Homemade Apple and Ginger Chutney

I sold my homemade jams and chutneys for many years at local farmers’ markets and this was one of my personal favourites. It was originally a recipe my father asked for one Christmas. We had a difficult relationship but our one common ground was food – in particular preserves and we’d gift homemade chutneys to each other every Christmas. He asked me to make a chutney for him one year that was sweet but not from sultanas or dried fruit as he hated sultanas and they were in all the apple chutneys. So I just used apples and added some earthy heat from stem ginger.

He loved it and I ended up making it for him most years. Then I made it for my market stall where I would source my apples from friends, families and neighbours who all had excess fruit from their apple trees. It’s a great recipe to make with those windfalls as it actually benefits from the rich flavour of wild apples, although I do like to temper the sharpness with softly sweet apples too.

This is not one of those chunky chutneys that makes your sandwich all lumpy, or the chutneys my dad hated that is stuffed with little pops of sultanas making the whole affair too fruity. No, this Apple and Ginger Chutney has the perfect balance of texture from the soft apples, of sweetness from the stem ginger and a warmth of spice from the root ginger, chilli flakes, nutmeg and cinnamon.

Make it when your trees are bursting with fruit and you want to make the most of them to enjoy all year round. It's an incredibly easy chutney to make and tastes delicious throughout the calendar, as part of a ploughman’s lunch in the summer, stuffed into a cheese sandwich or with pork pies at a picnic. However, make sure to save a jar or two for your festive feasts and enjoy with a Christmas Ham or on your charcuterie and cheese boards.

This chutney is versatile, sweet, with a gentle spicy kick and I hope, like me, you’ll want to make it every single year.

Ingredients Needed

Spice bag. To add background depth to the recipe without imparting all the little bits we need to put a few aromatics in a muslin spice bag which cooks down with the apples and is then removed before putting the chutney into jars. For the spice bag you need fresh root ginger, whole black peppercorns and whole coriander seeds.

Apples. We use a mix of apples for texture and depth of flavour. Choose your favourite tart cooking apple, I love a Bramley apples for a deep tart flavour and soft texture. Pair it with your favourite firmer eating apple which will retain a little more body in the chutney. Cox’s Pippin apples are perfect here. But you can use Braeburn or Pink Ladies.

White onions. These help add acidity and flavour to the recipe.

Stem ginger. I’m talking about the jars of stem ginger in syrup that popular in British baking. You just need a couple of balls and if you want to try making it yourself then I highly encourage you to check out this Homemade Stem Ginger in Syrup recipe.

Light soft brown sugar. You could swap for granulated sugar or even dark brown sugar. However, light brown sugar is a lovely mix of the two with a slight molasses flavour, perfect with these autumnal flavours.

Apple cider vinegar. You need a vinegar with at least 5% acidity to ensure safe storage. Apple cider vinegar works well with its mellow flavour. You could swap with malt vinegar (this is only if gluten-free is not a requirement for you as malt is not suitable for gluten-free diets). You don’t need a fancy apple cider vinegar, regular cider vinegar is fine.

Chilli flakes. I like the background note of heat but this is not a spicy chutney. You can omit if you don’t like any heat at all but if you like more heat then add more chilli flakes. I used ancho chilli flakes here.

Spices. A little ground nutmeg and cinnamon just adds a gentle warmth of spice throughout.

Salt. Perfectly seasoned with kosher salt as this is a mellow choice.

How to Make Apple and Ginger Chutney

The following gives a short concise method with step-by-step images. For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.

Place the spice bag ingredients into the centre of a square of muslin and tie up with string to create your spice bag.

Cut the onions and apples up into uniform sizes and then put into a large preserving pan with the spice bag and the rest of the ingredients.

Bring slowly to the boil, then place the lid on and simmer for 1 hour.

Sterilising Jars & Lids

Always used sterilised jars and lids so you can ensure safe storage. You don’t want to mess with bacteria production. Your jars can be ones that have been used before, provided they have been spotlessly cleaned. However, I recommend always using new lids which you can buy in packs online. Lids have a tendency to spoil even after one usage so new fresh lids will ensure safe storage.

The foolproof way to sterilise your jars is to place them in an oven pre-heated to 160°C / 140°C fan assisted / gas mark 3 / 320°F for 20 minutes.

Sterilise your lids a different way. Place them in a saucepan of boiling water with a splash of vinegar (which ensures the lids don’t discolour) for 10 minutes. Don’t sterilise in the oven as they can warp.

Hot-fill, Sealing and Cooling

The jars should be fresh out of the oven and still hot when you decant the hot chutney into them. This helps to prevent cracking and ensures a tight safe seal on the lids.

Fill the jars to about 1 cm (½ inch) from the top. Wipe the rims with a damp clean cloth then seal with the sterilised lids.

Once you’ve filled the jars then allow them to cool on a cooling rack, a wooden board, on top of tea towels so the hot jars don’t damage your work surface and the cool work surface doesn’t cause a cool shock to the jars which could make them crack.

Allow them to cool slowly undisturbed at room temperature for between 12-24 hours.

Labelling

When the jars are cooled make sure to label straightaway (with the date!) then store in a cool dark and dry place.

If you are gifting this chutney, make sure you include a full label with the title of the chutney, the ingredients, the date it was made, the best before and highlight any allergens. Sounds excessive but it’s well worth the trouble.

Serving Suggestions

Serve it with a delicious Homemade Pork Pie at any time of the year.

It works really well with roast pork served with your Sunday Lunch.

Perfect as a condiment on your cheese or charcuterie board.

Ideal for the festive season. You’ll love this chutney in leftover Christmas Ham and chutney sandwiches.

Other Chutneys You’ll Love

If you are faced with a glut of plums then you will not regret turning your load into this delicious Plum and Beetroot Chutney. Gently spiced and gorgeously smooth with a few tender bites of seasonal beetroot. Perfect for sandwiches and lovely with cold cuts, quiche, sausage rolls or cheese.

This Christmas Ale Chutney is a rich sweet malty fruity chutney which tastes delicious over the festive season. It’s sweet, tart and spiced and an ideal accompaniment to cold meats and cheeses. It makes about 8 small jars so you have enough to enjoy yourself and also to gift to friends and family.

Mango Chutney is such a versatile ingredient and can add fruitiness to a curry, pep up a toasted cheese sandwich or be used as a glaze on the barbecue or grill. This sweet tangy chutney is full of juicy plump mangos sweetly spiced with stem ginger and gentle chilli heat.