Stuck on what to gift this Christmas? This homemade spiced apple chutney is a great present for a loved one. Plus, it’ll be perfect with the Christmas roast!

You could call this apple chutney the fancier, more flavorful version of apple sauce.

One of the great things about making your own Christmas presents is how personalized you can make it. I had so much fun decorating the jars with labels, tags, and vintage cloth. Don’t hold back on your creativity!

To be quite honest, this was my first time making chutney. I used two recipes as a rough guide- one from the Ideas magazine Christmas 2020 issue, and the other from Cook and Enjoy It by S.J.A. de Villiers. 

Okay, so it might have been a bit of a dodgy move to make 8 bottles worth of chutney on my very first attempt, but luckily it turned out really well.

How to Make the Apple Chutney

To make the chutney you have to first peel, core, and chop/slice up the apples. I’m not going to lie, this was quite a tedious job. But grab someone to help you, play some good music, and turn it into a fun task.

I recommend cutting the apple quite fine so that you’re not getting huge chunks in your chutney.

Next, place the dried apricots in a bowl and cover them with boiling water, letting them soak for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, place the chopped red onions, chopped ginger, and raisins in a food processor and process until all three things have been chopped up very finely. It should look like a fine purplish mince. 

Now drain the apricots and add to the food processor. Process for only a couple more seconds, until the apricot is chopped up coarsely. You don’t want it too fine, because chunks of apricot in the chutney are quite delicious.

Add the processed mixture and chopped apples into a large pot/saucepan along with all of the spices, the sugar, and the vinegar. Once the mixture boils, place on the lowest heat possible and simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. 

If you prefer a smoother chutney, mash it to the desired consistency using a potato masher. For a very smooth chutney, you could even proccess it in a food proccessor.

Spoon or funnel the chutney into sterilized jars. To sterilize your jars, first wash them and their lids in warm, soapy water. Submerge the jars and lids in a pot of boiling water and boil for 10 minutes. The jars should be filled while they are still hot.

Ensure that there are no air bubbles by running a knife through the chutney in the jar, and banging the jar on the counter. You want as little air in the jar as possible to keep the chutney from going off. Keep the unopened jar in a cool, dark place, and once opened, keep refrigerated.

This spiced apple chutney is delicious served with roast pork, gammon, chicken, bobotie, cold meats and cheeses, or sandwiches.

Print Recipe

Spiced Apple Chutney

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Condiment

Serves: makes 6-8 jars

Prep Time: 1 hour – Cooking Time: 1 hour – Total Time: 2 hours

A flavourful condiment that is perfect for the holiday season (or any other time, really!). Easy and fun to make, this chutney is great to make as a thoughtful Christmas gift.

Ingredients

• 1.5kg sour apples (I used 11 Granny Smith apples)
• 1 cup dried apricots
• Boiling water
• 2 large red onions, chopped
• 30ml fresh ginger, chopped
• 1 cup raisins
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp salt
• 1T whole grain mustard
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 cloves
• ½ tsp mixed spice
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar

Instructions

1

Peel, core, and chop the apples. I recommend chopping them up quite finely so that the chutney is not too chunky. Alternatively, you can also slice them.

2

Place the dried apricots in a bowl and cover with boiling water, letting them soak for 15 minutes.

3

Place the chopped red onions, chopped ginger, and raisins in a food processor and process until all three things have been chopped up very finely. Drain the apricots and add to the food processor. Process only a couple more seconds, until the apricot is chopped up coarsely.

4

Add the processed mixture and chopped apples into a large pot/saucepan along with the rest of the ingredients. Once the mixture boils, place on the lowest heat possible and simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. For less of a chunky chutney, mash it to the desired consistency using a potato masher.

5

Spoon or funnel the chutney into sterilized jars*. To ensure that there are no air bubbles, run a knife through the chutney in the jar, and bang the jar on the counter. Keep the unopened jar in a cool, dark place, and once opened, keep refrigerated.

6

This spiced apple chutney is delicious with roast pork, gammon, chicken, bobotie, cold meats, and cheeses, or sandwiches.

Notes

To sterilize your jars, first wash them and their lids in warm, soapy water. Submerge the jars and lids in a pot of boiling water and boil for 10 minutes. The jars should be filled while they are still hot.