Preparation Time: 20 min
Cooking Time: 1 hr
Ingredients for Green Tomato Chutney:
- 500g green tomatoes
- 500g red onion
- 250g sultanas
- 250g brown sugar
- 2 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp ground green cardamom
- 500ml malt vinegar
Method for Green Tomato Chutney:
- Chop everything up, no need for a perfection, and put it in a good heavy based pan .
- Bring it to the boil and then turn down the heat, simmer for about an hour until reduced to a thick pulp.
- Spoon into sterilised jars.
Enjoy either after standing for a while to let flavours develop or, if you are a little glutton like myself, grab the cheese and crackers and go watch TV .
Makes about 3 jars of chutney.
Like most chutneys, kept in properly sterilized and sealed jars this will keep for at least a year in a cool dark place. Once opened, keep in the fridge and try to use within 4 weeks.
General Chutney Making Information
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Thankyou for the green chutney recipe.
I live in California and they dont seem to make it over here.
I am from Kent England and miss some of the wonderfull chutneys and Jams we English love so much.
I found you page through my cousin terry who is the brother
of grannie annie also of course my cousin .
Your web site is one off her favorites and now is one of mine.
Just makes me long for the old country
Best wishes with all your efforts.
Sorry I dont know what URL means.
I will enjoy browsing your site
Thanks again.
how long will the green tomato chutney keep for
Years! It’s probably best to get through it before this time next year when you make the next lot.
thanks for your reply , made loads , just starting to plant next years crop.
Just a quick note to let you know this recipe works great with ripe tomatoes too 😉
thanks for the recipe – have already made one using courgettes and green tomatoes but stillhave about 1 1/2 kg tomatoes – so guess wht is next on my list!
I’m a man so please don’t laugh…”Bring to the boil” does this mean i have to add water or is it boil in the vinegar?..
It’s boil all the ingredients including the vinegar. No need to add water.
thanks for this recipe cant wait to get started it sounds yummy tried others but this is so quick.
thanks again
lynn s wales.
Thank you for this recipe – so quick to prepare and easy enough for a first timer like me to make.
Fab recipe – easy to make. One thing I simmered with lid on, which meant I still had quite a lot of liquid left, so I sieved this before putting into jars. Am about to make some more for my friends.
how long will it last
At least 12 months but we’ve some that is still fine from 2006!
Can u make chutney without onions?
Not really in my opinion.
how can you avoid the problems of metal lids on pre-used jars?
I’m not certain what you mean. If they’ve a plastic lining, they will be fine. Just make sure that they are thoroughly clean and sterilize them alongside your jars. If they haven’t got a plastic lining, they should not be used as vinegar corrodes metal.
Really wonderful chutney, I have tried other green tomato chutney recipes but this is the best tasting one I have tried so far, absolutey scrummy.Shall make more of it next year, but will probably skin the tomatoes as my husband does not like the skins – but is still eating it as its so tasty.
What a lovely way to use the green tomatoes. I did add a few slightly ripe ones. I have made 2 batches and had to taste it straight away. If it gets better with keeping (if it lasts that long) it is going to be really scrummy. Will not worry about having those green tomatoes left at the end of the season any longer. Am going to try butternut squash soup next (another of this sites recipes) and have also noticed one for runner bean chutney so I can use the glut of those I seem so have every year in yet another chutney.
Could I use white onions instead of red onions?
Yes. It’ll only affect the colour, not the taste.
The first mix, as per directions was the best, and improved when cold, and left awhile.
The second mix with apples took far more time and there was no significant improvement. The was an experiment. The third mix, also an experiment, was as for the original, but with reduced vinegar, and some red tomatoes. The above two experiments were acceptable, but would have been better with only using green tomatoes with less vinegar.
Please submit further smallholders recipes. Thank you.
HI Val, I have just got round to making the green tom chutney this morning ,and although i thought i had followed the recipe to the letter i find it too sweet for our taste . do you know of anything i could do to make it less so. I put a little extra cardamon in to spice it more but its still sweet for us,any tips gratefully recieved.
Lemon juice usually cuts through the sweetness. Other than that I’m not certain that you can do anything more at this stage. You could tip it out, re-heat and add lemon juice and a little more vinegar and bring to the boil and allow it to reduce again. Don’t forget to thoroughly wash and re-sterilise the jars if you do this. Alternatively, all chutney benefits from leaving for at least 2 months before you use it – you may find that the “sweetness” is not as bad after that time.
Thanks for that, it sounds worth a try, will let you know how it goes.
Hi again Val,I did as you suggested and it worked really well,so thanks again, no wasted chutney now.
Followed the recipe to the letter and simmered considerably longer than an hour but it never thickened. I had a lot of liquid left. What did I do wrong? Having said all that it tastes delicious.
To be honest I don’t know! You can always tip it back out of the jars, re-heat and simmer for another hour and, if that doesn’t work, mix some cornflour with a little water and add that. It should do the trick. Do remember that, if you do this, you’ll need to thoroughly wash the jars and re-sterilise them before putting the chutney back in.
Thanks for a lovely green tomato chutney recipe! Very tasty, but VERY salty. I’ll put less salt next time. Am I reading it correctly as 2 tablespoons of salt?!!!
It does seem a bit heavy on the salt for my taste as well. This isn’t my recipe (there is another Green Tomato Chutney Recipe on here under Val’s Green Tomato Chutney). I would use about 1 tablespoon of salt but await for Pam to confirm.
Hi from Australia. I am looking forward to making your green tomato chutney in the morning. Just one question when you say it keeps for years how do you store it? cupboard/fridge?
In a cool, dark place. Ours are kept on a shelf in the garage but you could use a cupboard, preferably in an un-heated room.
The salt amount is just how its always been and I dont suppose it would hurt to reduce it a bit, please leave a note here on the outcome so we can all benefit from your experiments. thank you
Great recipe. I didn’t have any sultanas so I used some chopped dried apricots instead. It turned out really well – I’m about to make a second batch.
I enjoyed making this chutney. I added two dessert spoons of sweet chilli sauce wonderfull will make this again
Found a few frozen ones from last year, smells delicious.
Try using a square of grease proof paper between the jar and lid..if you use patterned paper or proper jar toppers they look great
Great, I have loads of green toms left this year! Can I substitute malt for cider vinegar?
Yes!
great recipe-will it last long in dark cupboard?
At least 12 months.
lush wat else do i need to say
May I suggest that instead of Cornflower to thicken chutneys or indeed gravy’s that you use ground Arrowroot instead, mix with a little water the same as Cornflower.
When added to a gravy or anything else it doesn’t change the colour like Cornflower does and it thickens much faster.
I don’t use any other thickener now. It’s available in nearly all Supermarkets, next to the Cornflower. Better still it comes in a clip top lid which flicks open to admit a teaspoon and locks closed instantly. No messing around with cardboard boxes and paper packets as with cornflower.
Harry
What’s the best way to sterilise the jars before use?
I have some sterilising powder left over from beer making, I suppose that will do?
Steve…..
Wash the jars thoroughly in soapy water and allow to drain. The easiest way to sterilize them is to place them upright on a baking sheet with the lids beside them in a very low oven for ten minutes or so.
GREAT CHUTNEY BEST ONE ON NET
Thanks for this recipe – looking forward to trying it out!
So that I have enough jars ready, what would you estimate the yield to be from these quantities?
Thanks
I found recipe so easy to make yet so tasty made the mistake of giving a jar to a mate to try
Made a fair bit of your chutney, wonderful! but can’t remember if it is dark brown or light brown sugar, HELP!!
Hi Val
I made some chutney using your recipe yesterday with a couple of changes; due to the fact I did not want to go to the shops. I used mostly red tomatoes, dried mixed fruit, with a mix of cyder and white vinegar.I checked the taste by allowing a tablespoon to go cold and it tasted so good I had get the cheese out and try a little more. I am making some more today using a mix of green and red tomatoes. This will be great for my little Christmas hampers to friends and relatives.