Chef Russell Brown
ran Michelin-starred
Sienna restaurant
for more than 10 years.
TO FINISH
BRAMLEY APPLE CHUTNEY
Preserve one of the tastes of Autumn with Russell
Brown and give it as a hand-made gift this
Christmas to food-loving friends and family…
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I found my first conker of the year towards the end of September, but a childish sense
of excitement was tinged with sadness at the thought of another passing year; Autumn
was on its way. The plus side, of course, is that spending time ensconced in a warm
kitchen becomes even more appealing. There is so much for the cook to celebrate as the
evenings draw in. The game season has started, fresh nuts such as cobnuts are around
and the English apple season is under way.
I recently visited a large fruit grower and was struck by the number of different apple
varieties being grown, many of them new to me. While I was there, a customer was asking how long a favourite variety would
keep and was debating about buying a box. I’m not sure it is something we really think about, but the grower talked about eating
apples fresh, changing the varieties as one goes out of season and is replaced by another. I ate a few apples that day, freshly
picked, and certainly, when I tried one that was languishing in my fruit bowl, of unknown age, I could see the point. Perhaps,
though, it is an awareness of the fleeting nature of the seasons that motivates us to preserve.
Preserving in one form or another has always been a significant part of the British culinary armoury. Salting, pickling, curing,
drying, the making of syrups, cordials and jams; all are important techniques. Onions bathed in good vinegar; memories of
summer stirred by a pot of strawberry jam; the pure joy of soft melting fat on a thin slice of cured ham.
Then there is chutney. Fruity, spicy, sweet or tangy, a well-made chutney can lift so many dishes from the cheese sandwich to
an elaborate terrine. There are several pots in my fridge of varying flavours and a day spent in the kitchen chopping, slicing,
pickling and preserving will brighten up many dull days in the coming months.
Ingredients
Olive oil
1 onion diced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1kg Bramley apples, peeled, cut into 8,
cored and sliced
120g sultanas or raisins
140g cider vinegar
55g caster sugar
55g dark soft brown sugar
Maldon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Method
Sweat the onion in the olive oil until soft. Add the spices and cook, stirring for
one minute. Add the remaining ingredients and stir together well. Season with
salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and then simmer, stirring occasionally until
thick and fairly dry.
Chill a small sample and taste. Adjust the seasoning and the sweet/sour
balance by adding a little more sugar or vinegar as required. Both the acidity
in the apples and the type of vinegar will make a difference. The flavour is
quite dramatically different when the chutney is cold, so it is worth the time to
chill the sample for tasting.
Decant the chutney into sterile jars while it is still hot. The chutney does eat
well as soon as it is cold but gets even better if you can manage to keep it for
a month or two!
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