Loquat Chutney

I just made my first ever chutney! I can't believe I've been missing out on this for so long, it was so simple and enjoyable. Pretty much like making preserves.



The inspiration to start this little project came from the Loquat tree in my backyard, which is currently dropping its fruit all over the place. I'd never had one or heard of one until I moved here, and now I'm hooked. They taste like a cross between an extremely mild peach or nectarine, and maybe a pear? I don't know how to better describe it at the moment.

The skin peels off easily, but isn't distasteful to eat, so why bother. The flesh is extremely soft, and the center has between 1 and 3 smooth stones in it. I'd been trying to think about what to make with them for a while, and putting it off, and then I looked at some ingredients in the cupboard that were about to go bad, and realized they could come together nicely in a chutney.

I found a recipe online, but modified to suit my tastes. Here's where I found the original. Mine goes like this.

Ingredients:
6-7 ripe loquats, chopped or julienned, stones removed
2 apples, chopped into small, 1/4" chunks
a handful or two of dried apricots, chopped thinly
1/5 finely diced onion
1/8 c julienned fresh ginger
one finely diced chile, seeds removed
2 T mustard seed
1 c sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/8 c apple cider vinegar
1/4 c water

Get all of your ingredients prepped, toss them into a saucepan and bring to a boil.



Turn heat to a simmer and let go until chutney is cooked down to your liking.



It took me a little over an hour. Basically, you want the apples to be nearly mush, everything to be congealing into one mass, but still have a bit of form and definition. Here's how it looked when almost ready:





Then eat it with EVERYTHING. I tried with some roasted root vegetables, indian style yogurt, baba ganouj, eggplant caviar and crackers. Would have been great with naan or samosas, pita or basmati rice, but that's what I could do the quickest for my hunger.



I plan to make a bigger batch next time and properly seal several jars for future enjoyment!