Dark Cherry Chutney Canning Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Can chutney be canned? ›

Like pickles, the low acid peppers, onion, and seasonings used in chutney must have added vinegar to make the mixture acid enough for safe canning.

Pour boiling hot chutney into hot jars, leaving a half-inch of headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel; adjust two piece metal canning lids. Process pints for 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.

Place drained cherries in boiling syrup, juice, or water and bring to a boil. Fill clean jars with hot cherries and cooking liquid, leaving ½ inch (13 mm) of headspace. Fill jars with drained cherries and cover with your choice of boiling liquid, leaving ½ inch (13 mm) of headspace. Remove air bubbles.

Warm jams and chutneys should always be put into warm jars as if the glass is cold the sudden change in heat could cause them to crack. Once the jars are cool they should be clearly labelled and stored in a cool, dry and dark place. Jams and chutneys should last for up to 1 year if unopened.

To avoid contact with any moisture, it is a must to clean the jar with paper towel/tissue. Next, take a large canning pot and fill it with boiled water, then place the small chutney jars and boil for 10 minutes. Take them out and keep them aside to cool for a day or so. Then store them in a cool, dry place.

To seal jars

Fill the hot dry jars right to the top – preserves shrink slightly on cooling and a full jar means less trapped condensation. Seal the jars while still hot. This rule applies to all jams, jellies, pickles and chutneys.

Add cornstarch: Mix a small amount of cornstarch with cold water to create a slurry. Gradually add the mixture to the chutney while stirring. Cook for a few more minutes until the chutney thickens.

Shrinkage in the Jar

Always make sure a good seal has been achieved by testing 24 hours after processing. Also make sure to replace vacuum seals lids after each use and replace rubber seals after 10 uses unless used with acidic produce when they will need replacing after each use.

I am happy to eliminate the time-consuming step of pitting them prior to canning. However, when I prepare to can cherry pie filling, I pit the cherries with a cherry pitter, but with this recipe, you don't have to; it's a personal preference.

A pressure canner is not necessary for canning cherries—water bath canning is a DIY way to preserve your fruit. In a stockpot, bring water to a boil. There should be enough water to cover your jars with a two-inch headspace as you will eventually submerge them in your water bath canner.

Is brown sugar safe for canning? ›

Light corn syrup, brown sugar, or mild-flavored honey can replace as much as half the sugar used in canning fruit. It is best not to use molasses, sorghum, or other strong-flavored syrups because their flavor can overpower the fruit flavor and also darken the fruit.

Raw packing the cherries is a canning process where the simple syrup is brought to a boil, but the cherries are packed into the jar raw, and the jars are then filled with the heated simple syrup.

Add 1/2 cup hot water, juice, or syrup to each jar. Fill jars with drained cherries, shaking them down gently as filled. Add more hot liquid, leaving 1/2" headspace. Wipe the sealing edge of the jar with a clean, damp paper towel.

Pit and stem all the cherries. Stuff as many cherries as you can into a warm, quart sized mason jar, leaving about an half-inch of room at the top of the jar (cherries/water will expand once frozen.)

Like most finished unopened preserves, chutney has at least a year's shelf life, as long as it's stored in a cool dark place. Some chutneys might even last up to two years. When opened, tightly covered and stored in the fridge, chutney should last at least a month.

High-acid foods such as pickles, relishes, chutneys, can be stored in the fridge for at least up to a year. Opened sugar-free jams and jellies made with a preservative-free pectin such as Pomona should be stored in the fridge and used up within 4 weeks, or they will go mouldy even in the fridge.

Spoon your homemade preserves into the hot jars and pack down well to remove any air bubbles. If you've made jam or chutney, it's important that the mixture is still hot when filling the jars.