2010 was the year that it all came together for cranberry-pear chutney. The growing season for our fruits and vegetables started early and have been wrapping up late. I made it to the farmers market on a Saturday when the one cranberry grower was there as well as two MI pear distributors. I had to fly to Washington, DC the next day for a business trip, so through the miracle of refrigeration the fruit could wait for my return.
I’ve been saving a cranberry-pear chutney recipe in my recipe box for a few years. I don’t remember where it came from – it is printed on newsprint. A crooked, cut-out, rectangle taped to a recipe card.
On a Wednesday night, after working all day, I went into the kitchen to meet this long-awaited destiny. Cranberries conveniently need no processing – just lots of sugar. The pears took more effort. As the chutney cooked, the crimson cranberry color slowly over took the plainer pear color. The smell of apple cider vinegar began mingling with the other flavors.
I made a triple batch. A bit risky for a recipe I had waited so long to make for the first time. But, it is delicious! Great on poultry or crackers. I even served it on MI grown black Spanish radishes – a new vegetable that I found at the farmers market this weekend. I have some in the freezer; can’t wait to eat it over the holidays.
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I was first introduced to chutney by my neighbor in Maine, Molly Sholes, who had lived in India and Pakistan before retiring to an old farm in Maine. She took her blueberries and created blueberry chutney, which she makes and sells. Check it out, sounds like your doing something similar.
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