With peach season fast coming to a close, here is a great recipe for Peach Chutney to take advantage of any cheaper buys that are around.   There are lots of great spices and flavours in this chutney that makes it a great match for any meat.

One word of caution is that it is easier if the ‘freestone’ peaches are available.  Sometimes removing the stones from the ‘clingstone’ varieties can be painful, not to mention a lot of the nice flesh can go with the stone.  Enjoy

Peach Chutney

1.5 kg peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped.

4 cups brown vinegar

3 onions finely chopped

4 cups brown sugar

2 medium apples, grated

3 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

Tie in a muslin bag:

16 black peppercorns

3 small birdseye chillis

4 cloves

1 cinnamon stick

Method

Combine everything in a large pan.  Stir over heat, without boiling, until sugar has dissolved.  Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered until the chutney is thick (1 1/2 to 2 hours).

Remove muslin bag.  Pour chutney into hot, sterilised jars and seal.

Yields 4 cups

The Klutzy Cook Notes

• To peel the peaches, make a slit in the bottom, then drop them into (boiling) hot water for a few seconds.  Remove and run under cold water.  The skin should peel away easily.  It’s just like peeling tomatoes.
• For tips on how to sterilise the jars see Nectarine Chutney and scroll down to the notes.

If you have any comments or questions on this Peach Chutney recipe, please leave them below.

I got a call from my friend Wendy a few weeks ago that went something like this:

Wendy – “I’m going to pick some lilly pillies – do you want some?”

Me – “I guess so, what are you going to do with them?”

Wendy – “Make some jam”

Me – “OK, sounds like a plan.  Have you got a recipe?”  (Feeling very unsure about the whole thing)

Wendy – “Yep, no problems. ”

20 minutes later, Wendy was on my doorstep with a bag of lilly pillies ready to be ‘jammed’.  Only problem was, after a little investigation, we discovered that lilly pillies don’t like to be ‘jammed’, they prefer to be ‘jellied’.  Being big and brave, we decided to take this task on.  Homemade jelly is something I ‘ve been wanting to attempt, just hadn’t got around to it.  So now was as good a time as any, or my stash of lilly pilly’s would soon be compost.

Lilly Pilly Tree

After searching around (or actually, Wendy did the searching), the recipe that I used as a base was from Through My Kitchen Window.  I have to say that it was a very simple exercise, the hardest part being the cleaning of the fruit.  So simple in fact, I’ve now made two batches – the second one was huge – so I’ve got plenty of homemade jelly for Christmas presents.

Lilly Pilly Homemade Jelly

Ingredients

This is roughly the ratios I used:

1kg Lilly Pillies

Water, enough to cover lilly pillies

5 cups sugar

Juice of one lemon (about 1/3 cup)

Method

First step, and I must say the most time consuming, is to wash the fruit really well.  Make sure you remove any spoilt fruit, leaves, dried flowers, twigs and green stalks.  Like me, you probably won’t get it all but get as much as you can.  Rinse and strain the fruit a couple of times or until you feel it’s good to go.

Washing the fruit

Place the clean fruit into a nice deep pan and just cover with water.  Because the fruit floats, it’s very difficult to judge the water level.  So, the best way to do this is place your hand on top of the fruit before starting to fill the pan.  Then start to fill it, but don’t move your hand, and let the water reach your hand before switching the tap off.

Put the pan onto the stove and bring to the boil.  Cook until the fruit is soft and colour of the lilly pillies has gone (it’s transferred into the water).

Boiling the lilly pillies

Get a piece of muslin, or a clean tea towel, and rinse it well in very hot water.  Line a colander or strainer with the material and place it over a pan to catch the juices.  I used a large stock pan that has colander insert, it was perfect.

Setup for straining the lilly pillies

Tip the boiled fruit into the colander – don’t squeeze the fruit or put pressure on it at any time.  If you do, the juice will be cloudy and so will your homemade jelly.  Now tie and suspend the muslin bag to allow the juice to strain through freely and leave it overnight.  I used an old broom handle suspended between two chairs.  Just look around the house, you’ll find something you can use.

Straining boiled fruit & juices

Now leave it overnight to make sure as much juice as possible is extracted.

Strained lilly pilly juice

The next day, measure the liquid.  For every cup of liquid, add one cup of sugar (around 1kg of fruit at the start should produce around 5 cups or 1.25 litres).  Add the juice of one lemon as well – around 1/3 cup for this amount.

Heat the mixture over low heat, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved, then stop stirring.  Bring the mixture to the boil.  The surface will have a scum which can be scraped off during boiling, or later.  Make sure you only remove the scum and not any of the liquid.

Boiling the lilly pilly jelly

When the jelly reaches setting point, there is a distinct change in the boiling pattern.  It’s hard to explain but the jelly bubbles all over the surface. If you watch closely, you will see it.  The time to reach this point will vary depending on many factors such as amount of liquid, size of the pan etc.  For me it was around 15 minutes.

Test for setting of the jelly by placing a drop of liquid onto a plate that has been cooled in the freezer.  Return the plate to the freezer for around 1 minute, and then push the surface of the jelly with your finger.  If the surface wrinkles and a definite line can be drawn in the jelly, it is ready.

Setting point for lilly pilly jelly

Pour into hot sterilised jars and seal (see notes)

The Klutzy Cook Notes

• This recipe makes about 5 cups of jelly.  To sterilize the jars, wash the jars and lids in hot soapy water then rinse well in hot water and drain.  Put the jars into a low oven (100C-120C/210F-250F) for 30 minutes.  Remove the jars a few minutes before use so that they are still warm when bottling the jam.
• This homemade jelly is fantastic on the usual suspects of toast, crumpets and scones.  It is also great spooned over yoghurt, and although we haven’t tried it, I’m sure it would be nice on ice cream too.

I must say that I’m very impressed with my first attempt at homemade jelly – the results were spectacular.  The final jelly is a fantastic pinkish red colour (perfect for Christmas) and has a very unique flavour – think peppers and berries.  My youngest son has already gone through a jar – he has it on toast and spooned over plain yoghurt.

If you are lucky enough to live somewhere that has a lilly pilly tree that bears fruit (if you live in Brisbane, Australia – they are everywhere and fruit in late November), do try this recipe.  It’s worth it.

Check out my other preserve recipes here.

If you have any comments or questions about Lilly Pilly Homemade Jelly, please leave them below.

If you are a cheese lover, no doubt you have tried the many fruit pastes that are currently very popular as accompaniments to cheese.  Well today I have a new delicious alternative to add to your next cheese platter – Sweet Red Capsicum Relish.  It is particularly good with soft cheeses such as brie and Camembert.

This is a new recipe I’ve made several times and several jars of will be given away as Christmas gifts.  However, we have already started to consume a fair bit ourselves.  Not only is the taste fantastic, the colour is such a wonderful vivid red (I hope the photo does it justice) and it brings a bright colourful cheer wherever it is served.

This recipe was inspired by one in Australian Good Food last month where it was called ‘marmalade’.  When served to friends, they felt ‘relish’ was a more appropriate term, so relish it is.  If you have some red capsicums on hand, there is still time to make some for Christmas presents yourself.

Sweet Red Capsicum Relish

Sweet Red Capsicum Relish

Ingredients

2kg red capsicums
1 tablespoon salt
3 cups white sugar
1 ½ cups white vinegar

Method

Deseed capsicums and cut into thin strips.  Place in a colander over the sink and sprinkle with salt.  Stand for 3 hours.  This process draws moisture from the capsicum and softens it.

Transfer capsicum to a heavy based saucepan and add remaining ingredients.  Stir over medium heat to dissolve sugar then bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and allow mixture to simmer for 1 ½ to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.  The mixture will become thick and syrupy, ensure it doesn’t stick and burn towards the end of the cooking time.

Spoon hot relish into sterilized jars and seal tightly.

The Klutzy Cook Notes

• To sterilize the jars select a suitable number of jars (makes about 3 – 3 1/2 cups).  Wash the jars and lids in hot soapy water then rinse well in hot water and drain.  Put the jars into a low oven (100C-120C/210F-250F) for 30 minutes.  Remove the jars a few minutes before use so that they are still warm when bottling the relish.
• This relish is not only great with cheese, it can also be served with cold meats and in sandwiches.

How would you serve this relish?  Please leave your comments and questions below.

Last week at the markets there was the first real flush of stone fruit available.  Plums and nectarines were leading the charge so I got a carton of each.  The nectarines, although small were full of fabulous flavor but with only a short shelf life so the plan was to cook them up or preserve them.

Pouring through the cookbooks I came across the following Nectarine Chutney recipe.  The ginger and spices won me over so last night I cooked it all up with the help of my daughter Maggie who did a lot of the chopping.

When all the ingredients went into the pan, the mixture had a real Christmas look – all red and green.  And that is why I had to get this recipe out as it is a great one to make as a Christmas gift (what I’ve done), particularly if you are lucky enough to have nectarines in season (which we do in Australia).

Nectarine Chutney Precooked

If you don’t have nectarines in season now, be sure to make this Nectarine Chutney when you do.  The beauty of chutneys is they are so easy to make – throw everything in the pan, simmer away until nice and thick, then bottle it up.

Chutneys are great served with curries and meats.  My Mum loves them on crackers with cheese.  However you eat chutney, enjoy!

Nectarine Chutney

Recipe from The Book of Preserves (“Australian Women’s Weekly” Home Library)

Nectarine Chutney

Ingredients

2kg nectarines, chopped
1 medium green capsicum, chopped
2 ½ cups white vinegar
4 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup chopped dates
¼ cup chopped glace ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon grated orange rind

Method

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan.  Stir over heat to dissolve the sugar without boiling.  Bring to the boil, simmer uncovered stirring occasionally until mixture is thick (it took about 3 hours for me).

Nectarine Chutney Cooked

Pour chutney into hot sterilized jars (see note) and seal.

Makes about 6 cups.

The Klutzy Cook Notes

To sterilize the jars select a suitable number of jars (makes about 6 cups).  Wash the jars and lids in hot soapy water then rinse well in hot water and drain.  Put the jars into a low oven (100C-120C/210F-250F) for 30 minutes.  Remove the jars a few minutes before use so that they are still warm when bottling the jam.

How do you like to serve your chutney? Please let me know below.