Green tomato chutney

As Autumn hits the UK, there comes the possibility of frosts. When growing Mediterranean fruits and vegetables, such as tomatoes, they aren't used to such cold temperatures and will die off at this time of year.

If you still have lots of unripened fruit on your tomato vines when a frost is due, then you can either pick them green and try to ripen them indoors (you can place them by ripe tomatoes, or by bananas to achieve this) or you can do what I do and make delicious green tomato chutney. :)

Green tomatoes chopped and ready to become chutney

When cooking I don't tend to follow recipes, but go largely on memory and following instincts, so although I've written it as a recipe, you can take it as guidelines and adjust to suit tastes or fit what ingredients you have around you.
I had enough green tomatoes to produce about 4 jars (or in my case, 2 large jars) of chutney, so that's how much this recipe will make. If you have more tomatoes, just multiply up the other ingredients accordingly.

Ingredients

• 1 tsp sunflower oil
• 500g green tomatoes
• 250g white onion (2 medium sixed onions)
• 250ml white wine vinegar
• Handful raisins
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp cardamon

Tomatoes, onion, raisins and spices simmering in vinegar and sugar

Method

1. Finely chop the onion and lightly fry in the oil in a large pan, finely chop the tomatoes whilst this turns transparent.
2. Add the tomatoes to the onion along with the vinegar and simmer on a low heat. Add the sugar and stir until it's dissolved to avoid it burning on the bottom of the pan.
3. Add the raisins and the spices, give a good stir and pop a lid on the pan to let it simmer away for about an hour, or until it looks like the ingredients have all softened and it's become thicker.
4. Whilst the chutney is cooking, wash and sterilise a few jars, always prepare more than you think you'll need in case there's more than you think, or in case of breakages. I sterilise the jars in a low oven and poor freshly boiled water over the lids in a bowl. You could use chemicals if you prefer, but I always worry it might affect the taste of the produce. If using chemicals, rinse thoroughly.
5. Once the chutney is cooked, carefully fill the jars to the brim whilst it's still hot and seal them. The chutney will be best eaten if you wait  a month for the flavours to infuse. Although if you're impatient, like me, it can be eaten straight away!

Green tomato Chutney

Tips

As the mixture cools, the volume of the air will decrease inside the jars, creating a tight seal. If any lids 'pop up' it means they weren't tightened properly, or the mixture was cool when the jars were filled. Eat these soon, as they won't keep. The properly sealed ones will keep for months or even years as long as they were sterilised properly.