Easy Apple & Cranberry Chutney

This Christmas cranberry chutney recipe is flavoured with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. The addition of cranberries makes it festive and chutney makes a great holiday gift for family and friends.

You can get around 3 jars of chutney with this apple and dried cranberry chutney recipe. However, the recipe is easily doubled if you have an abundance of apples growing in your gardens at home. Once made the chutney can be stored, unopened for up to 12 months.

Apples contain high amounts of pectin which allows the chutney to set naturally, so there's no need to add any thickeners or jam sugar.

Recipe ingredients

• Apples - I used tart red apples from a friends garden to make the chutney. Granny Smith apples would be a good substitute as they have a firm texture and lovely sharp apple flavour. You can use any variety of eating apple, but opt for one with firm flesh so that it doesn't break down too much when cooked.
• Cranberries - I've used dried cranberries in this recipe, but you could also use fresh cranberries when they are in season and available in stores.
• Dates - dates add great sweetness to the chutney, for ease I use ready pitted dates, but if you have pitted dates its really easy to remove the pit.
• Onion - I use a brown onion as it has a great strong flavour which works well in a chutney.
• Garlic - I also like to add a little garlic to this chutney which adds to the savoury flavour.
• Vinegar - I use apple cider vinegar in this recipe as it adds acidity which balances out all the sweetness.
• Sugar - I like to use soft brown sugar in a chutney as it has a rich molasses flavour. There is no need to use jam sugar as both the apples are high in pectin which helps the chutney to set naturally.
• Ground spices - I use a combination of ground ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg in this chutney.
• Sea salt - I like to add a teaspoon of sea salt which helps to balance out the sweetness and acidity in this chutney.

How to make apple & cranberry chutney

• Take time to peel and core the apples, then cut into even sized 1cm pieces.
• If not using pitted dates, remove and discard the pits, then chop the dates into small pieces.
• Place the apples, cranberries and dates into a large heavy bottomed saucepan, along with the remaining ingredients. Give everything a stir.

• Place the saucepan over the heat, bring to a boil, then turn the pan down low and simmer gently for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until the chutney is soft and has a jam like consistency.
• You will know the chutney is ready when you pull a wooden spoon through the mixture, and it remains separate and does not run together again.
• While the chutney is cooking, sterilise the chutney jars.
• Once the chutney is ready to pot up, place a jam funnel over the mouth of the jar and carefully ladle in the chutney.
• Fill each jar, leaving a little space at the top, and carefully cover with a wax disc.

• Using oven gloves, place the lid on the jar and secure tightly.
• Set the jars aside to cool completely before labelling and storing in a cool, dark space.

How to sterilise jars?

It is essential that before jarring or bottling any food for storage, that you sterilise the glass jar or bottle first. There are many methods for doing this, all of them relatively straight-forward:

• Firstly, you can wash the glass and lids in hot soapy water, rinse them (do not towel dry) and place on a tray in the oven at 160C/140CFan/320F for 15 minutes, removing when you are ready to fill. This is my preferred method.
• You can put them through a dishwasher cycle, removing them from the dishwasher as soon as the cycle has finished and filling them with chutney immediately afterwards. I use this method if my dishwasher happens to be going on.
• You can boil the jars and lids in a large pan for 10-15 minutes. [I’m never keen on this method as it involves boiling water and leads to an increased risk of scalding.]
• Finally, you can wash and rinse the glass jars, placing them into the microwave wet and then cooking them on high for 60 seconds. However, the lids would have to be boiled in a pan of water separately for 10-15 minutes as metal cannot go in the microwave. [I have never used this method as it involves 2 separate processes which I think is a bit of a faff!]

Recipe variations

• Dried Fruit - I used cranberries for their tart flavour, and medjool dates as they have a wonderful caramel flavour, but you could add other dried fruits like raisins, sultanas, figs or prunes.
• Sugar - I've opted for a light brown sugar as it's got a better depth of flavour, but you could use regular granulated sugar here too.
• Vinegar - apple cider wine vinegar works well with the apples, but you could also use sherry vinegar, white wine, or red wine vinegar.
• Spices - use any variety of spices, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, clove, nutmeg, star anise, or black pepper.

Serving suggestions

This classic apple and cranberry chutney works really well with cheese, cold meats and salamis, olives and fresh fruits like grapes and figs. Perfect with crackers and oat cakes. It would also make a great addition to Ploughman's platter with some crusty bread.

I also like to serve chutney with my Savoury Cheese Scones, Cheese & Jalapeno Scones, or Cheese & Chive Scones, replacing the jam with chutney and swapping the clotted cream for cream cheese!

Useful hints and tips

1. Opt for firm fleshed fruit: When choosing fruit for chutney opt for ripe fruit with a firm flesh, which will hold it's shape a better when cooked. If you use overly ripe fruit, you risk it breaking down too much which can make the chutney sloppy.
2. Use a heavy bottomed pan: I always use a pan with a heavy base when making jams or chutneys. This is essential as it retains an even heat. Do not use a thin bottomed pan or you risk the chutney heating up too quickly, sticking and burning to the bottom!
3. Use a wax jam/chutney disk: Place a wax disc over the top of the chutney, this helps keep the chutney fresh, stopping the air from spoiling it. Seal with a tight fitting lid and set aside to cool before labelling.
4. Jars: This recipe will give you approximately 3 x 350g jars.
5. Allow to sit: For the best flavour, try to leave the chutney to sit for at least 2 weeks before opening. This will allow the flavours to develop and meld together, resulting in a better tasting chutney.
6. This chutney is gluten free, and containing no dairy is suitable for dairy free and vegan diners.
7. Allergy advice: gluten free, dairy free, egg free, soya free and nut free. For comprehensive and detailed allergy advice go to Allergy UK.

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Additional recipe suggestions

If you like this recipe then try some of my other preserve recipes:

• Spiced Pear & Apple Chutney
• Spiced Plum Chutney
• Pear & Walnut Chutney
• Date & Tamarind Chutney
• Spicy Sweet Chilli Jam
• Piccalilli