A Frosty Morning and a Bowl of Windfalls

There is a particular sort of winter morning in the British countryside when the grass crunches underfoot, the hedgerows are silvered with rime, and the last thing you want to do is stand in a cold kitchen peeling apples. Yet that is exactly the morning when the job needs doing. By January, the stored apples in the shed are beginning to soften — the Bramleys have gone slightly waxy, the eaters have lost their snap, and the windfalls picked up in October are well past eating raw. They are not, however, past chutney.

Spiced apple chutney is one of the great quiet triumphs of rural larder cooking. It costs very little, uses up what would otherwise go on the compost heap, and it improves in the jar for months. A spoonful alongside mature Cheddar, a slice of cold ham, or a piece of pork pie is worth more than anything you can buy in a supermarket chiller cabinet.

If you can, get out for a walk before you start. A brisk circuit of the lane while the frost is still on the nettles clears the head, and by the time you're back the kitchen will feel like the warmest place in the county.

What You Will Need

The quantities below make roughly five or six 300g jars, which is a sensible amount for a household and enough to give a few away at Christmas.

• 1.5kg apples — peeled, cored and roughly chopped. Bramleys are ideal for their acidity, but a mixture of windfalls works perfectly well. Don't worry if some are bruised; just cut the damage away.
• 500g onions, peeled and finely chopped
• 250g raisins or sultanas
• 400g soft brown sugar
• 500ml cider vinegar — or malt vinegar if that's what you have, though cider vinegar gives a rounder flavour
• 1 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp mustard seeds and ½ tsp salt
• A pinch of dried chilli flakes, if you like a bit of heat

You will also need a large, heavy-bottomed preserving pan — stainless steel or enamel, never bare aluminium, which reacts with the vinegar — plus a long wooden spoon, a jam funnel if you have one, and clean jars with vinegar-proof lids.

The Method, Step by Step

Put the chopped onions into the pan with a splash of the vinegar and sweat them gently for ten minutes until they soften and turn translucent. This step is worth doing properly; raw-tasting onion is the most common fault in home-made chutney.

Add the apples, raisins, sugar, the remaining vinegar, the spices, mustard seeds, salt and chilli. Stir everything together over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved completely — you will feel the mixture go from grainy to smooth against the spoon.

Once the sugar is in, bring it up to a gentle simmer. Not a rolling boil; a slow, lazy bubble is what you want. Leave it uncovered, stirring every few minutes to stop it catching on the base. Expect somewhere between one and a half and two hours. The kitchen will smell of vinegar and spice, and anyone walking past the door will assume you have been slaving for days.

Knowing When It Is Ready

Chutney is ready when the mixture is thick enough that a wooden spoon drawn across the base of the pan leaves a clear channel that holds for a second or two before the juices creep back. The fruit should be soft and darkened, the liquid syrupy rather than watery. Remember it will thicken further as it cools, so pull it off the heat slightly before you think it's done.

If it looks dry at any point, add a little more vinegar — never water, which dilutes the preserving power.

Potting, Labelling and the Long Wait

Warm your jars in a low oven and fill them while the chutney is still hot, leaving a centimetre of headspace. Push out any air pockets with a skewer, wipe the rims clean, and seal immediately with vinegar-proof lids.

This is the part that tests patience. Chutney eaten the same week is sharp, harsh and slightly raw. Leave it for at least six to eight weeks in a cool, dark cupboard, and it will be better still at three months. Label each jar with the date, because in a year's time you will not remember.

Kept properly, it will last eighteen months or more. Once opened, keep it in the fridge.

Beyond the Cheese Board

A jar of this chutney earns its place in more than one meal. Stir a spoonful through gravy for sausages, spread it thinly under the cheese in a toasted sandwich, or serve it with cold roast lamb on a frosty Boxing Day. It is also a fine thing to take to a neighbour who has been shovelling snow off your track since November.

The best part, though, is the quiet satisfaction of a cupboard shelf lined with labelled jars while the wind rattles the windows — proof that a few softening windfalls and a free morning were all the winter larder really needed.