Dinosaur Chutney

Day 337: It was another busy day in the Crow household. For some reason, I've gone on a canning jag this year after more than twenty years' absence from this type of preserving. In the interim, I've dried fruit and smoked fish, but the art of jelly, jam and chutney making was shelved. In any event, with 24 half-pints of blackberry jam in my larder, I decided it was time to break out my mother's recipe for Dinosaur Chutney.

Although the recipe was originally printed as "Abdul's Brigadiere Chutney" in a canning leaflet long forgotten, the finished product's resemblance to something dredged up from the LaBrea Tar Pits earned it a family nickname. My mother tweaked the recipe to use peaches instead of mangoes, and I've further adjusted it to make it as spicy-hot as the East Indian curries I love. Beware, because as my mom used to say, "It'll put hair on your chest!"

Dinosaur Chutney

3 pounds peeled and diced peaches
6 cups sugar
3 oz. minced garlic
5 tsp. powdered ginger
1 1/2 Tbsp. dried chili flakes
1 pound raisins
2 cups white vinegar
2 Tbsp. salt

Combine ingredients and bring to a boil. Boil gently for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, or until a spoonful of cooled preserve resembles firm-set jelly. Pour into sterilized jars, seal, and process in a hot-water bath for ten minutes. Makes eight half-pints with some left over.

I think this finishes up canning season for me!