Peach-Pear Chutney - Preserving Luscious Summer

Summer's lush bounty is preserved in this Peach-Pear Chutney, a light fruit-forward condiment that adds a bright punch of flavour to all sorts of dishes. Canning a batch now will give you jars of this deliciousness for enhancing your meals (or sharing with friends) all winter long. (Skip to recipe.)

Oh, the abundance of fruit in orchards and markets right now! I've been buying cases of sweet California pears and juicy, golden Okanagan peaches for the last few weeks and we've been devouring them fresh, eyes closed, juice dribbling down our chins, in sheer gluttonous pleasure. I love this this type of seasonal eating; fruit at the peak of tree-ripened perfection. It makes me vow to never buy a peach in the middle of winter again (even though, like a lemming heading over a cliff, I always get sucked in and try a few, only to be dismally disappointed by their strawlike texture and lack of flavour - I don't seem to learn.)

But right now? Now, those peaches and pears are sweet, juicy, heaven in your hand. And this is when we eat our fill and I preserve them at the peak of their flavour for us to enjoy all winter long. A couple weeks ago I made a few batches of my spicy peach salsa, and then it was time for this old favourite.

I have made a large double batch of this deliciously sweet-tangy peach and pear chutney every couple years since before our kids were born, and we have enjoyed it ever since to brighten up all sorts of meals. It's a family staple - there are always at least a few jars on the canning shelves in our basement. If I'm down to my last jar (like this year - oh, no!) I need to get another batch made . . . pronto.

When the tomatoes are heavy, glowing red, and loaded with intense, unparalleled tomatoe-ness, the pears are ripe, sweet, and buttery, and the peaches are tangy, juicy balls of sunshine, it doesn't take much more than some vinegar and sugar to turn them into jars of this heavenly chutney.

It's not a spicy, intense chutney like traditional Indian or British chutneys, but rather a fresh, light chutney loaded with large chunks of fruit, lending bursts of sweet flavour to all sorts of meals, but especially good with any type of grilled, roasted, or pan-fried meats or poultry.

My original recipe is for double the size I've given you here (I've halved the recipe for you to make it more manageable). I make at least a double batch of this while I've got the canning equipment out and am in the chopping groove, as we go through a lot of it (the chutney easily keeps for two years once the jars are sealed and processed), and glowing jars of Pear-Pear Chutney make lovely hostess gifts for friends.

How to Make Peach Pear Chutney - Peel, Chop, Cook, and Seal

Gather your produce. You'll need fresh, ripe peaches, pears, and tomatoes, as well as red pepper and onions.

Get a pot of water boiling so you can peel the tomatoes and peaches easily by dipping them in it for a few seconds. Cut an X into the bottom of each tomato so the skins can loosen.

Pop them into the boiling water, then remove them to a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking. The skins will slip right off.

Do the same to the peaches (how to peel peaches). Cut the tomatoes across the equator and squeeze them lightly to get rid of some of the juices.

Then chop them up, peel and dice the pears, and dice the peaches. Put them all into a pot or bowl with the vinegar to keep them from browning.

Make the little spice bundle; lay out a few layers of cheesecloth (or a piece of cotton muslin fabric) and pile on the whole pickling spices.

Tie them up into a bundle, and pop the bundle into the pot of prepared fruits and veggies, so they can release their complex flavours into the chutney as it cooks.

Simmer the chutney until it is reduced and bubbling.

Then fill and seal your jars (instructions below).

Your reward is a treasure trove of jewel-toned jars of harvest bounty; Peach Pear Chutney to enjoy all year long.

Other peachy, peary recipes:

• Vanilla Canned Peaches
• Peach Salsa
• Hot Curried Peaches (great with holiday feasts)
• Pear & Pastrami Grilled Cheese Sandwich
• Buddha Bowl with Grilled Pear, Quinoa, and Tangy Pear Vinaigrette
• Sautéed Pears with Chocolate Sauce
• Ginger Pear Tarts
• Kale Salad with Cranberries, Pear, and Sesame Seeds
• Poppyseed, Pomegranate, and Pear Salad
• Artichoke, Pear, and Pine Nut Pizza
• Bacon Bundles – Pear and Bacon Appetizers
• Confetti Crepes with Fresh Pears, Toasted Hazelnuts, and Chocolate Lentil Creme
• Spiced Pear Cranberry Sauce with Red Wine and Honey

It's time to get your peach/pear/tomato on!

* * * * *

Kitchen Frau Notes: My original recipe contained no chili flakes and is very mild. Lately I've included just a touch of chili flakes to add depth of flavour without much heat, but if you feel like a spicier chutney, increase the chili flakes to your taste.

Peach-Pear Chutney

• 10 large ripe tomatoes (~5 lbs/2.27kg)
• 5 large ripe peaches (~2½ lbs/1.13kg)
• 5 large ripe pears (~2½ lbs/1.13kg)
• 3 large onions (~1¾ lbs/.8kg)
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 1½ cups (360ml) distilled white vinegar
• 2 cups (400gms) sugar (preferably organic evaporated cane sugar)
• 1 tablespoon fine sea salt
• ½ teaspoon dried red chili flakes/crushed red pepper
• 1½ tablespoons mixed pickling spice
• cheesecloth and cotton kitchen string

Peel the tomatoes: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Prepare a large bowl filled with ice cold water. Score an X into the skin at the bottom of each tomato (this will allow the skins to expand and loosen easily.) Once the water is boiling, drop half of the tomatoes into the boiling water and leave them to heat up for 60 seconds, then remove them with a slotted spoon right into the cold water. Blanch the rest of the tomatoes the same way. Don’t discard the water. After a short cool-down in the cold water, peel off the outer skins and cut out the cores. Cut the tomatoes in half horizontally (around their equators), then use your finger to scoop out and discard the juices and seeds from each section. Set the tomato halves, cut side down, onto a plate to drain, then chop them coarsely and put them into a large, heavy bottomed stock pot.

Peel the peaches: Reheat the water to boiling and drop in the peaches. Leave them in the water for 30 to 60 seconds, then remove them immediately to a bowl of ice water. After a short cool-down in the cold water, you can easily slip the skins off the peaches with your hands. Cut the peaches in half around the pit, twist the two halves in opposite directions to separate them, then remove the pit. Cut the peaches into wedges, then dice them into ½-inch 91cm) cubes. Add them to the tomatoes in the stock pot. Add the vinegar to the cut fruit now, to keep the peaches from darkening.

Peel, core, and dice the pears and add them to the tomatoes and peaches.

Dice the onions, and core and dice the red pepper and add them to the fruit.

Add the sugar, salt, and chili flakes. Tie the pickling spices into a bundle made of several layers of cheesecloth tied with cotton string. Trim down the extra fabric at the top of the bundle, and drop it into the chutney, submerging it under the fruit.

Bring the peach-pear chutney to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

Sterilize canning jars (see how-to below) and put the snap lids into a pot of barely simmering water to keep hot. Wash, rinse and drain the jar screw-rings and have them ready.

Ladle the hot peach-pear chutney into hot sterilized pint (500ml) or half-pint (250ml) canning jars, filling them to within ½ inch (1cm) of the top. Run a butter knife down the sides to release any trapped air bubbles. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean damp cloth, top with the hot, sterilized snap lids, screw on the lid rings so they are finger tight (only as tight as you can get them using just your thumb and index finger).

Then process the jars in a boiling water bath (see how-to below) for 10 minutes.

Tighten the rings on the sealed jars and store them in a cool dark place for up to several years.

Leave the jars for at least one week for the flavours to fully develop, before consuming.

Makes 7 pints, plus a little extra for sampling.

Guten Appetit!

 

HOW TO STERILIZE CANNING JARS (4 different methods):

• run jars through the hottest cycle of the dishwasher. Leave them in there when done to keep them hot, and remove a few jars at a time to fill
• wash jars in hot, soapy water, rinse them, and boil then in a large pot of water, completely submerged, for 10 minutes. Lay a clean dish cloth in the bottom of the pot before adding the jars, to keep them from bouncing around as they boil.
• wash jars in hot soapy water, rinse them, and set them, still wet, upright onto a cookie sheet in the oven at 225°F (110°C) for 20 minutes or more. Keep them in the oven to stay hot and remove a few jars at a time to fill them.
• for individual jars, wash in hot soapy water, rinse, and set the jar, still wet, into the microwave. Microwave one jar at a time for 60 seconds on high.

HOW TO PROCESS JARS IN A BOILING WATER BATH:

Set the filled, sealed jars into a canner with a rack or into a large deep stock pot with a clean dishcloth laid flat in the bottom. Put in only as many jars as will fit easily. You may need to do several batches. Pour hot water into the pot until it covers the jars by about 1 inch (2.5cm). Bring to a boil. Cover the pot, and turn the heat down a bit so the jars continue to boil vigorously but don’t boil over. Boil them for 15 minutes. Then remove the jars with canning tongs and set them onto a towel on the counter. (The towel prevents the temperature shock that come from hot jars set onto a cold counter.) Don’t disturb them until they are completely cool. Check the seals: if the jar lids have been sucked down so they don’t move when you press a finger into the center of them, the jars are sealed. If the lids are still slightly bulged upward and you can move them up and down when you press with a finger, they didn’t seal and should be stored in the fridge to use up within the next month or two.

 

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