Pear Ginger Chutney

Here is the wiki definition of chutney: 

Chutney refers to a wide-ranging family of condiments from South Asian cuisine and Indian cuisine that usually contain some mixture of spice(s) and vegetable(s) and/or fruit(s). There are many varieties of chutney.^[1]

Chutneys may be either wet or dry, and they can have a coarse to a fine texture. The Anglo-Indian loan word refers to fresh and pickled preparations indiscriminately, with preserves often sweetened. Several Northern Indian languages use the word for fresh preparations only. A different word achār (Hindi: अचार) applies to preserves that often contain oil and are rarely sweet. Vinegar or citrus juice may be added as natural preservatives, or fermentation in the presence of salt may be used to create acid.

Chutney for some is associated with a sickly sweet thick paste: Major Grey's Mango Chutney. I can assure you that chutney as defined above is anything but.

I have had it many different ways, all of them better than the stuff you get at the supermarket.

Here is my tried and true recipe for pear ginger chutney. I can my chutney. If you want to make smaller batches you can keep it in the fridge and use it up within a few months. 

The next question is what to do with that chutney...we love it with any kind of curry as a condiment or "food toy" as I like to call it.

 It is great with those stuffed flatbreads I made a while back. 

Some folks like it on sandwiches, with meaty roasts or pork chops, you can even put it over cream cheese, served with crackers as an appetizer. You can make it out of different fruits, add citrus or onions, different spice combinations, add chili peppers for heat!!

Pear Ginger Chutney

Pear Chutney

Yields about 4-5 pints

5 lb. or 10 cups pears, peeled and seeded, about 10-14 pears.

1 chopped bell pepper

1 1/2 cup dried cranberries or seedless raisins

4 cups sugar

1 cup chopped candied or crystallized ginger

3 cups white vinegar

1/2 tsp. salt

In cheese cloth:

1/2 tsp. whole allspice

1/2 tsp. whole cloves

3  cinnamon sticks

1) Peel the pears. 

This is where it is very handy to have a well trained sous chef ;-)

2) Core and slice the pears.

This apple slices make the job easier and the slices more uniform.

3) Chop the pears into inch size chunks.

4) Chop the bell pepper and the candied ginger.

5) Into a cloth bag or cheesecloth place, three cinnamon sticks, 1/2 teaspoon each whole cloves and whole allspice.

6) Into a large pot add all the chopped ingredients, the bag of spices plus, 4 cups sugar, 3 cups white vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

7) Mix together to combine.

8) Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook uncovered until the pears are tender and soft, about 1 hour. 

9) Can as you would anything else using safe canning techniques, with a hot water bath for 10 minutes.