Cranberry Raisin Chutney

The tartness of cranberries is nicely balanced by raisins, apple, honey and spices in the ruby red sauce.  Serve it at holiday meals to go with turkey or a roast.

This chutney is also good with cold meat or poultry — or curries made from festive leftovers.  Keep a supply in the refrigerator ready to use or to give as an impromptu gift.

If you prefer not to have whole spices in the cooked mixture, tie the allspice, cloves and cinnamon loosely in a washed square of cheesecloth before adding to the boiling cranberries.  If you leave the bag of spices in the chutney while it is stored in the refrigerator, the flavors continue to blend; stir before serving.  For a more delicately spiced version, remove the spices after the chutney has chilled.

Ingredients

• 1 pound (4 cups) cranberries, fresh or frozen
• ¾ cup golden raisins
• ½ cup thawed frozen apple juice concentrate
• ½ cup honey
• 6 Tablespoons cider vinegar
• ¼ cup water
• 1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• ½ teaspoon whole allspice
• 10 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick, 3 inches long
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½ cup finely chopped onion
• ½ cup thinly sliced celery
• 1 small tart apple, peeled, cored and chopped (1 cup)

Method

1. In a 3- to 4-quart pan, combine the cranberries, raisins, apple juice concentrate, honey, vinegar, and water; cook, uncovered, over medium heat until berries begin to pop, about 10 minutes
2. Stir in ginger, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, cayenne, onion, celery, and apple; simmer, uncovered, until applie is very soft and most of the liquid has cooked away, about 40 minutes; stir often.
3. Cool, then discard cinnamon.
4. Serve, or cover and chill as long as 2 weeks (freeze for longer storage)
5. Makes about 4 cups

I’ve been making this chutney since I took the recipe out of the magazine.  And since I moved to Minnesota, I’ve used Haralson (A University of Minnesota hybrid, also my favorite pie apple) apples to make this.

This chutney also great on a turkey sandwich spread over the layer of mayonnaise on bread.

I make this every year a couple weeks before Thanksgiving, and it lasts for the entire holiday season.  Much better than that bland sauce from a can.

I generally put the allspice, cinnamon stick and cloves in a spice bag, leaving the spices in the mixture in the refrigerator for a day or so to meld, then remove and discard the spice bag.