Date Chutney
Once the jars of hot sauce are done processing turn off the heat and remove the cover. Remove the jars from the water bath and place them spaced out on a towel on the counter. Cool 12 to 24 hours. Check seals. Label and store jars.
