Name: Golden Pear Chutney
Yield: Makes 5 pints
Ingredients: 3 pounds hard, underripe pears, peeled, seeded, and chopped (about 6 cups); 3 cups light or dark brown sugar; 3 cups apple cider vinegar; 1 tablespoon mustard seeds; 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper; 1/4 pound crystallized ginger, chopped (about 2/3 cup); 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/2 teaspoon Quatre-Epices; 1 cup dark raisins; 1 cup light raisins; 2 cups chopped onion; 1 lemon, peeled and thinly sliced

Lowcountry cooking is full of ideas that seem foreign to outsiders. This sweet and spicy chutney is the perfect foil for salty country ham. Ground together, the two form a paste for memorable appetizers.

Recipe information

Yield
Makes 5 pints

Ingredients

3 pounds hard, underripe pears, peeled, seeded, and chopped (about 6 cups)

3 cups light or dark brown sugar

3 cups apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon mustard seeds

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

1/4 pound crystallized ginger, chopped (about 2/3 cup)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon Quatre-Epices

1 cup dark raisins

1 cup light raisins

2 cups chopped onion

1 lemon, peeled and thinly sliced

Preparation

Cook the pears in water to cover until they are medium-soft. Drain, saving the water, then make a syrup of the water in which the pears were cooked and the brown sugar by boiling in a large nonreactive pot until thick, about 20 to 30 minutes. While the syrup is boiling, add the remaining ingredients to the pears, then mix everything together and cook for about 30 minutes or until the raisins are softened, the onions are transparent, and the chutney has a good thick consistency. Transfer to sterilized jars and seal; process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Cover of Hoppin' John's Lowcountry Cooking by John Martin Taylor

Excerpted from Hoppin’ John’s Lowcountry Cooking: Recipes and Ruminations From Charleston and the Carolina Coastal Plain © 1992, 2012 by John Martin Taylor. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved. Buy the full book from Amazon or Bookshop.

Recipe information

Ingredients

Preparation

Recipe notes