Windfall Spiced Plum Chutney

This is the first year we've been in our house from the minute the Victoria Plums began to ripen, and wow! there are so many we can't keep up! I've looked at a few recipes, and many thanks to the goodshoeday 's 'with knife and fork' blog', which helped me decide what to begin with!

My first adventure was to de-stone the plums. Now, unlike goodshoeday, I don't have a cherry stoner so had to rely on a knife and the ability to miss my thumb while prising the stones out! I decided upon Delia's Spiced Plum Chutney recipe.

3lb plums
1lb apples
3 onions
3 cloves garlic
2 heaped tsp ginger
1lb seedless raisins
1lb soft dark sugar
1lb Demerara sugar
1 pint vinegar
2 tbsp salt
2 cinnamon sticks
1oz allspice berries
1 dsp whole cloves
jam pan
6 jars

Put the spices in a muslin square and tie it tightly with string.
Stone the plums, chop the apples with skins, finely chop the onions and put them all in the pan.
Add the raisins, ginger, sugars, vinegar and crushed garlic to the pan. Sprinkle in the salt and stir well.
Suspend spice bag in the middle of the mixture, making sure it's tied to the handle, just in case!
Bring to the boil and then simmer for about 3 hours until the vinegar has almost disappeared. Make sure you remember to stir to prevent it from sticking to the bottom. When you run a spoon over the top of the 'goo' and the vinegar doesn't rush to fill the space, it's done!
I always pour boiling water into the jar and don't empty them til you're about to fill them with the chutney, that way, they'll stay warm. Fill whilst the chutney is still warm.

The plums above were just a few; we collected over 12lb altogether! Lots to do! The next step, according to Delia, is to leave the chutney to mellow for 3 months. Now, I don't have a lot of patience but the chutney is on the tart side at the moment, so I will have to do as I'm told. I'll let you know how it tastes when I open the first jar!