Slap-dash chutney

I watched as much human misery as I could take this morning, then turned off the TV and put on The Brandenburg Concertos, my favorite music to can by. I had enough ripe fruit to make a batch of spicy plum chutney-- a dark, savory "relish" good with pork, turkey, cheese, curry, etc.

Most chutney recipes have intimidating lists of ingredients and spices, but nothing could be easier.  All you need is time. Everything gets chopped, grated, measured and then dumped into one pot to cook down for a couple of hours.  While that's going on, round up the jars and and get the water canner boiling.

Generally speaking, it's important to follow exact recipes and directions when canning.  This is especially true with homemade jam and jelly, which flops if the fruit-sugar-pectin ratio isn't right.  Supermarket jam is cheap and good, so I don't bother with fussy stuff like that. But pickles and chutney recipes are fun,  and you have a little more leeway.  The fresh raw ingredients vary greatly from year to year, so it's more creative. 

I never cut corners of course with sterilizing or processing steps, but I've gotten cocky over the years with chutney ingredients. This morning I tinkered with the Saveur magazine recipe and used tiny fresh hot chili peppers instead of flakes, Olive Pit red wine vinegar instead of cider, increased the garlic and added a chopped red onion. 

So. After simmering for an hour it smelled delicious.  We could eat it immediately of course, but chutney is MUCH better after aging for a few months, so time will tell.  The only problem with this method is I could never reproduce the same exact product again.  It's just a slap-dash work of kitchen art.