Nectarine Kumquat Habanero Chutney

Nectarine Kumquat Habanero Chutney has the perfect blend of sweet and sharp and spicy. The tart kumquats add an extra bite to the sweet nectarines and the heat of the habaneros complements the dried spices, giving this chutney a distinctly Indian flair.

This week my Sunday Supper group is sharing recipes that save the summer harvest. I love adding peppers, especially habaneros, to sweet condiments. There’s something special about that hit of heat and sweet that goes so perfectly with pork or chicken. I just can’t resist. One day soon I’ll share the recipe for my confit pork belly, shown here, because it’s my favorite thing to eat with nectarine kumquat habanero chutney. But meanwhile, serve it along side grilled chicken breasts or pan-fried pork chops.

Ingredients
12 1/3 oz or 350g kumquats
3 cups or 710ml apple cider vinegar
3 lbs 12 oz or 1700g nectarines
2 tablespoon canola or other light oil
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
12 fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon kalonji
4 in or 9cm piece of cinnamon stick
1 cup or 240ml fresh orange juice
2 large, thick thumb-sized pieces fresh ginger
6 cups or 1200g sugar
3-4 habanero peppers – about 38g

Method
Wash your kumquats and remove any stems.  Finely slice them, removing any large green seeds.

Pile them in a bowl and cover them with the vinegar. Push them down into a little if necessary. Cover the bowl with cling film and let marinate for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to proceed, chop your ginger finely. Mince your fresh habaneros. You can discard the seeds but know that even doing that, this is going to be pretty spicy. Be very careful with the habaneros. I recommend you use gloves. Do not, I repeat, do not touch anything – face, eyes, nose, etc. – before washing your hands very thoroughly with full strength soap, or better yet, an abrasive scouring powder, just in case.

Measure out your spices, putting the mustard seeds in one bowl and the rest of the spices in another.

Seed and thinly slice your nectarines. No need to peel them.



In a large pot, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds. When they start to pop, add in the other spices and give the whole thing a quick stir.

Now add in the chopped ginger and stir again. Pour in the orange juice.

Now add in the kumquats and the vinegar they marinated in. Bring to a low boil and cook for about 10 minutes.

Add in the nectarines, habaneros, the stick of cinnamon and sugar.

Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn the fire down.  Be careful at the beginning because the sugar really makes it bubble up.  You do not want this to boil over!

Cook until the chutney thickens to your desired consistency. Remember that once it cools, it will thicken even more so stop before you can stand a spoon in it or it will be too thick cold. I cooked mine for almost one hour over a low heat. If you are a thermometer using type, I find that jam or chutney will set when cooled if heated to just under 220°F or 105°C.

Turn off the fire and remove the cinnamon stick.

Transfer the boiling chutney to sterilized jars, popping in clean teaspoons to make sure the jars don’t break. Screw the sterilized lids on tightly.  I use the inversion method to seal my jars but experts like Rebecca Lindamood, author of Not Your Mama’s Canning Book does not recommend this. She advocates processing the jars in a boiling water bath or pressure canner.

Enjoy! If you like kumquats, you might also like my spicy tangy sticky kumquat chutney.

Check out all the fabulous recipes our Sunday Supper tastemakers are sharing this week to save the summer harvest. Many thanks to today's host Caroline of Caroline's Cooking and our event manager Renee of Renee's Kitchen Adventures.

Condiments

• Blackberry Lemon Thyme Syrup by Sunday Supper Movement
• Brinjal pickle (Indian eggplant relish/aubergine chutney) by Caroline’s Cooking
• Freezer Mixed Berry Puree by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Ginger Fig Jam by Palatable Pastime
• Herbed Salsa by What Smells So Good?
• Homemade Giardiniera by Curious Cuisiniere
• Homemade Sriracha by Monica’s Table
• Hot Pepper Oil by Feeding Big and more
• Mediterranean Chutney by Wholistic Woman
• Nanny’s 7-Day Sweet Pickles by Grumpy’s Honeybunch
• Nectarine Kumquat Habanero Chutney by Food Lust People Love
• No Pectin Mixed Berry Jam by My Imperfect Kitchen
• Peach Butter by Redhead Baker
• Pear Ginger Jam by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Simple Basil Butter by Momma’s Meals
• Spicy Mango Jam by Family Foodie
• Stove Top Roasted Garlic by Cricket’s Confections
• Tomato and Chili Pepper Jam by Delaware Girl Eats

Main dishes

• Grilled Peach and Burrata Pizza by An Appealing Plan
• Oven Roasted Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce by Renee’s Kitchen Adventures
• Tomato-Zucchini Pesto Flatbread with Chevre and Balsamic Drizzle by The Weekend Gourmet

Sides

• Garden Rice by Basic N Delicious
• Pickled Asian Vegetables by A Mind Full Mom

Snacks

• Homemade Fruit Leather by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Slow Cooker Cinnamon Apple Sauce by Books n’ Cooks

Dessert

• Chocolate Zucchini Banana Muffins by The Bitter Side of Sweet
• Drunken Peaches by Nosh My Way
• Freeze and Bake Blueberry Pie by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• How to Freeze Peaches and Make Peach Sauce by The Freshman Cook
• How to Make Chocolate Zucchini Bread by Asian In America
• Mom’s Zucchini Bread by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• Peach Yogurt Popsicles by Food Done Light
• Summer Fruit Crisp by Pies and Plots
• Summer Fruit Popsicles by Powered By BLING

Beverage

• Berry Shrubs + A Cocktail by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Pin this Nectarine Kumquat Habanero Chutney!

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Cherry Lemon Jam

Cherry lemon jam is made with juicy summer cherries and fresh lemon, cooked down with lemon zest and sugar. It's the perfect jammy marriage of sweet and sharp, as delicious on a piece of buttered toast as spooned over cold vanilla ice cream or stirred into a pot of natural yogurt.

One of my pet peeves is waste. That’s not to say that I don’t throw out my share of things in the refrigerator that somehow manage to work their way to the back, get forgotten, and grow legs on occasion, but it makes me sad when that happens. Especially when it’s something I really love to eat.

Here in Dubai, where temperatures rarely fall below an average low winter temperature of 57°F or 14°C, growing cherries, which require a chill time of 700-800 hours in order to flower and produce fruit, is just not an option. So all of the cherries that appear in our supermarkets are flown in at great expense from countries that enjoy near or freezing temperatures in winter.

As you might guess, those costs are passed on to consumers and cherries are crazy expensive to buy here. So one of my favorite summer rituals is buying and eating my not inconsiderable weight in cherries when I am in the States on holiday.

As I packed up to head back to Dubai this summer – and if you follow me on Instagram you know I mean that quite literally – I still had a big bowl of cherries on the kitchen counter. There was just no way I could leave those behind! So I got out the cherry pitter and went to work. Jamming is so much more satisfying than packing suitcases!

Jam making is really easy, with the right tools.
A digital scale and a thermometer are going to simplify the process. One of the secrets to easy fruit jam, that is jam that sets, is to add something acidic, like lemons which have natural pectin, and to cook the fruit with an appropriate amount of sugar until it reaches a temperature of 220°F or 105°C.

Since the amount of sugar depends on the weight of your cooked fruit, I’d like to suggest you buy a digital kitchen scale. < Amazon affiliate link to the one I use, but, honestly, any scale which can toggle between metric and imperial measures will do, giving you the freedom to use recipes from all over the world. (You can measure by volume but weighing is a lot less messy.)

If you don’t have one, may I suggest you get a thermometer as well? < Once again, that's an affiliate link to mine - costs about $14 and I use it ALL THE TIME. A thermometer takes the stress and worry of “will it set?” completely out of the jam making equation. Reaching the proper temperature hasn't failed me yet.

Ingredients
A bunch of cherries (mine weighed 2 lbs 5 oz or 1050g unpitted, with stems, 2 lbs 1 1/2 oz or 950g without pits and stems)
2 small lemons (about one per pound or half kilo of other fruit)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon salt
Sugar - an amount equivalent to 3/4 the weight of your cooked cherries and lemons and their juice – this batch was 2 lbs 2 1/2 oz or 978g – so I used 3 1/2 cups or 734g sugar

Method
Sterilize your jars and lids and put them at the ready, metal teaspoon in each, canning funnel perched in one, before you begin. Sterilize your ladle as well. The amounts given above made two pint jars and one half pint.

Pit your cherries and put them in a large non-reactive pot. (If you have a scale, go ahead and weigh the empty pot first and make a note of the weight for later.) Grate in the zest of your two lemons.

Cut the peels and pith (the white stuff) off of your lemons with a sharp knife. Remove all the seeds and chop the flesh into small chunks.

Scrape the chopped lemons and any juice on the cutting board, into the cherry pot.

Add the extra two tablespoons of lemon juice into the pot.

Cook the pitted cherries and lemons, covered, over a medium flame for about 15 or 20 minutes, until they have released some juice and the cherries have softened.

Use a potato masher to mash them lightly, leaving some cherries whole.

Measure your cooked fruit, juices and all, by volume or weight and then do a little math. Add 3/4 that amount of sugar, along with the salt.

My calculation looked like this:
Pot weighs 1300g empty.
With cooked cherries and lemon, it weighs 2278g.  2278-1300 = 978g.
Weight of cooked fruit and juice = 978g x .75 = 734g or about 3 1/2 cups sugar to add

Cook the fruit, sugar and salt over a medium to high heat, uncovered, till the mixture starts to thicken. Stir frequently and set your thermometer in the pot. Cook quickly until the temperature reaches setting point for jam: 220°F or 105°C.

Quickly ladle the hot, sweet jam into your prepared jars and screw the lids on as tightly as you can manage.

Turn the jars upside down and leave to cool. The scalding cooked fruit further sterilizes the jars and as the jam cools, a suction forms and the lids are firmly sealed. The little circles on the lids should pop in and keep the jam safe for consumption for many months. If any of the seals don’t create a sufficient vacuum and the circles don’t pop in, store those jars in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

This week I am delighted to be hosting Sunday Supper with my friend and fellow blogger, Heather from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks. It’s our goal to encourage everyone to Save Summer Harvest with a number of methods, and in keeping with the mission of Sunday Supper, to enjoy the bounty of summer around your family table for months to come.

Canning

• Blackberry Chia Seed Jam from Books -n- Cooks
• Cherry Lemon Jam from Food Lust People Love
• Chocolate Blackberry Preserves from The Redhead Baker
• Gilded Bluebarb Jam from What Smells So Good?
• Hamburger Dill Chips from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Piri Piri Hot Sauce from Curious Cuisiniere
• Southwestern Salsa from The Freshman Cook
• Spiced Peach Jam from Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• Spiced Vanilla Rhubarb Jam from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Strawberry Balsamic Syrup from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Watermelon Butter from Palatable Pastime

Dehydrating

• Blueberry Peach Fruit Roll-Ups from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Dried Pineapple from Take A Bite Out of Boca

Fermentation

• Fermented Spicy Daikon Spears + A Cocktail from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Simple Pickled Cabbage from Simply Healthy Family

Freezing

• How to Freeze Blueberries from Pies and Plots
• Peach Crisp from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Roast Tomato Soup with Basil-Butter Croutons from Caroline's Cooking
• Summer Veggies from Momma's Meals

Infusing

• Raspberry Vinegar from Magnolia Days

Pickling

• Black Radish Pickles from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Bread & Butter Pickles from Adventures in All Things Food
• Homemade Bread and Butter Pickles from Life Tastes Good
• Mustard Pickles from Jane's Adventures in Dinner
• Pickled Cherries with Five Spices from Nosh My Way

Preserving in oil or butter

• Garden Herb Butter from An Appealing Plan
• Spinach and Pistachio Pesto from Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen

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Saving Summer Harvest

Farmer’s markets, overproducing gardens, neighbors who surreptitiously leave zucchini on your front porch, herb beds out of control! If you are so blessed, how do you deal with a bounteous summer harvest? Come this Sunday, #SundaySupper is here to help!

On Sunday I am cohosting Sunday Supper with my friend and fellow blogger, Heather from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks because the theme is one we are rather fond of, Saving Summer Harvest. If you’ve been reading along for at least a year, you might recall that I cohosted the same event last summer. And if you've been around even longer, you'll remember that Heather hosted it in 2013 when I shared my spicy sweet tomato chutney recipe (photo above) and she made Mixed Berry Rhubarb Jam! If you are scared of preserving your own produce, or think it is just too hard, this is the Sunday Supper for you!

Heather's Spring Conserve with strawberries, rhubarb, pineapple, raisins, and nuts from 2014

While I was growing up, my grandmothers and all of their contemporaries canned and froze and made preserves all summer long, usually fruit or vegetables from their own gardens. I’ll be honest, it looked like a lot of hard work (because it was!) so I avoided it for many years, until it occurred to me that I could do small batches, what my friend Kelli of Kelli’s Kitchen calls nano-canning. Well, I didn’t have a name for it back then, but two or three or five jars instead of 20 seemed do-able. Another turning point for me was learning how to vacuum seal my jars without actually using the hot water bath. I know this technique has its naysayers but for anything with a high sugar content and/or some acid like lemon juice or vinegar, it works just fine. Especially since, if you are making it on a small scale, it will get eaten relatively quickly.

How do you Save Summer Harvest?
There are myriad ways of preserving produce: salting (think capers and anchovies), smoking (red peppers ground into paprika), infusing (chili oils or fruit vinegars) not to mention canning (which could include sugar, salt and vinegar, all of which are great preservatives), dehydrating (for herbs and fruit), freezing (for most anything!) and the ever popular pickling, whether by fermentation or the addition of an acidic liquid like lemon juice or vinegar. And let’s not forget straight fermentation without which we would have no blue cheese or Camembert, wine or beer!  Last but not least, some ingredients can be preserved by enclosing or covering them in fat, for instance, potted shrimp, duck confit, compound butters, pestos and roasted peppers.

And while I’m sure that list seems long, I’ve left a few out, some which are ancient, like burying ingredients, for instance century eggs which are enclosed in mud which causes them to ferment rather than spoil, or more modern techniques like vacuum packing.

Waste not, want not
The one goal all these methods have in common is to make the best use of what we can grow or buy when it’s in season and make it edible into the next, so we don’t have to waste anything. And that’s what we are going to help you do on Sunday.

Please check back then when the links to these great Saving Summer Harvest recipes will go live and I’ll be sharing my own cherry lemon jam.

Canning

• Blackberry Chia Seed Jam from Books n' Cooks
• Cherry Lemon Jam from Food Lust People Love
• Chocolate Blackberry Preserves from The Redhead Baker
• Gilded Bluebarb Jam from What Smells So Good?
• Hamburger Dill Chips from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Homemade Spiced Peach Jam from Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• Pickled Black Radish from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Piri Piri Hot Sauce from Curious Cuisiniere
• Rhubarb Vanilla Jam from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Southwestern Salsa from The Freshman Cook
• Strawberry Balsamic Syrup from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Watermelon Butter from Palatable Pastime

Dehydrating

• Blueberry Peach Fruit Roll-Ups from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Dried Pineapple from Take A Bite Out of Boca

Fermentation

• Fermented Spicy Daikon Spears + A Cocktail from Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Freezing

• How to Freeze Blueberries from Pies and Plots
• Peach Crisp from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Roast Tomato Soup with Basil-Butter Croutons from Caroline's Cooking
• Summer Veggies from Momma's Meals

Infusing

• Raspberry Vinegar from Magnolia Days

Pickling

• Bread & Butter Pickles from Adventures in All Things Food
• Homemade Bread and Butter Pickles from Life Tastes Good
• Mustard Pickles from Jane's Adventures in Dinner
• Pickled Cherries with Five Spices from Nosh My Way
• Simple Pickled Red Cabbage from Simply Healthy Family

Preserving in oil or butter

• Herb Butter from An Appealing Plan
• Spinach and Pistachio Pesto from Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen

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