When I was little, we moved into a house in Wembley, London. From the neighbour’s garden, lush pears fell into ours. The lovely neighbours have encouraged my mother’s use of the pears and also enjoyed the chutney as much as we all have over nearly sixty years. My mother is still making it – wonderful.
Ingredients
25g / 1oz Root ginger, roughly chopped
1x5ml spoon / 1 teaspoon Cloves
2.75kg / 6lb Pears, peeled, cored and chopped
500g / 1lb Onions, peeled and chopped
100g / 4oz Stem ginger, finely chopped
Grated rind and juice of three oranges
750g / 1.5lb Granulated sugar
900ml / 1.5 pints Red wine vinegar
Makes about 1.75kg / 4lb
Cooking time: about 2 hours
Tie the root ginger and cloves in a muslin bag, then place all the ingredients in a large pan. Stir over a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 1.5 hours or until the chutney is thick. Remove the muslin bag and spoon the chutney while still hot into prepared jars. Seal with airtight, vinegar-proof covers.
(My mother actually uses 5oz root or sometimes even crystalized ginger, foregoing the stem ginger.)
Wiola Hola
