Every fall, as I look out from our living room window here in Calgary, I make a firm vow (I always seem to be making firm vows) to take the apples from our bounteous apple tree and do something creative with them. And every year over the past dozen, the most creative thing that I have made from our apples has been compost. Well, not this year. I woke up one sunny Saturday a week ago and said to myself, I’m going to make chutney today! Whether it was due to the beautiful sunshine or because of an article I had just read in the latest issue of my favourite cooking magazine, I was really pumped.

After doing a quick inventory of my canning supplies, I found that I only lacked the jars. I would also have to make a few minor adjustments to the recipe I had just been reading: it was for pear-plum chutney and I had apples. But I would not let a minor detail such as this deflate my mood. Off to the store for the jars; get the husband to pick the apples; and I was ready to go.

The word “chutney” is derived from the Hindi word chatni which means “condiment.” Its formula is pretty basic: fruit, vinegar, sugar and spices. Almost any fruit can be used, from the most commonly used mango to apples, pears, strawberries, peaches, plums, cranberries, pumpkin, both red and green tomatoes, as well as many vegetables including squash and corn. Seasonings can consist of ginger, lemon or orange zest, garlic, allspice and cinnamon. For added interest, raisins, currants or coconut may be added. It is one of those recipes that you can really play with and go wild.

Don’t you hate recipes that give measurements in pounds? I think that there should be a congress of conformity for recipes: imperial or metric, pints or pounds, tablespoons or milliliters. Help! I used the trusty bathroom scale to weigh my harvest, less the basket and my body weight. All very scientific, I assure you. I was finally satisfied that I was somewhere in the neighbourhood of the required amount of fruit, plus or minus a peck or a pound    

Chutney is my all-time favourite condiment. Ketchup was once my number one choice but it eventually was displaced by chutney, as my tastes matured. Well, to tell you the truth, it was because I have realized that as I approach the age of fifty, I can no longer eat french fries with impunity, and without french fries, who needs ketchup! I originally ate chutney only with Indian foods. Now I eat it with anything: chicken, seafood, cheese dishes, grains, vegetables, and peanut butter.