Cherry~Apple Jalapeno Chutney

This month in the Food in Jars Food Mastery Challenge, we are featuring jellies and shrubs. I made Cherry Jelly, so I saved the actual cherries and used them in this chutney! Think about Easter and the Lamb and Mint Jelly combo you've always heard the hype about? How about Lamb (or pork loin, ham or chicken) and this Cherry~Apple Jalapeno Chutney?!?

 Cherries strained from the jelly.

Since the cherries had already cooked down in the jelly,

I combined the other ingredients to cook down and soften. 

... then I added the cherries.

Take out the cinnamon stick before canning.

 It looks like this when it's finished.

You can see a bit of jalapeno sitting on top of an apple in the picture.

Cherry~Apple Jalapeno Chutney

1lb cherries, pitted, coarsely chopped

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 tart apple (such as Granny Smith), finely chopped

2 or 3 chopped jalapenos, or to taste

1/3 cup cider vinegar

3/4 teaspoon mustard seed

1/4 teaspoon allspice
1(4-inch) cinnamon stick

In 3-quart saucepan, combine all ingredients; stir to combine. Bring to a boil over high heat.

Reduce heat to medium-low; boil gently 50 to 60 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard cinnamon stick. Cool at least 1 hour before serving. 

Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Remove jars and allow to cool 24 hours on a towel on your kitchen counter-top. Store jars in the pantry up to one year. Opened jars need to be refrigerated.

Strawberry Jam 3 Ways!

My friend Mary at All Things Food~Cooking with Mary and Friends brought me two gallons of strawberries the other day from Willard Farms. They are beautiful, fragrant and delicious! I decided to make three different types of jam. One regular batch of Strawberry Jam. One batch of Strawberry Jalapeno and one batch of Strawberry Basil Jam.

I washed and trimmed the stems of one gallon of strawberries. That yielded about 6 cups of chopped strawberries. It would have been a little more, but my hubby and son kept sneaking strawberries from the bucket! LOL

Strawberry Jam Base:

6 cups chopped strawberries
8 cups sugar (more or less depending on the sweetness of the berries)
1 pkg Sure-Jell fruit pectin

Add the strawberries to a large pot and mash a little with a large spoon or potato masher. When some juice has been extracted, add the pectin and stir to dissolve. Bring to a boil and add the sugar. Bring back to a rolling boil for at least one minute. I cooked mine a bit longer. Remove from heat. At this point I added the jam to 4 half pint jars.

For Strawberry Jalapeno:
Add 1~2 tablespoons chopped jalapenos to each of three jars, and add the jam leaving 1/4" head space.

For Strawberry Basil:
Add 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon dried basil according to taste in each of three jars or tear or mince fresh basil and add to jars.

Process jars in a hot water bath for ten minutes. (according to manufacturer's directions) Or if you are not sure how to or need a good reference when canning check out Ball's Step-by-Step Guide.

Hot Pepper Jelly

Hot Pepper Jelly

2 green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
8-10 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
1 1/4 cups apple cider vinegar
6 cups sugar
1 teaspoon butter

1 package Sure-Jell
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

Stem and seed the peppers. Cut them into chunks and put the peppers and the vinegar in a food processor and chop them to small pieces. Pour the puree into a large pot and add the butter and sugar. Bring to a boil, and boil for 4 minutes. Stir in the pectin, and continue boiling for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir in the red pepper flakes. Pour into hot sterilized jelly jars. Place them in a hot bath for 10 minutes. Store in a cool place.