India Chutney

Maybelle Depew

Mom got this recipe from Evelyn Phillips. Her husband, Pete, was the political editor of the Sacramento Bee, Mom changed it a little so I put her name on it. I remember making this back in the 40s. Mom would grow or buy the ingredients and I got to grind them up in the old hand-operated meat grinder. I made a batch in 1986 and we used the last jar in 2001. 15 years..so it keeps pretty good.

Makes about 8 pints.

<>                 35             ripe tomatoes (medium size)
                    6            yellow onions
                    4            each chili peppers, red bell peppers, green bell peppers & tart apples
                    1            garlic flower ( 3-4 doesn't hurt at all)
                    5 c         cider vinegar
                    5 T          salt
                    1 T          cinnamon
                    4 tsp       all spice
                    1 tsp       cloves
                    1/2 tsp    red pepper
                    3 C       brown sugar

Chop or grind first seven ingredients and add the next six.

                                                                 (this will give you about 12 quarts of initial sauce)

Cook first 13 ingredients for about 12 -24 hours or until most of the liquid is gone. Then add the brown sugar and seal in pint jars while hot. (I’ve used quart jars also)

Mom’s method of cooking was to put it into a large roasting pan and cook it in the oven because then she didn’t have to watch it so carefully. It would be ready for the brown sugar when it would drop from a spoon as thick as she wanted it. Then she’d add the sugar and can it. I also cooked this down in the oven.

Although her recipe "says" to cook it for three hours, I’ve never gone less than 14, or so. The main thing is to let it cook down to about a third of the original amount.

I cut the recipe down to 20 tomatoes and that works OK as you also reduce the other ingredients.