Traditional New England Tomato Chutney Recipe #tigresscanjam

Whatever will we all do in the kitchen when the Can Jam's finished? This month's edition – tomatoes – was announced by Julia of What Julia Ate, one of my favourite jam-and-pickle bloggers, whom I had a chance to meet earlier this summer when I was down in the Hudson Valley neighbourhood for (by chance) a food preserving workshop.

Now, we all love tomatoes, but the ones in my garden aren't quite ready for cooking yet, and I didn't feel like doing a green-tomato recipe. The problem was solved when the remarkable Katie Quinn‐Jacobs gave my one of her old family recipes for the book I'm working on, which mixes tomatoes with a lot of other ingredients. Katie is yet another canning hero, and the founder of IthaCan, a web-based network for people around the Ithaca, New York area who get together to share skills related to food preserving.

I love this recipe because it's so representative of the most basic ingredients that thrive in the northeastern US and southeastern Canada. Katie says: "My grandmother Genevieve Demarais Quinn, who originated from northern Vermont near the Québec border where she met and married my Irish grandfather, made these “pickles” that were more of a chutney. My mother, Joan Rowe Quinn from the Catskill mountain region of New York, made them as well and she passed the recipe down to me."

Here's her complete recipe. I made a half-batch, and it gave me five cups. I went to a barbeque the next day, where the pickles – or relish, or chutney... you choose – were very much enjoyed with devilled eggs. Katie says they can dress up or down, and go well with in leftover turkey sandwiches, with baked fish and, of course, with burgers. I look forward to trying a jar that's had a month or two to mellow.

Gen's Pickles (Chutney)
Makes about 10 cups

• 3 quarts of tomatoes (five pounds)
• 4 green peppers
• 4 medium onions
• 6 medium tart apples
• 2 cups of vinegar
• 3 tsp salt
• 2 tsp mustard seed
• 2 tsp whole cloves
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 2 cups of brown sugar
• 1 cup of raisins

Directions

1. Sterilize jars.
2. Meanwhile, peel and core the apples.
3. Chop the tomatoes, green peppers, onions and apples into medium-sized pieces, so the mixture is chunky. Peeling the tomatoes is optional.
4. In a non-reactive pot, combine all ingredients except the raisins and bring to boil.
5. Boil until the liquids have boiled away and the mixture begins to thicken (about 45 minutes).
6. Add raisins and boil 15 minutes longer.
7. Ladle into sterilized jars, seal and process for 10 minutes at a rolling boil (15 minutes for pint/500 mL jars).

Katie also suggests a "Northeast Local‐vore Variation": substitute blueberries for raisins and maple syrup for brown sugar.

Niagara VQA Baco Noir Jelly with Apple Pectin #canvolution

At the request of orange-pectin queen Julia of What Julia Ate, I'm posting this firecracker recipe that I developed yesterday, and which turns out to be deeply delicious with roast beef, because it not only has the great red wine flavour, but also a distinct bouquet of black pepper and thyme. This one is going into the book, for sure!

Niagara VQA Baco Noir Jelly

Makes 2½ cups

I thought it would be fun to create a really local wine jelly. Baco Noir is a hybrid between the Folle Blanche grape from France and a native North American grape, and it's often grown in the Niagara peninsula, the closest recognized wine region to my Toronto home.

I was lucky enough to find a 375-mL bottle – exactly the amount called for – for under $7. If you're not so lucky, simply drink the rest. I also suspect this recipe would work with most fairly rich dark red wines, especially pinot noirs, cabernet-sauvignons and "meritage" blends.

Niagara VQA Baco Noir Jelly Recipe

• 1 cup of apple pectin (see below for instructions on extracting it yourself)
• 1½ cup Niagara VQA Baco Noir (or similar dark red wine)
• 1½ Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 2 tsp dried thyme or about six stems of fresh thyme
• 2¼ cups of sugar

Instructions

1. Sterilize jars.
2. In a large non-reactive pot, combine apple pectin, wine and lemon juice.
3. Put the herbs into a jelly bag and immerse them in the pot, then bring the liquid to a boil, skimming any foam that rises to the surface. Turn heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Skim the mixture again, then remove the herbs and add the sugar, stirring well to let the sugar dissolve completely.
5. Turn the heat up and bring the mixture to a rapid boil, stirring frequently and skimming foam if necessary, until it reaches the setting point. (It will swell up to an enormous size at this point, which is why you need to use an extra-big pot.)
6. Ladle into sterilized jars, seal and process for 10 minutes at a rolling boil (15 minutes for pint/500 mL jars).

How to Extract Apple Pectin

Makes 7-8 cups; the recipe can be doubled, halved or even quartered.

Use tart apples, young green apples or even leftover skins and cores from another recipe. This process is messy and takes some time, but it's very easy.

• 5 lbs apples
• 10 c water

Instructions

1. Wash the apples and then quarter them, leaving skins on. Remove large bruised pieces and any evidence of bugs, but don’t worry about minor imperfections.
2. In a non-reactive pot, combine the water and sugar, bring the mixture to a boil. Turn heat to low and allow the mixture to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the apples have broken down (about half an hour).
3. Strain out the solids. (If possible, strain first through a sieve with large holes, then a finer one.)
4. Put the apple mixture into a jelly bag, or two or three layers of cheesecloth, or a wide-weave dishtowel. Hang it over a bowl to drip; this will take several hours. (Do not squeeze the bag, or the jelly will be cloudy.)
5. If you have the patience, put it through a clean jelly bag a second or even a third time.
6. Store the apple pectin in the refrigerator if you plan to use it within a few days; otherwise, freeze it.
7. Let the apple pectin sit overnight before using it.

Tip: Use a turkey baster (or a wine thief, if you have one!) to extract the liquid from the top of the jar, in order to avoid using the fine sediment at the bottom.