Surrey Homes | SH42 | April 2018 | Garden supplement inside

Food
Beetroot chutney
Makes 5kg/11lb Prep time: 30mins. Cooking time: 1 ¼ hours
Chutney is a great way of using up gluts of produce – we often
have lots of beetroot in the garden at Great Dixter. This recipe
is courtesy of Mary Coward, mother of Tom Coward, head
gardener at Gravetye Manor.
• 1 kg/2¼ lb Bramley
(Cortland or Granny
Smith) apples, peeled,
cored and sliced weight
• 2 kg/4½ lb raw beetroot
(beet), peeled and
roughly chopped
• 1 kg/2¼ lb (about 6
cups) soft light brown
sugar
• 450 g/1 lb (3 cups)
sultanas or golden raisins
• 3½ tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon ground
ginger
• 1 small onion, finely
chopped
• 500 ml/18 fl oz (2 cups)
malt vinegar
1Put the apples into a
heavy pan with a little
water, cover and
cook gently for about 10
minutes until soft but not
mushy.
2Add all the remaining
ingredients to the pan
and boil for 1 hour or more,
until the mixture thickens
and erupts in small craters,
like lava in a volcano.
Spoon into warm,
3 sterilized jars, cover with
a double layer
of greaseproof (wax) paper,
then seal tightly, label and
date.
The chutney can be eaten
immediately, although I
think it’s best stored in a
cool place and enjoyed after
a year.
Pickled pears
Makes 3 x 450g/1lb jars Prep time: 15mins. Cooking time: 20mins
It was my friend Tom Coward, head gardener at Gravetye
Manor, who first introduced me to this lovely preserve. There
are lots of recipes for pickled pears, but some take up to a week
to prepare. This version can be made in an evening, and I have
found the results to be just as good, though they are best left for
a month before eating so that the flavours can really penetrate the
fruit. Use pears that still have some bite, but not so much that
you cannot get your teeth into them, and make sure you reduce
the liquid well to intensify the flavour. The pears go really well
with blue cheese.
• 900 g/2lb pears, peeled,
cored and sliced
• 425 ml/14½ fl oz (1¾
cups) apple cider vinegar
• 450 g/1 lb (2 cups) caster
sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 10 cloves
• thumb-size piece of stem
ginger, sliced
1Put all the ingredients into
a pan with 850 ml/1½
pints (3½ cups) water and
cook slowly until the pears
start to soften, but only just
(about 10 minutes). You want
them to retain a bit of bite.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer
the pears to a colander and set
aside to drain.
2Meanwhile, increase the
heat under the syrup left
in the pan and boil rapidly
for 15 minutes, or until it has
reduced by about a third and
thickened slightly.
3Pack the fruit into warm,
sterilized jars and pour in
enough hot syrup to cover.
Seal immediately and store for
a month before eating.
137 surrey-homes.co.uk