Recipe testing - Hilaire Walden's Sensational Preserves -Hot Green Tomato Chutney

With the nights dropping colder, I decided last week to clear the larger green tomatoes from the allotment plants.... and then, of course, it's time to make chutney.

I've got a couple of favourite recipes and this time went for a hot spicy version from Hilaire Walden's Sensational Preserves. It's actually referred to as plain 'Green Tomato Chutney in the book, but I label it as 'hot' to differentiate it from the other green tomato chutney I make, and because the chillies and ginger in it make it hot!

As on previous occasions, I tampered with the recipe slightly, replacing cider vinegar with ordinary 'malt' and adding extra sugar. The recipe only calls for an ounce, which doesn't seem much at all - nothing like thw amount used in other recipes - so I upped it to 4. This year I used fresh green chillies (home grown) as called for, but previously I've used dried red ones.

The instructions only suggest boiling for a short time but this seemed likely to leave the veg rather chunky. I prefer a chutney with an almost puréed texture, so I cooked it all for slightly longer and mashed everything up. 

I wish there was a reliable way of predicting the ultimate amount of recipes like this, as I ended up with 2 jars and a bit left over - which never looks attractive.