Make your own green tomato chutney

At the end of tomato growing season we are left with a lot of green tomatoes. Although these can be stored to ripen, in a box on top of a kitchen cupboard covered with a tea-towel, a delicious preservation technique is to turn them into a green tomato chutney.

For any chutney you need a large stainless steel pan or if you are planning on frequently making jams, chutneys or sauces it is worth investing in a preserving pan.

You will also need glass jars which we always clean and keep but it's amazing how many you can collect by asking friends and relations to keep them for you. And you can always reward them with a jar of homemade produce. Jars need to be sterilized before use and this can be done by washing, drying and placing them in a low heat oven for 15 minutes.

Your homemade chutney will keep for 18 months if stored in a cool, dark place and will improve in flavour if eaten after six-eight weeks.

To make 4 jars you will require the following ingredients:

500g of roughly chopped green tomatoes
450g of chopped onions
225g of cored and chopped apples
125g of sultanas
425g of sugar
1/2 tablespoon of salt
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of allspice
1/2 pint of vinegar

Place all the ingredients into the preserving pan and stir until the mixture comes to the boil. Keep on a rolling boil for about 80-100 minutes whilst stirring occasionally until the chutney starts to thicken.

Whilst still hot spoon the chutney into your prepared jars and seal with lids. Once cooled completely you can clean any excess off the sides of the jars and store.