Easy Green Tomato Chutney Recipe
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How to make green tomato chutney with your unripened fruits. You’ll need about two pounds of green tomatoes, onions, and a few other ingredients. It’s a recipe that cooks down to a rich dark chutney that can be used as a marinade or served with cheese, rice dishes, bread, and other pickled vegetables. A full video showing how to make this recipe is included.
If you grow your own tomatoes, you know what it’s like to have a mountain of green fruit at the end of summer. This year, I’m looking at an entire greenhouse full of several different varieties. I’ll take some indoors to ripen, but honestly, they’re delicious if you feel adventurous enough to cook with them. I’ve tried fried green tomatoes, green tomato pasta sauce, and green tomato ketchup before. One of the best recipes, though, is green tomato chutney.
If I were to describe the flavor, it would be sweet and sour, yet rich with a touch of heat. It pairs well with cheese, bread, and cured meats and is pretty much a British allotment preserve staple. When life gives you green tomatoes, you make green tomato chutney!
Making Green Tomato Chutney
Green tomato chutney is one of the simplest and quickest preserves you can make. You literally chop the ingredients up, put them in a pot, and cook them together for an hour (or three!). It’s also a great way to use up green tomatoes at the end of the season. To make it, you can use small tomatoes and large, and it doesn’t matter if you mix and match tomato varieties. Just below is a video showing how to make green tomato chutney in case you have any questions about the cooking instructions.
Unlike other recipes, mine doesn’t use apples — it’s all about chunky pieces of onion and tomato. I also don’t bother with reducing the water content before cooking, but you could if you wish to reduce the cooking time. However, I think that leaving the tomato moisture in and slowly cooking it down gives a much better taste. The umami really comes through if you have the patience to make it that way. If you do want to speed up the cooking time, you can remove the moisture, though. It entails using salt to draw moisture out, just like I do in my green tomato relish recipe.
This recipe is versatile, too. This year, I made it with distilled white vinegar and a mix of white and brown sugars, and it ended up just as delicious as ever. I’d advise caution in using any old vinegar, though, since any that is above 5-6% acetic acid can leave you with a green tomato chutney that is far too vinegary. If you can, use malt vinegar to make this recipe.
More Green Tomato Recipes and Preserving Inspiration
If you enjoyed this green tomato chutney recipe (and you will!), check out some of these other autumn recipes. They include another green tomato recipe (that even explains how healthy green tomatoes can be) and other delicious food in jars to make now and enjoy later. Have fun cooking and canning!
- Pickled Green Tomatoes (Polish style)
- Sweet green tomato relish recipe
- How to make Country Wine (using berries, fruit, and vegetables)
- 3-ingredient blackberry gin recipe
- Butternut squash pie recipe
Green Tomato Chutney Recipe
Equipment
- 5 clean and sterilized jars (pint-sized)
- Tattler BPA-free canning lids (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 Kg green tomatoes (2.2 lbs or about 6 cups / skinning is optional)
- 1 Kg red onions (2.2 lbs or about 6 cups)
- 150 g raisins (5.2 oz or about 1 cup – you can use ordinary raisins or golden raisins)
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 500 g brown sugar (2.5 cups – your choice of dark or light brown sugar)
- 1 Litre malt vinegar (32 fl oz or about 4.25 cups – vinegar with 5% acetic acid concentration)
Instructions
- Prepare the vegetables. Chop the tomatoes, onions, and raisins roughly and mince the garlic.
- Place all ingredients into a stainless steel pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a vigorous simmer and leave uncovered. Depending on batch size and your appliance's heat, it can take one to three hours. Keep an eye on it and stir regularly.
- The chutney is ready when it's reduced down and appears thick and brown.
- Spoon the chutney into warm, sterilized jars and seal with lids. It's common in the UK to reuse supermarket jars for homemade chutney and to simply finish with this step. If you do this, ensure that the lid of the jar doesn't have any exposed metal since the vinegar in the recipe can react with it. The vinegar can corrode the metal turning it black and potentially affecting your chutney. It's better to use preserving jars with non-metal lids. Either plastic-coated on the inside or two-piece Tattler lids. It's also best practice to water-bath the jars after they're filled*.
- Water-bath the jars to ensure that they're fully sterilized. Fill a tall pan with water and place a rack at the bottom if you have one**. Bring to a boil, then lower your (still hot) jars in so that they're not touching and that there's at least an inch of water above. Bring back to a rolling boil and leave the jars in the boiling water for ten minutes. Lift them out vertically (not tilted) with a jar lifter and set them on the counter to cool. The lids will seal as the chutney cools.Ā It may take twelve or more hours for the seal to take.
- Label the jars when cool and store them in a dark cupboard. Green tomato chutney can last a year or more in storage if sealed. Homemade green tomato chutney is best enjoyed two to three months after it has been made, as the flavors will develop and mellow in that time. Once opened, keep the jar in the refrigerator and try to use it within two months.
Video
Notes
- In Britain, it’s not common for people to water-bath high-acid preserves like this green tomato chutney. It’s a safer practice since it kills any microbes that could affect high-acid preserves. It can help the lids to seal. You can read more on the history of current British preservation methods here.
- ** If you don’t have a rack, you can also push a tea towel or potholder to the bottom of the pan and set your jars on it. The idea is that you protect the bottoms of your jars from the direct heat of the hob/pan.
- This recipe can take a long time to cook down, but the time is worth it. You can reduce the amount of time by simmering at a faster simmer. Remember to stir regularly to avoid the chutney burning at the bottom of the pot.
- If you want to add other spices that you and your family love, feel free! It won’t taste like the original recipe, but you could invent a family favorite. Common spices in chutney include cumin seeds, mustard seeds, ginger, coriander, curry leaves, allspice, tamarind, green chilies, and cinnamon.
Hi Tanya,
I live on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. Lovely Mediterranean climate. I grow huge heritage tomatoes that originated in Sparta, Greece. The seeds came here 70 years ago. I have a glut of late season green ones that average around 250 – 350 grams each but regularly go 600gr or more. Your recipe sounds perfect and I am going to give it a go. Thanks and I will post results.
Cheers from “down under”
Steve
Hi Steve, your heritage tomatoes have a wonderful story and seem HUGE. I think you’ll find they make excellent green tomato chutney and you’ll be looking forward to making it with your green tomato harvest every year. Looking forward to hearing what you think!
Greetings from Australia, I made your green tomato chutney tonight. I cooked this as per your recipe, but…by mistake I bought sultanas instead of raisins. It didn’t matter, I tried some on cheese and biscuits after cooling down and I’ve gotta say, it was bloody beautiful !!!!
Amazing! I’m glad the sultanas worked out great and that you enjoyed it. It’s also put a smile on my face knowing that you’re making one of my recipes down under :) Thanks, Karen and hope you enjoy it over the next few months. You might want to make a double batch next year – homemade green tomato chutney is a fab gift (if you can part with it!).
This recipe is absolutely delicious. Two jars were eaten over Christmas. I gave some as presents and everyone came back for moreā¦unfortunately I only had enough tomatoes for 5 smallish jars.
Definitely make some more next year.
Thank you.
I’m so glad that you enjoyed it, Linda :) Isn’t it great to have a recipe to look forward in case tomatoes don’t ripen?
Hi, I see its optional to skin the tomatoes. Do you think it workers better one way or the other? Thanks, Philippa
Hi Philippa, if it helps, I never skin the tomatoes. There’s no real need when working with unripe fruit.
I spent two lovely afternoons singing tunelessly to my favourite songs and making this delicious chutney. Heaven. I added mustard seeds and black onion seeds and it came out great – trying not to eat it all at once so some jars can mature a little. It was really easy to make and the perfect way to use up the last of the season’s tomatoes which didn’t manage to ripen. Thank you!
You are most welcome, Camila :) Enjoy your green tomato chutney!
This was my first time making green tomato chutney. Not only was it incredibly easy but it is absolutely deliciousā¦.weāve already eaten two jars in five weeks!
I have two jars left and was hoping to give as Xmas presents but I donāt think there will be any left. I just wish I had more green tomatoes to make some moreā¦
Such lovely feedback – thank you! So sorry for your friends and relatives though :) Enjoy!!
Hi would it be possti use pickling vinegar 6% acidity for this or does it need to be malt vinegar?
Thanks
I think pickling vinegar would make this preserve very sharp. Too sharp.
Can one use plastic food storage jars rather than glass and thus of course skipping the water-bath? Can it frozen in the plastic jars?
Thank you.
Hi Linda, yes, you could but the vinegar in the chutney would probably ruin the plastic food storage jars. They would smell like vinegar forever, haha. You could use recycled soup containers from the supermarket, though. I use them often when freezing leftovers and if they get stained or stinky then it’s not a big deal. Be aware that though freezing will preserve green tomato chutney, the texture will change from being frozen and defrosted. It will be much softer.
I followed the instructions to the letter and couldn’t be happier with the results! Cooked it outside on the BBQ side burner. No smell in the house. š
Great idea cooking it outside!
Hi Tanya,
Is it possible to use green tomatoes that have just started to blush? They are still very firm and literally have just a tinge of orange. It’s November here in New Jersey, US, and I don’t think they will ripen fully even if I pull them and box them with bananas, and I’m dying to try this recipe. It looks awesome. Thank you :)
Hi Candy, yes, feel free to use them. The important thing with the tomatoes you use is that they’re unripe and still firm. A little blush is fine!
My first time making a homemade chutney, and I am so happy I chose this recipe of all the ones I found online, as this was absolutely sensational! I had two Alicante tomato plants this summer – which gave us the most wonderfully delicious tomatoes – but was left with quite a lot of unripe tomatoes, from tiny cherry-sized bright green to almost full-sized ones beginning to ripen. It was exactly one kilo when cleaned and chopped. I actually halved the amount of onion with no difference to the final result. I now have jars of the most amazing sticky and flavour-bursting chutney to gift to family and friends, and we have been enjoying it at home with cheeses, bread, and even dotted on as a pizza topping flavour boost! I will recommend this recipe to anyone looking to make green tomato chutney!
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this review, Alexandra :) I’ve never tried green tomato chutney on pizza before but will be letting my other half know. He’ll be excited to try!
My tomatoe on the vine during the night. Can I use them foe green tomatoe chutney?
Hi Carolle, as long as they are firm and undamaged (no brown or soft spots) you can pick them off and use them.
Im cooking this recipe now, fingers crossed it don’t mess it up š¤£š¤£
I saw your recipe and it looked so easy, uncomplicated and with just a few ingredients unlike some others. Iād only had one cherry tomato bush but with the hot summer it had masses of tomatoes and by October plenty of green ones. In fact, I ended up with one kilogram. The recipe cooked down beautifully and itās now all potted up. Itāll be difficult to wait to try it but I will. Should be ready for Christmas! Thanks.
You’re so welcome, Gina, and I hope that you and your loved ones enjoy it over the holidays!
Greetings, Iām intrigued by your chutney recipe and I have a lot of green tomatoes. I like your recipe but my wife doesnāt like raisins. Can I replace the raisins with anything else? I know I can research this but Iām interested in your opinion.
Thanks,
Jeff
Hi Jeff, you could use sultanas or chopped dates. However, the raisins break down somewhat during the cooking process and you definitely can’t taste them (or usually see them) as raisins.
Hello,
I am struggling to find malt vinegar that is not distilled; however, I have read that rice vinegar is a very mild-in-flavor vinegar that is also made from grain, like the malt version is. Do you think rice vinegar would be a appropriate substitute?
Hi Ashlea, rice vinegar is milder than malt vinegar and doesn’t have the same rich flavor. If you can’t find ordinary malt vinegar, distilled malt vinegar is the next best thing. Most of the maltiness and all of the color will be missing, but the vinegar flavor won’t be overpowering. A lady recently made this recipe with distilled malt vinegar and liked it…you can find her notes (also how she made the chutney in a crock pot) in a recent comment. Alternatively, you can also order malt vinegar online.
This sounds delicious. I will try this week as I have the last of the last tomatoes pulled from the garden. Can I store this in the freezer instead of canning? I’ve never canned before and don’t have jars etc.
Thanks for the advice.
Hi Joan, you could but personally I wouldn’t. Freezing tends to change the texture of chutney and it might not be as nice. It will preserve it, though!
I’ve been making green tomato chutney for well over a decade and I’m always disappointed by it, so I tried this recipe this year. I grow cherry tomatoes and I’m afraid I’m too lazy to cut them into tiny pieces, but as someone said somewhere (and I’m not at all sure where I read this), whatever size your ingredients go in to the chutney is the size they are when it’s bottled. So I pulsed the ingredients in a food processor and put the whole lot into a slowcooker on High. I used the cheapest white malt vinegar because that was what I have in the house, mainly for cleaning and laundry, at 35p for 500ml, and I didn’t have any raisins so I used sultanas. I know raisins would absorb the other flavours better and I’ll use them next time but they were all I had and life’s too short to go to the supermarket for one ingredient when you have all the rest on hand. I had a small amount of dark brown sugar so I topped up the amount needed with white granulated sugar. I started the slow cooker off on High, thinking I’d be able to turn it down to Low once the ingredients had heated up but the slow simmer was so slow I decided to leave it on high for the whole process.
The smell that filled the house was amazing!
It took about 12 hours to reduce the volume by half, so I did it in two sessions, allowing the mixture to cool down overnight rather than leave the slow cooker unsupervised on high.
It made quite a few small jars of various different sizes because, again, that’s all I had, and I didn’t waterbath them because I’m English and we just don’t do it, and also because both vinegar and sugar are preservatives, I pot everything while it’s hot and slap the lid on immediately. I’ve never seen any mold on any of my preserves.
If the taste after 2 weeks, or 4 weeks or 3 months is anything like the wonderful of that mix cooking in the slow cooker it’s going to be fabulous. What it didn’t smell was too vinegary, so I have very high hopes.
Thank you so much for not only posting the original recipe, but also for commenting on so many comments. I read all of them and took a great deal of care following your advice as far as I was able to.
Aww! Thank you so much for the detailed notes on how you made the recipe. I’ve had a lot of people ask about whether you could make green tomato chutney using a slow cooker (crock pot) and I’m so pleased that it worked for you. Distilled malt vinegar is, like ordinary malt vinegar, less acidic to the palate than other types of vinegar. It is missing its color and most of the malty flavours, though. So, if you like your batch with its tweaks, you’ll love it even more if you make the original. Thanks again for sharing your cooking/making experience and enjoy!
I made this at the weekend to use up all my leftover green tomatoes.
So glad I did!
Itās absolutely delicious!!
So glad that you like it! It will be even better in a couple of months :)
Delicious! A Keeper for sure!
I am excited to try this recipe. Have you ever tried it with mint or ginger?
One litre of vinegar seems like a lot. Most similar recipes call for 0.5l. Why should I go for one litre? I must add that Iām also looking at recipes using apples and apple cider vinegar ā would using 500 g apples + 500 g onions & 500 ml apple cider vinegar do the same job as 1 kg onions + 1 l malt vinegar? Because of the high water content in the apples?
Because it cooks down slowly and creates fantastic flavor! That’s also why it’s important to only use malt vinegar for this recipe – other types can create a very sharp taste because of the amount used. As for changing the recipe…I don’t recommend it.
We are making it for Christmas š š
Could I use ginger in place of cayenne
If you’d prefer the flavour, I don’t see why not. I, personally, wouldn’t use ginger in this recipe.
This summer my neighbour gave me 5 tomato plants. I’ve never grown tomatoes … and never wanted to! However, I didn’t want to be ungrateful so planted and cared for them. They became part of my family as I fed them, watered them and checked daily. Once the chill of autumn arrived I had a lot of green ones clinging on. So today I googled green tomato chutney and I hit on your recipe. It ticked all the boxes for me as I far prefer pickle to chutney and this recipe had the promise of a good vinegar tang. The house now stinks of vinegar but I have 6 small jars gleaming with chutney. I hope it tastes as good as the ingredients predict. I’m already planning a few tweaks for next year; as I didn’t read your final suggestions before I threw myself into preserving. I love ginger, and now wish I’d grated in some fresh root. I hope I’m given plants again next year š
What a lovely experience you’ve had this summer with your tomato plants! Do you know which varieties they are? If you’d like to try selecting your own varieties, think about sowing tomato seeds next March and sharing a few plants back with your neighbour. I grew five varieties this year – most are types that I’ve grown before and that have become favs. [eafl id="99290" name="Honeygold tomato seeds" text="Honeycomb"], [eafl id="99287" name="Gardeners Delight tomato seeds" text="Gardeners Delight"], Ananas Noire, [eafl id="99285" name="Black Krim tomato seeds" text="Black Krim"], and Marmande Superprecoce. As for the recipe…I’m sure you’ll love it :)
I am in the middle of making this. Currently on stove bubbling away nicely and stirring every now and again. Can’t wait for the finished product and will probably make another batch next week as I have so many green tomatoes.
Enjoy! And if you’d like a couple of other recipes, here are mine for green tomato relish and pickled green tomatoes. Both are very tasty :)
it was a delicious recipe and I made several jars as christmas gifts for my friends, who loved it as well.
So wonderful to hear :) I’m so pleased that you and your friends enjoyed your homemade green tomato chutney.
this recipe is amazing Ive been wanting to make a batch after my grandfather introduced me to some mango chutney at a family gathering I was instantly inspired and was not prepared for the amount of deliciousness that is in this dish I tweaked it a bit by adding a granny smith apple,a few fresh jalapeƱos,a bit of ginger,ground mustard,tumeric,and crushed red pepper flakes chefs kiss!!!
Your flavor variation sounds delish! Enjoy your homemade green tomato chutney, Kristina :)
Second time making 15 jars of chutney, have added several different spices to make slightly different tastes for all occasions, thank you for this lovely recipe.
You are so welcome, Kenny!
Thanks for sharing this recipe for green Tomato chutney.
I used to make one which was an old family recipe for my parents but we sadly lost the recipe and so wasn’t able to remember it and came across your recipe recently and will definitely be trying it out although sadly my mum isn’t with us any longer but I’m sure she would have approved of your recipe and will be looking down while I’m in my kitchen preparing everything ready to make your chutney.
Thanks once again.
Tanya,
All I can say is WOW!!!! I live on the eastern coast of the US and the growing season is somewhat confused right now. Such a glut of green Cherokee Purple tomatoes!!! they are sure not to ripen. This is the first time I’ve made chutney. Patience is definitely key but so worth it!!!!! The melding of flavors are amazing. :)!!!!
Nice one . I needed this recipe as this summer the weather has been very strange and about half my tomatoes are still green . Thank you
You’re welcome! Enjoy
Just made this and it tastes delicious, how long does it last in store cupboard and once opened? Sorry if this has already been covered/asked.
No worries, Leigh. It lasts at least a year in the cupboard, unopened. Once you open it, try to use it within two months. Saying that, my current jar in the fridge has been there much longer and it’s still good as of Saturday. Use your nose and eyes to look for signs of mold, change of texture, or unpleasant scent. I’d throw it out based on that rather than storage length.
I just made this for the first time lets see
Can I make this with Green Zebra tomatoes? I have a glut of these and trying to find recipes to use them.
Hi Jane, it’s better to use unripe tomatoes to make this recipe, since they’re firmer. You could try it out though and let us know? As an aside, I’ve been curious about Green Zebra tomatoes-is it worth growing them? Is the flavor good?
Best version of a British Branston Chutney. I now make this all the time. Iāve replaced raisins with cranberries or apples and itās just as delicious 5*
I made it as directed and it was really good but I’m sure will be even better with age. I did process it in my XL Pressure Cooker. Wondering if one could sub Apples for the raisins? Family here don’t like raisins. I do love them tho. Would apples work in this recipe?
Hi Linda, yes, you could substitute apples for raisins but it might not have the same flavor or sweetness. If you have some spare green tomatoes and decide to make it with apples, could you report back and let us know what you think? Also, you can’t taste the raisins in the final chutney as “raisins” so you might get away with it with your family :)
Hi Tanya, Iāve made an epic 5x batch of this chutney as I had such a lot of green tomatoes, I used my largest jam pot and had to gradually add some of the onions and sugar as it cooked down as it wouldnāt all fit. Itās taken me 2 days on and off as I have to stir it often and canāt be in the kitchen all the time! My question is – the flavour is pretty good, but itās just a bit bitter. This may not be that noticeable when youāre having it in a sandwich or with cheese and bikkies etc. but before I bottle it just wondering if there are any tricks. I assume itās because I didnāt skin the tomatoes and some were more underripe than others. I used brown malt vinegar. I could add more sweet things like apple but itās pretty sweet already. Thanks if you have any suggestions.
Hi Anthea, most chutney needs a few months (at least) to cure and this one is no exception. I recommend that you bottle it up, water bathe the jars, and wait. As it ages, the chutney will get darker in color and richer in flavor. They’ll make good holiday gifts later on this year :)
I tried this recipe and it was almost a disaster! There was far too much liquid. Twice, after boiling/simmering the liquid, I ran out of time, so on my 3rd attempt, I added a bag of jam sugar and only then did it thicken up. But it was still quite runny when I bottled it, and we are yet to taste it.
This recipe does need a lot of time to boil down, so it’s best to account for that. Let us know how it tastes with the pectin added though? I’m curious!
Excellent, simple and easy, and it can easily be a one pot wonder!
Ohhhh, and delicious if you like things “sweet and sour”……..
So many green tomatoes!!
Didn’t know what to do with them until I found this recipe, awesome!!
Great with cheese and crackers or any cold meat, delicious š, will be definitely making this again, just got to get passed the tears from chopping onions š .
Thanks for the feedback, Karen, and enjoy your chutney – It’s soooo good. We just gifted a spare jar to a guest who couldn’t stop eating it!
I know this is GREEN TOMATO chutney, but can you recommend anything to replace the green tomatoes? This was the best chutney Iāve ever made. At the end of my garden season, I had enough green tomatoes for 2 batches. After gifts and family got their hands on it, I have one pint jar left!! I was hoping to whip up a batch of something similar for Christmas gifts but wondering what I can use to replace the green tomatoes?
That’s a good reason to use something other than green tomatoes! I’ve not tried, but you may be able to use the worst of the worst supermarket red tomatoes. You know the ones that are crisp to cut into and have little flavour? Tomatillos might work, too.
Loved this. Will be making it again
So this is not typically canned? Since posting original question, my test batch came out WONDERFULLY! Thinking one presentation will be over a square of cream cheese. Thank you!
Enjoy! Canning in Britain is not usually the same as in the US. There’s no governmental advice on safe canning and no university extensions offering support and information. So basically, the way Brits preserve is to stick to high-acid recipes (chutneys, jams, pickles) and to pour the food into sterilized jars. Then seal and hope for the best! It’s not the proper way of doing it, but I’ve never heard of anyone getting ill eating preserves made this way. What I have heard of, and have experienced myself, is mold growing in jars or bottles. It happened to me once by not water bathing a batch of elderberry syrup. I always water-bath my high-acid preserves, now. Low acid pressure canning is almost non-existent in the UK.
Is it possible that in Notes, #1 was intended to read “it’s not UNcommon…”?
It’s NOT common.
So this is not typically canned? Since posting original question, my test batch came out WONDERFULLY! Thinking one presentation will be over a square of cream cheese. Thank you!
In wondering how long after canning this recipe that is shelf stable ??
Hi Donna, technically one year but chutney seems perfectly fine after several, in my experience.
I needed to rewrite my original note. My phone put in the wrong number. :) The recipe says 32 ounces of malt vinegar or about 4.25 cups. 32 ounces is 2 cups, which could be the reason some think the vinegar flavor is too strong. I have this prepped to cook and can tomorrow and Iām excited about this recipe.
I hope that you enjoy it! :)
1 cup is 8 ounces. 4 cups is indeed 32 ounces.
This is my second year of making this recipe! Itās soooo delicious! I love it on burgers. It adds the perfect sweet/savory flavor to them!
Thank you for this delicious and easy recipe!!
This recipe is delicious! I switched out the raisins for chopped apple and it turned out great. I will definitely be trying making it with some of the other suggested spices next time as well.
This recipe is the best green Tom chutney. Itās absolutely delicious and goes well with so many things I love pairing it with a bit of cheese.
What would you use the chutney on or with? Like crackers or as a relish?
Thank you in advance š
We nearly always use it with cheese and crackers/bread. I love it with cambozola but it’s great with pretty much any cheese. You can also use it as a marinade ingredient or purree it and use it as you would steak sauce.
Has anyone reduced this down in slow cooker / crock pot? I’m curious if it worked for them.
I really want to try this recipe and I’m one for following a recipe exactly at least the first time but I can’t get hold of malt vinegar where I am. If I used cider vinegar instead, how much would you recommend using?
I do not recommend making this recipe with any vinegar other than malt vinegar. The amount needed means that any other vinegar would make chutney very acidic and not nice at all.
Little too much vinegar meant it’s very acidic. However I will let it mature for a week or two and taste again.
It’s important to use malt vinegar for the recipe. Any other vinegar and it will be too acidic.
Malt vinegar is very expensive here for doubling/ tripling the recipe.
12.7 oz is $2.78.. I read comments about not substituting cider vinegar or vinegar,
Hi Grey, other types of vinegar can be much sharper than malt vinegar and, at least in this recipe, make the final chutney too “vinegary”.
First time making my own chutney as needed to use up loads of green tomatoes. Found the recipe and method really easy to follow and am really happy with the result.
So pleased to hear it, Elaine. Enjoy your green tomato chutney!
Thank you Iām going to try this! Can I ask if this can be done in a slow cooker? So not to keep gas on for hours?
I’ve not tried, but can’t see why not. The lid must be off, though. Another idea another person tried recently is cooking the chutney in a wide pan. Greater surface area = quicker evaporation.
You give yield in ājarsā but nothing about what size of jar. Not helpful.
The jars you see in the images are standard UK 1-lb preserving jars. They hold one pint each.
Followed the recipe, tastes great, suspect it will get better as it matures in the jar. Thanks.
You’re most welcome :)
Sounds delicious and all my green tomatoes will now have somewhere to go – thank you !
Can I substitute sultanas for the raisins, please?
Hi Maz, it shouldnāt make too much of a difference. However, raisins are better at absorbing other flavours and in this recipe, you donāt actually taste them, but they add sweetness. If you use sultanas, you might notice them a little more.
I get rave reviews for this chutney. I follow the recipe precisely.
Induction is better than gas stove. It doesnāt stick and burn as easily. At sea level, it takes well over 3 hours to cook down, often closer to 4. I suggest watching the video to understand when it has cooked down enough. I fill six 6 oz jars, with a bit left over.
Thank you, Tanya, for the wonderful recipe, and great instructions!
You are so welcome, Jamie :) Thanks for the additional information, too. I’m sure it will help others!
Love, love your chutney recipe. I was
hesitant about the malt vinegar but
it worked.
I added one chopped apple and pinch
of cinnamon and it tasted great!
We just had some of the chutney
on leftover Hawaiian pizza and my
husband said it was gourmet!!
Fantastic! So pleased that you and the fam love it :)
Question: once opened & refrigerated, should it be used within 1 year, or 1 month? The written recipe above notes 1 year but the video says 1 month.
Thanks! Itās a delicious recipe!!
Carrie
You’re welcome, Carrie! Once bottled, the sealed jars have a shelf-life of one year. Once opened, you should aim to use it within a month. Although I’ll raise my hand and say I’ve kept it in the fridge for several months before with no ill effects.
Awesome tasting recipe š. Simple to do.
This is absolutely delicious. I will start making this a staple when I have green tomatoes! One caution is when boiling vinegar, the smell can be potent so do it in a well ventilated area.
I rarely write reviews, but I love this recipe so much I had to. The directions are easy to follow and the chutney tastes awesome! I love it on everything, but especially atop bread with tangy kefir cheese. So yummy! Thank you <3
Thanks so much, Jo – it means so much that you’ve left a review :) Enjoy your homemade chutney!
Awesome lady ā¦..
So many green toms
Added mustard seeds different vinegar and currants ! Whatās in the pantry!!!!! Divine!!!!
Thanks for your recipe!
Kia ora from Taumarunui, New Zealand!! A wonderful recipe and thank you so much for imparting your knowledge and sharing the love of this delightful chutney. An absolute must for a š§ cheeseboard and yes I tweeted it with a few other spices and it has become a family favourite and always has people asking for it at Gala and bake sale events. Big ups to you Tanya (also my best friends name!) and I look forward to seeing more of your content in the future xOx
Gāday Tanya,
Just a stunning recipe. Just love the pepper overtones and the balance is just right. It took me about 4 hrs to reduce but it was worth being patient. I have a question for you though. I love the sweetness of the chutney but my wife asked if the brown sugar could be reduced without compromising the flavour and colour? I used dark brown sugar 500 g as per your recipe. If you think it could be reduced could you recommend by how much?
Kind regards, Terry
Thanks, Terry! Glad you like the recipe and, sure, you could reduce the sugar a bit. You’ll need to experiment a bit with smaller recipes until you find the right ratio that you both enjoy. You could also replace some of the brown sugar with more raisins, if you’re aiming to reduce refined sugar.
Hi Tanya,
Had 6kg of green tomatoes that I just couldnāt leave on the vine to ripen – itās been so dry that the Eastern Rosellas and King Parrots who never bother with them have suddenly developed a huge interest in tomatoes!
Love this recipe -apologies for tampering with your recipe but Iām not a fan of raisins or sultanas so taking a bit of license from your green tomato relish recipe substituted red bell peppers which I blitzed in a food processor as they tends not to break down like the tomatoes and onions.
Anyway results look really promising and itās got an interesting colour that is not green which I am very, very happy with.
Iāve never seen you website before and over the years I have done about five different variations of this chutney- yours is promising to be the best especially since you have gone to the effort of testing and refining your recipe which saves a lot of drama. Very much appreciated.
Cheers, Nyall
You’re very welcome, Nyall, and I’m so pleased that you’ve found me and the recipe :) I hope your chutney is amazing but please know that you cannot taste or discern the raisins in this recipe. They’re important in tempering the acidity of the recipe, so if you’re not 100% happy with how yours turns out, I recommend that you try again and make a small batch with the raisins. You won’t see them in the final chutney, and won’t taste ‘raisin.’
Hi
Thank you for the lovely recipe all the information and video. I have some green tomatoes frozen from last year and want to make this. Just wondering where did you get your jars from and plastic seal lids and are they reusable?
Many thanks
Catherine
Hi Catherine – you’re welcome :) The jars are Kilner jars (Mason jars in the USA) and the lids and seals are from Tattler. They’re reusable and BPA-free but are only available in the States. I’ve bought them online though, and had them shipped to me in the Isle of Man.
Excellent recipe! Thank you so very much, now all my tomatoes were used this year.
Any substitute for raisins suggestions?
Googled “what to do w/ green tomatoes” and discovered this delightful recipe. Very tasty, easy to put together & simmer down. Only had 1.5# tomatoes so adjusted accordingly. Only took ~90 minutes in a frying pan, but I did stir often & kept lowering the heat so it would cook down slowly. Had tonight w/ grilled cheese/ham on rye sandwiches – very tasty! What a great condiment! My wife said we’ll be looking for green tomatoes next year rather than just rendering the volunteer stragglers as we did this year.
Thank you for such a glowing review and you two enjoy your green tomato chutney!
An easy recipe to make. I wondered if the strong vinegar taste is normal? Tasted just after making.
Hi Leanne, chutney is a vinegary preserve but it should not have an overly sharp taste if you used malt vinegar.
Love this chutney! It keeps for years. I just found a rogue jar I made 3 years ago and itās amazingā¦ I made more this year! Thanks for the great recipe.
You’re most welcome, Julia :)
What a great recipe. The only change I made was to add a finely chopped red chilli for a bit more heat (as that’s my preference). The chutney is full of flavour and it is an easy recipe to follow. Thank you.
I made this recipe and itās fab, I used cider vinegar because thatās what I had and added some fresh chilli, I like things spicy. I cooked for a long time, and honestly itās amazing.
Can I use coconut sugar for this recipe?
Can you mix in some ripe tomatoes or would that mess up the taste?
You can, but the flavor will be more tomato-like and the texture softer.
I am a absolutely gutted! I started of really well with this chutney, stirring all the time. it took longer than 3hours to go thick. I fell asleep on my sette because I have sleep apnea…not Shore how long I fell asleep for? I ran in the kitchen and the chutney had started to stick to the pan I was devastated but it didn’t taste burnt so I spooned it into the hot sterilised jars..I made such a mess as I didn’t have a funnel….I was unable to do the water bath as I didn’t have the right equipment to do it. I had a little taste of it..it taste quite sharp of vinegar. I put the sterilised lids on. I am praying in December when I open it that the sharp vinegar taste will have gone and fingers crossed it does not grow any mould on it! This is my first attempt with this Green Tomato chutney. I had even treated myself to a new pickling pan. I give myself one star not the recipe! I am gutted as I so wanted this chutney to turn out for my sister and brother in law…it will be their first time spending Christmas with me.. I had better buy a jar of pickle in, incase my homemade Green Tomato chutney is a disaster!:(
Aww, that’s such a shame, Helena. Hopefully the flavour mellows out but it may not if it was overcooked. Definitely taste it before giving it as gifts! I wouldn’t worry about mould but did you happen to use malt vinegar? If so, the sharpness could be because it cooked down too much.
I am just in the middle of making my green tomato chutney it has been on for one & half hours but not ready yet, but I realise it could take up to 3hours….what is worrying me when do I start sterilising the jars can they stay in the oven on a low heat for ages. How do I sterilise the jar lids? Surely they can’t go in the oven as it may melt rubber on the inside of lid? I haven’t got the right equipment to water bath jars so what can I do?
Kind Regards
Thank You.
Helena
Hi Helena, you do not need to sterilise the jars beforehand if you follow the water-bath instructions at the end of the recipe. The jars just need to be warm when you begin pouring in the chutney to help ensure the glass doesn’t split. Water bathing sterilises everything, inside and out, plus helps ensures the jars seal.
Hi Tanya,
we don’t know each other but don’t let Matt get to you with his comments….he is hopefully just teasing you.
I am just about to go into my kitchen and make your chutney for the first time.I am really looking forward to tasting it.
Thank You Helena:)
Hi Helena, you are too kind. Matt is one of those people who doesn’t read a product’s build instructions clearly then races over to the website to leave a negative review for his own incompetence. That’s why he missed out on the fact that the website he was looking at was a recipe-stealing website rather than one that’s legitimate. Most people who visit my website and YouTube channel are truly lovely people, but I’ve seen all sorts in my decade+ of sharing ideas and videos. It tests my patience, daily.
Mine is just on the stove now so we’ll see how it turns out. Your recipe says it make 5 jars. What kind of jars, 8 ounce? 16 ounce? one gallon?! Can’t find that info.
Guess I’ll get a better idea when it’s cooked down.
I just made this. Where i live it is hard to find malt vinegar so took a chance and used whole foods VERY CHEAP balsamic vinegar omg i just went to heaven asi am a huge fan and miss branston pickle not sure if this is supposed to taste like that but i have no complaints as i miss my pub ploughmans lunch so thank you for this wonderful recipe its a keeper for me
You are so welcome, Ann, and that’s great to know that it tastes incredible with just balsamic vinegar. Enjoy!
Love this recipe and made it many times. This year I halved the ingredients and cooked it in my Ninja wok. Much easier to control the cooking process. Only another 2-3 batches to make.
Making it now, canāt wait to try it. That saidā¦.should it sit for 6 weeks like other pickles??
It’s perfectly fine to have right away but if you can wait, it’ll be better after a month+
This recipe will be a staple for our household for years to come. We use it as a steak sauce, on grilled cheese sandwiches, charcuterie boards, hamburgers, sausages, an omelette topper, with roasted vegetables, potato salad, etc…
I made a quadruple batch last year. We shared as gifts, and we are down to our final jar in the fridge just in time to make more!
Hi would there be any difference using sultans rather than raisins, Iāve made this wonderful chutney recipe about a dozen times now and used sultanas instead Iām wondering how different it will be with raisins
Hi Debra, it shouldn’t make too much of a difference. However, raisins are better at absorbing other flavours and in this recipe, you don’t actually taste them, but they add sweetness. If you use sultanas, you might notice them a little more.
This was the first chutney Iāve made and it turned out amazing. Great way to use up the annoying green tomatoes at end of season. Also water bathed as instructed (despite being in England). Iām quite surprised by how many sites say you donāt need to water bath the jars as it makes a lot of sense to do so. Thanks for the great recipe as I will be making it every year now!
Hi there! Iām wondering, do you think I could freeze this vs. canning it? Just curious!
Hi Leanne, and yes, you could freeze it. The texture may be a little more mushy when it defrosts, but it will taste the same.
l followed this recipe closely but added an extra clove of garlic and 2 fresh red chillis. It took.a good 2.5 hours to cook. It is absolutely delicious. Very much like Branston Pickle but sweeter and tangier. Will definatley follow this recipe in the future. Highly recommend.
After looking at many recipes for Green Tomato chutney online I decided to go with this recipe by Tanya and I am so pleased I did. Simple inexpensive ingredients (I have over 3kg of green tomatoes on my vines in the UK) The video was very easy to follow and really helpful. Batch one last week was a huge success and batch 2 is now cooking. I didn’t water bath the jars once filled but did sterilize them in the oven. We’ve already eaten half a jar of the chutney with cheese and ham, gifted some, and some stored in the cupboard. The 2nd batch is for Xmas gifts. If anyone in the UK making this; I used Tesco malt vinegar at 0.29p for 568ml (bargain) and bought kilner 370ml preserving jars from Dunelm, as they look lovely filled for gifting (Ā£2.00 ea)
Thanks again for a great easy delicious recipe :)
You’re most welcome, Rachel, and thanks for the low-cost shopping tips. That malt vinegar IS a bargain!
I love your Green Tomato Chutney recipe and have made it several times. I also love the jars you canned in. Are those only available on the UK?
They’re very common in the UK and I buy them mainly for bottling up honey. I’ve had a look online and can’t find the exact jars in the USA but [eafl id="90660" name="glass jars" text="these ones"] are very similar.
Making your chutney now, super easy recipe and as British as you get. Canāt wait for the finished product.
Exactly the same recipe as James Martin. Who stole Whoms?
Incredibly rude and poor spelling, too. This is my recipe that I’ve developed and refined over many years. In a quick Google search, I can see that the James Martin recipe is not only different but poor in my humble opinion. The instructions are not detailed and the white vinegar would almost certainly make it way too vinegary. Malt vinegar all the way.
I’m not lying. This is apparently James Martin’s recipe. Word for word, the same as this one.
https: //britishchefstable.com/james-martin-green-tomato-chutney/
I’ve looked at that website and it’s ripping off quite a few celebrity chefs. It has nothing to do with James Martin, Delia Smith, Mary Berry, etc. Look at the about section and you’ll see. It’s a website that steals recipes from cookbooks and apparently from small-time kitchen garden writers. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to copyright recipes and there’s nothing that I can do. It’s disheartening to say the least.
I love the jars your chutney is in. May I ask the brand? Is it available in the US?
Hi Angel, they probably are! These are the jars that I use to bottle up honey extracted from the comb.
1st time at making chutney.
Followed the recipe to the letter.
Couldnāt resist a taste when finished filling the jars and it seemed very sweet. Will it lose some sweetness after after a couple of months of curing or should I reduce the sugar quantity for my next batch?
Tastes vary, so if you feel that way after letting the chutney settle for some weeks, then tweak the recipe to suit what you prefer. It will still preserve well with a little less sugar.
I’m making the chutney right now. Some of my tomatoes were starting to redden a decent amount. Will this affect the flavor? I also forgot to dice up my raisins. I just dumped them in. Finally, I didn’t have 32oz of Malt Vinegar. Only about 8oz. I used 1/2 of 5% Vinegar & 1/2 Apple Cider Vinegar. How much do you think these changes will affect the overall flavor?
Hi Craig, the reddening of the tomatoes or not cutting of the raisins shouldn’t be an issue. They can potentially change the texture a bit, is all. As for the vinegar – you may find the recipe less robust in flavor if you’re mainly using ACV. It has around the same amount of acetic acid as malt vinegar, but is a fruitier and milder vinegar.
I live in the UK and started preserving home grown foods a few years ago, although I have been making jam etc from hedgerow pickings for years. I never water-bathed the jam then but I do with everything I preserved these days since watching videos from places like where you live as it all made sense! Making this green tomato chutney today from some of my tomatoes that failed to ripen – just having 5 minutes until my eyes stop watering from chopping the kg of red onions!! Great video, love the step by step because you cannot go wrong !! Thank you.
You’re very welcome, Penny! Yes, water bath canning really takes the ‘what if’ out of whether a high-acid preserve like chutney will be shelf safe. Enjoy your green tomato chutney :)
Good afternoon Tanya.
Thank you for sharing the recipe for Green Tomato Chutney.
Making my fist batch as we speak.
Can you confirm please that you put the hot chutney straight into the warm jars as opposed to letting the chutney cool down before putting it warm jars.
Thank you Steve
Hi Steve, and yes, that’s correct – ladle the hot chutney into warm jars.
I just finished making this today! The whole house has this delicious pungent vinegary smell. Thank you for sharing it. It is going to be an annual recipe for me.
Suzanne
My absolute pleasure, Suzanne :) Enjoy your chutney!
I made this last year and gave away for Christmas pressys everyone loved it so much so I made a second batch. This year I started my tomatoes off late so that all my tomatoes will not redden off in time just so I can start making and eating early!! An absolute winner and enjoyed by many friends and family members.
Yum! I just made this using some green tomatoes that our resident squirrel had sampled (I cut off the teeth marks and chewed bits and gave the rest a thorough washing with soap!). I just tried it on a cracker with some aged cheddar. It’s a great recipe. I didn’t have enough onions so I used the onion tops as well, and I used a mix of malt vinegar and white vinegar (because I didn’t have enough of the malt). With 5 cups of tomatoes and about 3 cups of onion and tops, and the rest of the ingredients adjusted proportionally, it took about 2 hours to cook down. I definitely will make this again. Thanks!
I’m glad that you’re enjoying the recipe! That’s a great way to salvage your hard-earned homegrown tomatoes – pesky squirrels!
Absolutely delicious! Itās a favorite & Iāve shared your recipe with friends! 5-stars
This is the ONLY chutney recipe I ever use. I normally only have one tomato plant so donāt have a lot of tomatoes and most recipes on the Internet call for large quantities. This is easily achievable with one tomato plant or if itās been a particularly bad harvest, I pick up a small pack from the shop just to top up the weight.
Itās so easy to make and my husband absolutely loved enjoying it for Christmas after six months maturing. He said it was really delicious and had it with cheese, meats, roast dinnersā¦ Everything!!
Just about to head out and pick up the ingredients to make this afternoon, but thought Iād leave a review and praise a good recipe for small crop quantities. Everything can easily be doubled according to how many tomatoes you get.
Thank you so much Kim! Hope you and hubby enjoy it again this Christmas :)
Thanks for the correction. I’m steam canning it up now. My husband is crazy about it. Did I understand you correctly that once opened, it will last a yeaqr jn the fridge?
Hi Patti, unopened the jars are good for at least a year. I’ve stored them fine for several years before, though. Once opened, keep refrigerated and use within two months.
I’m making this x 5 amounts. I’m so glad I didn’t follow the recipe for multiple batches. It is wrong. For a triple batch it says you use 40 cups of vinegar?
Hi Patti, there was an error with the 4-1/2 cups being tripled in the recipe card but I’ve sorted it now. Hope you enjoy the chutney :)
Omg! I made this recipe with only a few green tomatoes I had left from canning. Fortunately enough to make the 2 jar recipe. Amazing and so flavourful. I did not do the canning directions since I only had 2 jars that surely will not last. 5 stars for sure.
We did double batch. It ended up 4 jars of chutney and 4 of chutney fluidā¦.. maybe us it at marinade or salad dressing!
I use a slow cooker and put it on high initially for an hour to get some heat in the mixture and then on low for 5 hours. Never had any complaints. Each batch varies slightly, I guess due to the stage of the tomato’s ripening as all other ingredients are uniform….. but always good. No complaints yet!
Glad to hear it, Anthony, and interesting to hear of your slow cooker method! As far as complaints, I suspect some people use a stronger type of vinegar to make the recipe. If it’s higher than 5% acetic acid, then it may come out much more vinegary than it should be.
I made the recipe x 3
I followed the recipe and have 12 jars of bitter tasting chutney, where did I go wrong ??? š
Hi Patricia, not all vinegars are the same, and I suspect you used a vinegar other than malt vinegar?
I used malt vinegar but I soaked the ingredients overnight as I was unable to cook it immediately, would that have caused the bitterness?
I wouldn’t think so, but possibly. Just to check — have you eaten chutney before? It’s generally a sharp and tangy vinegar-based preserve. Not bitter, but if you’re not used to eating chutney the acetic acid content could maybe be perceived as bitter.
I maybe had added too much malt vinegar, but I do LOVE vinegar. I waited 3.5 months. My plan is to add some atop probiotic cream cheese, with my Charcuterie board and see what people like. :)
Very flavorful AND FESTIVE with red and green salsa from my garden and a mix of ciabatta bread, Chia/flax/quinoa tortilla chips and healthy crackers nearby too. Thank you.
I believe it will pair well with Prime rib, mashed garlic potatoes too. Winning.
Excellent news! So pleased that you’re enjoying your homemade green tomato chutney :)
I maybe had added too much malt vinegar, but waited 3.5 months. My plan is to add some atop probiotic cream cheese, with my Charcuterie board and see what people like. :)
Just had my chutney about 10 weeks after making it, and it’s delicious! My first attempt at making chutney and I’m very pleased with the result.
Fantastic, Sue! Glad you’re enjoying your homemade green tomato chutney — what a great holiday treat :)
I made this with dates instead of raisins and chopped them up small. Such a delicious recipe! Thank you
Hi can you make this recipe in a instant pot
I’m not sure, Cheryl. I don’t have one and have never used one before.
I don’t think that’s a good idea because you want it to lose moisture as it cooks. Maybe the instant pot w/o the lid would work as a simple cooker. It does have that anti-burn feature.
So easy to do. Just waiting to try it
Just made this recipe and I’m very happy with how it turned out. The changes I made:
– 1/2 a batch as I only had 500g green tomatoes.
– 1 fresh chilli instead of powdered (just because we had some that needed using)
– Sultanas instead of raisins (as it was what we had)
It tastes great already even before it was even put in the jars, and I’m sure it will only improve.
It took less than an hour of simmering to thicken to a good sticky consistency. I’m not sure why others have had problems with too much liquid. I imagine what sort of tomatoes you use will have an impact (due to their water content). Also as I did a half batch it would be quicker.
Made just shy of 3 jars of approx. 350g size.
I plan to made this again, maybe with just onions or red cabbage instead of tomatoes now that I’ve used them up!
If you don’t have a filter like you used in your video then what us one to use?
No filter is required for this recipe. I’m not sure which video you’re referring to?
I have always wanted to make green tomato chutney…and this was the year to do it! The recipe is simple, easy and delicious.
I only have about a half cup raisins but used the full amount of tomatoes and onions..
I love chutney and this looks amazing .
Last thing is I have no jars. Will likely give a couple to friends who will eat it tight away.
How long eill it last in a container in the frig? Thank you soooo much
Hi Kathy, it will last a long time in the fridge — several months, I’d say. You can also put the chutney in the freezer, where it can last for a year or more.
Never made chutney before so as I’ve grown lots of tomatoes this year I gave the recipe a go ,glad I did its absolutely delicious. I’ve filled proper kilner jars and will give as presents or just for visitors to enjoy when they get home.
Too much vinegar very tangy
4hrs plus & little bit runny, used your exact recipe! Letās hope it
Iāve just finished your
Followed this recipe and the chutney was delicious. Tried a different one last year and didn’t like it so thank you for this one which used up my unripe tomatoes. Kitchen did smell vinegary for a while but worth it I’d say. I will certainly be using this again next year.
Made this using mostly green cherry tomatoes and used Apple Cider Vinegar instead of Malt (didn’t see Malt Vinegar at my grocery). Ended up very good. Had it for breakfast with toast and cheddar a perfect pairing. Only issue is that it was more like 3 hours to cook down.
Can cherry tomatoes be used for this recipe? Also do regular Ball jars work?
Yes to both!
I am about to try this very nice looking recipe, but was confused about how many jars I would need. Being in Canada we don’t have “one pound” jam jars, but we measure jars according to the milliliters a jar will hold. I had to do a search for how many milliliters a one pound jar will hold and came up with 380 ml. If this is correct I would need about four 500 ml (pint) jars or eight 250 ml (1/2 pint) jars. I will try the recipe and see what quantity I end up with and post my results within a day or two. Thank you for the recipe!
You’re welcome, and let us know how many jars you made in the end? I’ve just measured how much water fits in my 1-lb jars and it’s 300 g so will be 300 ml. I made this recipe this year using pint jars though and it made about 3.5 pints
I just found you as I was looking up growing shallots from seed. I found you very vivacious and great humor. I know this is a very busy time for us gardeners, I just closed down our farm today ( I live Camas WA ) But wanted to make this chutney and had asked questions days ago, I did buy Holland House malt vinegar as that’s all I could find. I am making it tomorrow and before I make it hope to hear from you. I think if you post recipes the turnaround for someone asking question should be no be two or three days.
So sorry, Barbara — I’ve been away and haven’t been answering comments as speedily as I’d like. As long as your malt vinegar is about 5% acidity it will be good to go :)
This looks great and two questions: What do you think of adding golden raisins as they are sweeter? We have Heinz gourmet malt vinegar is that the right one?
That malt vinegar is perfect, Barbara :) And yes, go for it with the golden raisins
Hi can I use something else rather than raisins? Would dried dates work or just good ole sugar? Thanks!
Dates would work as well but keep in mind that you will not have discernable raisins in the final chutney. They completely break down and leave only their sweetness :)
This is a delicious chutney! Iāve only just made it but even without waiting a few weeks it isnāt too vinegary. The power is in the cayenne pepper. I used dark muscovardo sugar and cider vinegar. Took about 2 and a half hours on a high simmer. About to make another batch.
Hi I want to make this and confused on the vinegar you wrote “This year I made it with distilled white vinegar and a mix of white and brown sugars, and it ended up just as delicious as ever.” You have commented to other people that said it was vinegary and you use malt vinegar. Looking up malt vinegar I see Heinz gourmet malt vinegar is that what I should us? Reading it’s all about the right vinegar.
It’s all a matter of personal taste but the best vinegar to use is malt vinegar with 5% acetic acid. Vinegar with any more than that can taste “too vinegary”
Hi Tanya,
Could I use white sugar instead of brown and would it affect the taste?
White should be fine. It doesn’t have the depth of flavor that brown sugar does but it will sweeten the recipe the same.
We found the end product VERY acidic/vinegary. We are looking for a solution to this.
Hi Jan, its meant to have a vinegar flavour. However, malt vinegar is much milder than other vinegars. If you used a different type, then I’d recommend malt vinegar in the future :)
I have never heard of ‘water-bathing’ before in making jam or chutney and just seal it using grease-proof paper and selophane which seems to work well (I have never had a problem with mould, in spite of keeping it several years at times!). I always thought the sugar content and vinegar prevented any problems. I live in the UK
Sugar or honey
Hi Tanya
I am in the Uk and have plenty of GreenTomatoes from the Garden, so found this receipe and plan making it next weekend, However with the energy crisis :( i was woundering if it can be done in the Instant pot to reduce the the simmering down time?
I plan on replacing the Cayenne pepper with fresh Chillies and Padron Pepper, as i also have plenty of these from the Garden:)
Many Thanks
Hi Jane, I’ve not tried for this recipe but I don’t see why not! Just make sure that the lid is off or cracked open so that moisture should escape. I use the slow cooker method to reduce my tomato ketchup recipe and it works a treat :)
Itās looking and smelling lovely, but Iām a bit confused, your recipe calls for malt vinegar, which Iāve used, in England malt vinegar is brown unless the recipe states āwhite malt vinegarā reading other comments I get the idea Iāve used the wrong type, can you please confirm which malt vinegar I should have used please.
Hi Debra, I think you’re okay! There is a type of distilled malt vinegar that’s clear/white :)
Iām not sure what I should have used but I used brown malt vinegar, today my family finished off one of the jars!! It was so delicious, Iām making another batch tomorrow. Thank you for sharing the recipe I had a glut of green tomatoes this year as although itās been an Amazing summer I started my plants off quite late.
I’m in the UK.
Please can you tell me if the reusable plastic lids you mention are available here, I cannot seem to find them.
Thanks
Mike
Hi Mike, Tattler lids need to be ordered from the US and shipped here. Once you have them they last for years, though!
Hi Tanya
Many thanks for this.
Before I place an order for these lids please can you tell me do they fit these Kilner Preserve with two part lids e.g., https://www.kilnerjar. co.uk/products/screw-top-jars/0025402-preserve-jar-025-litre/
Best regards
Mike
Hi Mike and indeed they do! Tattler lids fit standard Kilner and mason jar mouths but not the wide-mouth jars.
Iād like to make this for Christmas present. I know the malt vinegar is the best but there are a few friends and family members who are gluten intolerant. Which alternative vinegar I can substitute?
Hi Aiko, though I’ve not tried it, a 50:50 mix of rice wine vinegar and balsamic might do. Both are relatively sweet and the balsamic would add that extra depth. Both are gluten-free :)
I used apple cider vinegar and it worked a treat. Hubby has already worked his way though two jars in less than a week!!!
Really pleased to hear it!
Please ignore my previous question!!! Think I should get my eyes tested – red onions, not tomatoes! Doh!!! ;) Looking forward to trying this. Still having problems finding malt vinegar in Germany though! :(
No problem Emma! You can order malt vinegar in Germany here :)
Please advise! The recipe states both 1kg of green tomatoes AND 1kg of red tomatoes, yet in the video, we only see the green. Just so that I get the quantities (of all ingredients right) how many tomatoes in total? 2kg or only 1kg to the 1 litre of malt vinegar? (I only have 800g of green tomatoes and have planned to reduce all other ingredients accordingly, so this is really important!) Does anyone know? Planning to make this this weekend so would appreciate any info!! Thanks a lot!
Hi Emma, the recipe says 1kg green onions and 1kg red onions
I made this chutney and was so disappointed- way too much vinegar for my taste.
Sorry to hear that, Ana. Which vinegar did you use by chance? Malt vinegar is called for in the recipe and it’s both sweeter and less sharp than other kinds of vinegar.
Anna, the sharp vinegar & onion forward flavours are exactly why we loved it so much. I added 3 hot peppers to a doubled batch and we’re making a triple batch today to finish the rest of our tomatoes.
This is a winner! I doubled the recipe and I’m already planning on making a triple batch with the rest of our green tomatoes. It’s still bubbling away on the stove and tasted heavenly! My husband arrived home and before he came in the screen door asked what smells to great. The only change I made was to add 3 hot peppers chopped finely. Thank you
So happy to hear that you’re enjoying the recipe so much, Brenda :) Adding a little extra chili or other ingredients can really personalize a chutney to your liking!
I really liked this recipe. I was missing the raisins but I had some gogie berries and added them instead. I used 3 different vinigars( whole wine and white balsamic and regular vinegar. I also added in some soy sauce. I have to say for my first time making it I loved it. I will definitely keep this recipe and make sure I have more tomato plants. I could have eaten a whole jar in one go
I put it on a couple of fried eggs awesome. Yum yum and yum.
Made this chutney, absolutely beautiful, nicest I have made, ever. My neighbours love it to, they keep asking for morešš
Amazing! I didn’t know I needed this recipe in my life! I used homemade apple cider vinegar as I didn’t have malt vinegar and it was delicious. I was going to make something else with the remainder of my green tomatoes but this chutney is so versatile I decided to make another batch!
Me too Roshi! I’m tripling my next batch tomorrow.
Thank you for creating a wonderful recipe, I absolutely love trying different tomato chutneys and jams. Even better to put everything from the garden to use, ripe or not!
I noticed you did not specify the jar size or the head space when filling the jars. When canning these are important details as the timing changes based on jar size and head space changes based on what food is being preserved. For example, with jam/jelly/marmalade, 1/4 inch head space is appropriate. But this would be too little room for other foods. Based on your photos and a 10 minute bath time, I estimated you used jars equivalent to 1/2 pints. Is this correct? Additionally, as with other tomato chutney and tomato jam recipes I’ve preserved in the past, I left 1/2 inch head space. The jars processed perfectly and all sealed. I can’t wait for the flavors to meld and try it in a few months!
One last thought for people changing the recipe, regardless of the reason. Please be cautious when doing so as the processing times change for various foods and for some ingredients a water bath is not sufficient based on the bacteria naturally present, thus requiring pressure canning. The amount of sugar and acid in the recipe is there for a reason based on the proportions and types of ingredients. Deviating from a well tested recipe willy-nilly could possibly have ill effects on your health.
I classed this in with “jams & marmalade” and canned my 8 oz (half-pint) and 4 oz (samples for friends for feedback on new recipe) both with 1/4 inch head space and they were fine. I’ve done that with all my chutneys over the years with no problem.
A fantastic recipe! My turned out beautifully ā¤ļø
Hi…I followed your recipe for the green tomato chutney and gave out as Christmas gifts…. it went down a storm. My friends and family have insisted I make twice as in 2020.. cheers Paul
Excellent news! So pleased everyone enjoyed it :)
Tried this to use and preserve my 5 kilos of green tomatoes. It was really easy to do, including adjusting amounts. I have never made chutney before. I used garlic salt rather than cayenne and omitted the garlic cloves. The resulting chutney is delicious, best I’ve tasted and my partner agrees. I made 4 large jars, trouble is it’s so good they’re not going to last long.
Used this recipe as a base and added 4 bay leaves, 2 teaspoons mustard seed, teaspoon grated fresh ginger, 1 red chilli and 1 star anise.
Everyone loves it!
I am making this recipe as I type. I just added a few things. Such as a chunk of ginger, Apple an 1/2c cranberries. The broth is outstanding already. I can wait took the finished product.
Has anyone tried making this with just 2k red onions, rather than 1kg green tomatoes, 1k onions? Want to try it and itās out of tomato season so wondering if it would work?
(Made it a few months ago with green tomatoes and it was delicious!)
Used up leftover dried currants and dried cherries mixed with the raisins which resulted in a very pleasing flavor. Thanks for the great recipe!
I grew up eating delicious chutneys and this recipe is terribly vinegar-ey and hardly any spicy flavour at all! I am so disappointed, since I followed the recipe diligently, and now need to figure out how to fix it so I havenāt wasted all those ingredients. If you have any ideas, please let me know.
I’d say that you’re probably in a tiny percentile of people who doesn’t like the recipe…or you got the recipe wrong somehow. If the latter, only you know what could have gone wrong (wrong vinegar type, kitchen scale not working, etc).
Iām simmering this down now. Very pungent smelling. I like vinegar so I hope this will be good when done, but my eyes are sure burning!
Hi Patricia,
You can re-make your chutney to your taste by emptying all the jars youāve potted up into a large pan. In another pan I would add a tablespoon of curry powder, a small amount of salt, a sprinkle of garam masala, and however much chilli you want. Melt a little butter and gently fry the spices for a couple of minutes then add enough water to free them up from the pan. Tip them into your chutney. Bring the chutney to the boil. You could add some curry leaves and a star anise if you wish. Cook the chutney, adding a little water to keep it from getting too thick. Once you are satisfied it is now to your taste bottle it as before.
Can I use single non reuseable canning lids and rims? They have a coating on the underside…and are made by Ball.
Yes, those would be fine :)
Have the amount of vinegar and add the rest as water. I always put water into chutneys. It’s much better, but is still a lovely receipe.
I am so excited to try this chutney recipe! I have a ton of green tomatoes which I want to can the majority of when ripe, but I love chutney. Brings back very fond memories of my Welsh Grandmother and British Grandfather and special meals in their home in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. We had the pleasure of eating fried green tomatoes in Louisiana, New Orleans in early March 2020 so will be cooking lots of those too. Thank you for posting your canning recipes as it’s always good to preserve what you grow! I did spicy pickled green beans, tomato jam, zucchini relish, zucchini sweet pickles and cucumber sweet pickles so far.
We had a glut of green tomatoes this year and decided to try this recipe, it is reducing as I am typing and smelling wonderful. Might get the opportunity to try this over the weekend.
Nice and easy to prepare and the ingredients are always available in this household.
Thank you.
Iāve just made and Iām waiting for it to be ready it smells good – i used white malt vinegar as I didnāt have a clue which malt vinegar to get so I hope will be ok. Ive never made anything like this before or grown tomatoes but had so many and I love a cheese board x
Made it today and what l tasted was really lovey. By the time I’d got around to making it most of my tomatoes had ripened. So l thought the end result wouldn’t be as good. I was wrong. Can’t wait to have some tomorrow.
Hi I am eager to make your recipe as it looks delicious. Just getting ingredients now. Can I check whether it is soft light brown sugar or soft dark brown sugar that you use?
Do you cut everything quite small or does it decrease in size? Not watching it too chunky.
Last question :) Is normal brown malt vinegar ok to use?
Thanks so much
Hi Petrina :) I use both types of sugar but usually light brown sugar. Brown malt vinegar is good and you can see the size of the tomato pieces in the piece. Roughly chop all the vegetable ingredients — they soften but will stay the size you cut them.
Thanks so much for your reply. I am literally in the midst of making so I will let you know how it goes.
Thanks again :)
I had never made chutney before but thought Iād give this a go to use up my green tomatoes. Oh wow! What a great recipe. The chutney is absolutely lovely. It goes well with all cheeses and also cold meats. Really looking forward to my own homemade chutney with cold Christmas turkey sandwiches. This will be my go to chutney recipe from now on. Thank you so much. ?
Delicious! Thank you!
I loved this chutney and so easy to make. Although my family liked it, we werenāt getting through it very quick. Then one day we ran out of brown sauce (which we use on nearly every meal). So I blended a jar of chutney and the result was a fruity brown sauce to rival HP. So the jars of chutney didnāt last long after that discovery.
Sweet and sour with a bit of heat is a perfect description. I stuck to the recipe (doubled) except I used half white sugar because it was what I had. It is absolutely delicious. I recommend a splatter screen especially the first 3 hours when the liquid is high in the pot. The sugar gets all over the stove (and floor LOL) I will 100% make again. It reduced at least by 3/4 but this reduction is the nectar of the Gods. Highly recommend.
Superb recipe. First time making it. I am in the UK.
I was wondering if after canning you leave it ? or have it straight away?
Are there any substitutes for malt vinegar?
It’s better to leave it a month or two before having it — the flavour gets better! Different kinds of vinegar will give a different acidic hit. Best to use malt vinegar and it’s readily available at UK supermarkets.
My daughter is celiac and I canāt bring anything gluten containing into the house. I know you said malt vinegar is the best for this but what would be a second best option?
Though it won’t have the same color or flavor, you can use another type of vinegar if you wish. Apple cider, white wine, etc. Or maybe three parts apple cider vinegar and one part balsamic. Make a small batch and see what you think :)
What size jars are required?
I use standard 1-lb jars for mine. They’re the same size that honey and jam come in. You can use pint jars or whatever other sized jars you wish though.
I tried this last year and had never made chutney before. It was delicious and I’ll be making it again very soon. I added 6 apples from the garden, some chilli flakes and mustard seeds and it took 5 hours to reduce down. Definitely well worth it! Thank you for the recipe!
Made this last year mmmm this year most of tomatoes didnāt ripen. But I have made again put it on at three in afternoon itās still boiling down but smells yummy but itās on 6 hours. Wondering g could I use less vinegar to reduce boil off time as I have at least three more batches to do. Going to add in few bits of mango and plum in next batch and ginger in third batch but need to reduce it faster
Hi Mary, and yes you could reduce it by half. It won’t have the exact same flavor but will still be lovely :)
Rather than bottling it can it be frozen??
Yes :) That would be an easy way to store green tomato chutney, though it would take up a lot of space in the freezer.
Hi Tanya
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made a kilo batch yesterday. The batch took over 3 hours to reach the desired consistency but tasted delicious.I followed the instructions for water-bathing. But time was getting on, so afterwards I went to bed. Is there a way of telling whether the process worked?
Suze
If you can’t tell if the lid has been sucked down and sealed, you’ll know by opening the first jar. It will make a slight popping noise like jars of chutney or jam from the supermarket makes. They are all water-bathed on a much bigger level!
Awesome .. although I added an apple and more cayenne and black pepper .. this is definitely a go back to recipe .. thanks very much !!
Hi Mike, Did you use a cooking or eating apple?
Easy to follow recipe and added some coriander, yellow mustard and juniper seeds to balance out all of that vinegar. In the U.K. difficult to find organic malt vinegar so using our local organic cider instead. Smells divine and canāt wait to taste.
Thanks for the spice recommendations. I used black mustard seeds instead and loved it.
I have only ever bought green tomato chutney in the past. I grew tomatoes this year and grew them outside. The weather spoilt the plants whilst they were laden with green fruit. Not wanting them to go to waste I decided to make chutney, from them. I chose this recipe and boy am I glad I did. It is truly delicious and as a first time maker of chutney, a very easy recipe to follow. Very happy. I am going to make another batch tomorrow. ???
Hi , Iāve had this cooking for nearly 3 hours and itās not thinking, can you help !
Keep cooking :)
I have made this green tomato chutney two years running now.It is so delicious my friends and family are anxiously waiting for the next batch!!
I added sultanas this time instead of raisins which made it slightly less tart,
but its definitely a matter of taste.
Thank you for such a tasty and successful recipe, its top of my list to do every year when my tomatoes are growing!!
Tried it last year 2020 the best ! Now I’m doing it again I love this recipe (so are my friends)
Hello I have made Green Tomato Jam and am about to try Green Tomato Chutney, for the first time .I have never made Green Tomato Jam or Chutney before, The way I sterilise my Jars is in the oven I was them in Hot soapy water then rinse them ,then in the oven they go for about an hour on 150deg the lids get a good soaking in boiling water ,when the product is ready to go into the jars you take the jars out of the oven fill with them dry the lids with paper towel and seal the jars i have done this process for many years and have never had a problem ,as i don’t have a special preserving out fit thank yoiu for your chutney recipe I will try it today
Help! Made this today, sneaky taste test was delicious! However 3 out of 5 cans did not seal. I don’t have jar tongs so removed them from water bath awkwardly and some of them tipped sideways – this might be why? Anyway how do I rescue them!
Hi Maria, if they’ve not sealed, then you could try water bathing them again or eating them within the next month or so :)
Same here I have always done my jars like that. They have been done like that since forever.
Hi all, I used similar recipe and used corn flour to help thicken because I like the smoother texture and rather than going to all the hassle of sterilizing jars and hoping they seal, I froze it in a silicone muffin tray, filled to top and made sure no air bubbles and then laid gladwrap over the top and then once frozen, removed from the tray and wrapped each one in gladwrap – will keep up to a year easy frozen and doesn’t affect the flavor and is the perfect size when having dinner guests and need a pottle at each end of table.
Hey Michael…do you know if you’re retarding long-term flavour development by freezing rather than having the sealed jars at room temperature for months? I’m definitely considering freezing as you have, but I’m concerned doing so inhibits flavour development that sitting time apparently provides.
Good Morning
I live in the US, Montana, by Yellowstone national park, maybe you’ve heard of it. Anyway, it’s -20 below zero Fahrenheit and I’m dying to make this recipe. We don’t have any green tomatoes. What should I do??? Help please. Good Day
You’ll need to be patient for green-tomato season :)
Turned out way too vinegary to eat. I used a combo of white and apple cider vinegar but otherwise followed the recipe. Can it be rescued?
I think you have your answer as to why it’s too vinegary — different kinds of vinegar are finer in flavor than others. Probably no way to rescue your batch, but you could gift it to others who like a sharp vinegary pickle. Also, if you make the recipe again, stick with the malt vinegar or a lighter flavored vinegar such as white wine vinegar :)
Hi there, ready to try this, I have a batch of green tomatoes waiting. Have just read the remarks about how long it takes to reduce….just wondering if it could be pressure cooked for a while? And do you have a good recipe for red tomatoes? Many thanks Rosie
I’ve not tried to pressure cook it, but using that method probably wouldn’t speed up the time needed to reduce the chutney. The pan needs to be open so that steam can escape as the green tomato chutney bubbles away.
I tried this recipe today and have just filled & water bathed 9 medium sized jars. It’s cooling now. Can’t wait to try it. All in all it was a very easy recipe to follow.
This recipe is just delicious! I used apple cider vinegar and apple instead of malt vinegar and raisins for a sweeter taste. I also added an extra 100ml of water just to reduce the acidness of vinegar and everything was cooked in 1.5h! Because we liked it so much and feel this is not going to last much longer, I didn’t go through the sterilize and sealing process. I just put it on a reused commercial jar, closed and kept it in the refrigerator. Thanks for sharing!
Ding Dong saved the day, green tom’s turned into lovely chutney really nice and the sterilising advice spot on, jars seal as tight as a bug in a rug. Make them hard to open but that’s a good thing. Thank you for giving advice on how to make use of this years failed crop.
I think tom’s the world over seem to be green this year :(
Absolutely amazing took lot longer but omg itās gorgeous only had enough own tomatoes to make half load. But Iāll defo be doing this next year
Mine turned out well, but is a little too sweet for my taste. Next time I’ll reduce the sugar content by about 1.5 cups and maybe use 0.5 cups of molasses instead. I might also use double strength pickling vinegar to reduce the amount of liquid by half so that it doesn’t take quite so long (3+ hours) to boil down.
Otherwise, it’s a good way to use up green tomatoes. We get a tsunami of them in September in our short growing season here in Saskatchewan.
Absolutely delish. Love the simplicity of the recipe and the extra tips on storage, super tasty, made a great gift too for some friends.
Soooo sorry I didn’t read all the comments first! I would have added some of my excess runner beans to the recipe! It is boiling at the moment but only a small batch.
Cooking time is very wrong! I have doubled this recipe and itās been simmering away now for 8 hours! I donāt think itās ever going to thicken. Very upset as I followed recipe very closely and it took me ages to prepare all the veg, along with some very painful onion cutting.
Just keep cooking Amie — the larger the batch, the longer it will take. Make sure the lid is off of your pan and turn up the heat a little to speed up the process.
Hi. Having a crack at this recipe as I have loads of green toms. The 2 litres of vinegar does not seem to be reducing much after 2 hours is simmering. Iāve used 2 kg of toms and 2kg of onions. Any suggestions please. Thanks, Greg.
Turn up the heat Greg, and keep cooking :) The larger the batch you make, the longer it will take to make
Iāve made it now. How long before I can consume?
You can technically eat it as soon as it’s made, but if you wait a month or two, it will be even better :)
Hi,
Your comments regarding the lack of proper guidance regarding canning in the UK are correct and well advised, I think the more people who are encouraged to research it and understand the science the better. I have only just started canning (out of boredom during the lockdown, new found hobbies has been one of the few upsides)!
I researched a lot before I started and was 100% convinced by the need to use the hot- bath method or a pressure canner or a steam oven – I have a Miele steam oven that comes with instruction for the correct canning process. I bought mason jars with 2 part lids and am convinced doing it properly is the safest method.
I think it is not wise to continue to do it the way it’s always been done if the science tells us it’s wrong.
I also wanted to gift some of my produce to friends & neighbours and would not have felt comfortable doing so if I had knowingly cut corners.
Great recipe too ?
Quick question and I should preface this by saying I like a sour, vinegar taste. I tasted the chutney after it cooled down. I found it extremely sour however the overall taste was terrific. Can I reduce the vinegar in the recipe without interfering with the preservation of the chutney? And if so, what would you recommend. Also, I noticed at least one post that indicated they waited a month before they tried the chutney. Is waiting recommended?
Thanks.
Hi Terri, chutneys are a type of pickle, and have a lot of vinegar added (just like my dill pickle recipe). You could attempt to reduce the vinegar if you wish but I wouldn’t reduce it drastically. Also, there are different types of vinegar and some might be better suited for you. A more mellow vinegar that I’d recommend is white wine vinegar.
Hi. Thanks for getting back. I was wondering if it was the type of vinegar as I don’t use malt vinegar generally. I’ll try it with the white wine vinegar. Look forward to doing another batch.
Hello….Iām going to make your recipe this weekend for the first time as it m my seems to be delicious. I have all the ingredients but not malt vinegar.
Can I use the same amount of balsamic vinegar?
Thanks
Oooh…I think you’d get a much different flavor with balsamic. I’m not sure it would be a good one so if you do try it out, I’d recommend only making a small batch to start :)
So this year everyone has an abundance of green toms so what to do. I researched a lot and liked the look of this recipe. My wife made 12 jars of this from our green toms and everyone and me who has tried it thinks it fantastic to date.
Hi, can I cook this chutney in a slow cooker overnight ?
Thanks
Slow cookers rely on moisture staying inside the cooker and you place a lid on top to stop it from escaping. For this recipe, you’re trying to boil the excess moisture off. So no, a slow cooker probably wouldn’t work — and I’d definitely not recommend keeping one on overnight without a lid. That would be a recipe for disaster ?
I, like many others in this comment section, have never made chutney before, but am giving this a go as I’m writing this. My kitchen smells divine!! The chutney looks amazing too already. I cannot wait to can this up. May have made waaay more than I thought, but had to use up all those green toms. Very happy so far. Thank you for this simple, and awesome recipe
Smelling great as it bubbles away. I substituted fresh chillies for cayenne pepper as I have a load of those too at end of summer. In uk I’ve made pickles and chutneys and jams and aside from sterilising the jars before filling never felt the need to water bath. I don’t refrigerate after opening either. And my preserves still last longer than store bought. Just use your senses. If it smells good it is generally. :-)
I added a teaspoonful of ground fenugreek which I thought worked well. Also great way to use runner beans this time of year – used 50-50 mix chopped runner beans to replace green tomatoes (but make sure they’re not stringy) and that worked well too.
No probs re lids just found all my friends who preserve use the sterilising programme on their dishwasher for jars & lids
Thank you anyway
Hi there just about to try your recipe
Sounds great
On the sterilising issue what about the lids?
Do they go in the boil too?
Lids go on then the jars go into boiling water and are covered by an inch. Jars are boiled for five minutes.
This recipe is great. The chutney is very easy to make and it tastes delicious! Just like the other lady, I have added some mustard seeds and a bit more spice – crushed birds eye chillies. Beware! You do need to cook it for three hours plus to get a nice ‘just right’ consistency. I am also going to make a curried version of this deliciousness. Thank you for a great recipe!
I have
e never made chutney before but decided to give it a try as I have a glut of green tomatoes. I did it in my slow cooker and kept it on low for 24 hours, result…….delicious.
FYI for anyone tripling the recipeāit took us 24 hours to boil it down enough. The recipe tastes okay. Good way to use up a lot of green tomatoes. Hoping the flavors will taste even better once we open the jars this winter.
I have
e never made chutney before but decided to give it a try as I have a glut of green tomatoes. I did it in my slow cooker and kept it on low for 24 hours, result…….delicious.
I have always just put my jars and lids in a hot oven to sterilise before spooning in the chutney – does this achieve the same as the water bath?
Hi Steve, to put it in an understandable context, the jars and lids after they’ve been heated in the oven are like a person wearing a mask in a COVID-free area. Totally safe. The moment you take them out of the oven they’re back in the world of microbes. Then as they cool on the counter to warm, their mask disappears. If the jars or lids accidentally come into contact with anything before you spoon food into them and seal them then bacteria, mold, or another type of microbe can make it into your food. Putting the jars back into a water-bath to sterilize them again puts them back in a 100% safe zone. If they’re not water-bathed, then it’s like a game of chance. High acid preserves like this are unlikely to grow deadly levels of botulism but I’ve made preserves before (elderberry syrup) without water-bathing, only to discover mold growing in them after opening.
We have an abundance of tomatoes this year and just about to make my second batch of this, its delicious and easy to make! So please I came across this recipe. I did find it needed nearer 3hrs to simmer down though.
How long do you have to leave it before opening
A month at least :)
We made this today (like so many itās our first attempt at chutney) and after it was cold we tasted it, I donāt think it will last a month lol. We are looking for more tomatoes so we can make more. Absolutely delicious ā¤ļøā¤ļøā¤ļø
Awesome! I used cider vinegar because that’s what I had. Really nice. I will keep this recipe. Thanks.
Looking forward to trying the recipe! I had green tomato chutney last year for the first time, and yum!
What is the alternative to rack in this sentence? ‘Fill a tall pan with water and place either a rack at the bottom.’
Or a towel :) When the water is hot enough, pop a bath/tea towel in the pan and push it to the bottom with some tongs. You can set your jars on top and the fabric will protect the glass from direct heat.
First time growing tomatoes! Not easy in the Scottish climate! However picked the last green ones today September 29th and used this easy recipe. It was lovely to smell the aroma throughout the house. Added 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds and about 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes. Delicious! Just a hint of heat to a sweet, tangy chutney! Have saved this recipe to use next year! Thank you! If you have never made chutney – definitely give this a try!
This recipe looks amazing (also have noted the added ingredients in one of the comments,
Iām not an expert canner so Iām hoping someone can help. My husband detests raisins and even in a chutney he will be put off by them. If I omit them will the balance still be ok for canning?
It’s totally fine to leave them out, though you should make up their amount (1 cup) with another ingredient of your choice. More onions, tomatoes, etc.
Does it matter what type of brown sugar you use?
Use whatever type you’d like :)
Hi Iām in the process of making a large batch 3kg , it is taking a bit of time to thicken , now Iām concerned as I donāt want it to burn ?
The smell is delicious, the taste is sweet / sour but on the sharp side ?
Have you any advice on thinking ?
And taste ?
Smells and looks delicious ā¤ļø
It may take a lot longer to cook down, especially since you’re making such a big batch. Just keep cooking and stirring to make sure it doesn’t burn at the bottom of the pan :)
Unfortunately I burnt a side of my pan, the chutney tastes ok but have I ruined it šæ ???
Hard to say. If there are charred pieces or flecks in the chutney, then you’ll probably taste it. Have you tasted it?
First time trying to make chutney. Great recipe but did take about 2 hours to reduce with a very strong odour of vinegar. However end result went down very well with the family. Next time I do this recipe will probably use slightly less sugar as it is quite sweet. Many thanks.
Lovely recipe, but I have to point out that you are incorrect about the UK not having a body for food safety advice and being outdated. It is called the Food Standards Agency and also local Environmental Health Officers for the area wherever you live. It is certainly not outdated as you claim, and the whole of the European Community are also included in that food safety legislation
Thanks Susan :) The Foods Standards Agency isn’t outdated in the topics it covers but it does not give advice on home preserving. It’s an agency that deals with the safety of purchased food, food hygiene, food safety, and farming.
I made 6 jars yesterday, gorgeous recipe, nice to find something without apples!
Can you tell me if this develops a sweeter taste the longer itās left please?
I agree with Susan, the comment about British preserving techniques was rather rude and uncalled for. Never in 25 years of preserving has anyone been poisoned.
Hi Tracy and glad you liked the recipe. As for the comment on British preserving — I’m sorry to offend but not water-bathing preserves isn’t safe preserving. Without it, and preserves can go off, develop mold, and potentially make you sick. There’s no proper governmental guidance here on home canning because so few people do it here compared to other places. If there were, you can bet the guideance would be in line with the USA, Canada, Australia, and Europe on water-bathing.
You need to add a note – chutney needs about 8-12 weeks after making to properly develop into a pickle. It will taste too sour just after making because the garlic and spice flavours will not yet have matured.
We don’t fret about sterilising in the UK because the temp of the pickle will kill off most mould potential – just ensure the jars are completely filled and the lids have been immersed in boiling water – lids are where most problems come from.
Lovely recipe, nice and sweet. I used sultanas instead of raisins. Took a lot longer than an hour to reduce down!
Is it ok to freeze the chutney vs canning?
I’ve never heard of anyone doing this but I suppose you could put it into small containers and freeze it. I imagine that once defrosted, you’ll need to keep it in the fridge and eat within a couple of weeks.
Just watching mine bubble away now. I used red wine vinegar and dates as my dried fruit as that’s what I had in. It smells divine so far!!! Never done this before but we live chutney and we had lots of green tomatoes!!
I remember my mother making jars of it every year to give to friends and relatives as part of a Christmas hamper the following year. Can’t quite remember the recipe, got it written down somewhere, but she used to make her own pickling vinegar first and I’m not sure if she didn’t use sultanas instead of raisins. In those days you used to be able to get green tomato’s from the grocers, came across some for the first time a couple of days ago so I’m going to give it a try.
Took me longer than in the recipe to evaporate the juices ang get desired thickness but yes best recipe I found so far. Thanks
I was wondering if I can use cider vinegar instead of malt, as I’ve got plenty in the cupboard? I see from earlier comments that somebody was going to try this but don’t think they said how it went.
Yes you could Lynda — any vinegar will do but each will leave its own flavor in the preserve.
I’m going to try 1/2 balsamic and 1/2 pickling vinegar as that’s all I can get. The malt vinegar is sold out in all the stores, as is the apple cider. There’s a huge canning kick on here in Canada, and it’s very hard to find jars or even lids for the jars you already have.
Hello! Very tempted by your green chutney recipe. Made some decades ago with a friend just guided by our nose and taste buds. And loved it. Quite forgotten about it. Could i throw in some zucchini, do you think, and more onion instead of the sultanas?
Thanks?.
The beauty of chutneys is that you can customize them to your heart’s desire. Go for it with the onions and zucchini :)
I have masses of tiny, dark green, unripe cherry tomatoes (Koralik). I’ve never grown tomatoes before and possibly should have taken a good number of tiny ones off earlier. As it is, although we’ve had some ripe red ones, most of the crop is tiny as well as not red. They taste bitter rather than sour, but look healthy, I just don’t think there’s much hope of their growing to full size even, let alone ripening to red. Would you use these tiny ones to make chutney?
Hi Sue, if there’s any doubt in your mind about the flavor of any of your ingredients, don’t use them. Or at least make a very small batch to test.
I still have loads of little ones going red every day even now. Pick them before they go full red and put on the window sill. Also deleaf the plant a bit, keep removing the dead and lower leaves and any that are covering the fruit. This will expose the fruit to the sun and concentrate the plants efforts into ripening the remaining green fruit. Good luck.
Hi,
I’ve got loads of green toms just waiting to do this next weekend (if they haven’t ripened by then) but I was wondering what size jars you are basing this on?
Thanks in advance
Hi Kate, they’re pint jars, 454g/16oz.
Hi, I have just made this with 1kg of tomatoes and it filled two 16oz and one 8oz jars.
Iāve just made this recipe. I reduced the sugar to 400g, half brown and half granulated white sugar. Also I only put 24fl oz of vinegar in, mostly as I had limited malt vinegar and had to top up with distilled white vinegar. Tastes amazing boiling away in the pan, canāt wait to bottle it up!
During lock down we decided to do grow our own tomatoes. But not having a greenhouse we left ours outside, plenty of green tomatoes and we did not want to waste them. Never made chutney before and as we speak it is simmering away. Went for the 2 kilos recipe. Smells divine and tastes delicious. I would say though it takes longer than an hour to reduce, more like 3 hours. Done a large batch as i like to give them to family and friends as Christmas presents, along with homemade choc truffles.
Hello all
Am in the process of making green tomato chutney as we speak. I have never heard of water bathing.
Do I need to do this? I’m getting a bit stressed by it.
Water bathing isn’t common in the UK, where only simple preserving is the norm, but is standard in the USA and other places. It’s to ensure that there’s absolutely nothing harmful is going to grow inside the bottles. Saying that, high acid environments like chutneys are unlikely to be colonized by dangerous pathogens. I usually skip the water bathing step when I make my own chutneys.
Just pulled out the last of my cherry tomatoes and have a mixture of red and green. Would it be ok to use a mixture of both do you think? Made this with just green a couple of weeks ago and loved it. Thanks,
Wendy
I’ve made this recipe with a mix of both and it was just fine. A little softer than with just green but still very tasty :)
Hi! I came across your recipe from google. Just finished making a batch and tested it on a cracker with some cheese. Itās amazing! So simple to make and tastes so good. Thanks for the recipe! Iāve never made chutney before btw! But I had so many green tomatoes leftover and I had no idea what to do with them until a relative suggested a chutney. I swapped out the brown sugar for a brown natural sweetener that I use a lot in baking and cooking. Will definitely be saving this recipe for future use!
Not sure of the sugar amount. 500g is much more than 1 and half cups. So I used the cup amount.
Made this tonight. Takes considerably longer than an hour to reduce, everyone in the house hated the smell of the vinegar as it boiled off (except me!), but an initial taste suggests it will be superb, though perhaps more on the sweet pickle side of the chutney scale. Had a partial jar at the end of proceedings, so will open very early and test with some cheddar and/or ham in a sandwich.
My first attempt at a chutney s and I think it will end up fantastic after a month or two in the jar. ?
Yes I agree, it took more like 3 hours of simmering to get it to a thick consistency. Well worth it though, tastes delish.
I’m making a batch at the moment and my family are also complaining about the smell, I was getting worried! Glad to know it will be great in the end, as this is my first attempt at chutney too. :-)
Can you make this without the raisins or sultanas? If so, do you need to add extra weight of tomatoes and onions?
You can omit them and yes, bulk up the extra amount with other ingredients in the recipe. You could add your own extras in there too! Whatever you have leftover from the garden.
Made a batch of the chutney and am making a second batch as we really liked it. The only change I made was reduce the garlic to one clove as a personal preference.
That’s the beauty of making your own preserves! Enjoy Marlene :)
Has anyone tried making this in a slow cooker?
I haven’t but if you try it and it works I’d love to hear about your experience.
I just tried it in instant pot pressure cooker and I don’t recommend that. Without being able to evaporate, it came out very watery so I ended up dirtying another pot to reduce it on the stove anyway. The end result tasted great though! I used chopped dates because I had no raisins.
Hi John – I made some rhubarb chutney a bit earlier in the year but haven't opened a jar yet. I hope it's as good as yours though :)
We were blessed with the same this year. A lot of green tomatoes. Everything was very late. Carol made green tomato chutney. Very good. She also made rhubarb chutney . It was also very good.
Mrs Bok – green tomato chutney is DIVINE…I think you'll enjoy it too :)
Sue – Thank you and I hope he likes the recipe :)
Hi Fran – if you're ever sailing around our area you're more than welcome to stop by :)
A friend rang asking for a green tomato chutney recipe last week – I'll have to point him in your direction.
Oooooooooo yum!! That's what I'll do with my green tomatoes this summer if they fail to ripen! I've never tried making green tomato anything before!
That looks good. Get the cheddar and home made bread out and I will be round soon ! x
The smell of autumn preserving…so good! :)
Oh, I can almost smell that cooking!
My first time making anything like this and it was super easy and very nice – so nice that I am making a second batch just one day later. Today I am trying with apple cider vinegar as I have run out of malt and it is not so easy to find in Poland, so hopefully it will still be nice. Thanks very much for the recipe – much the most simple that I found and a big success!