Rhubarb Chutney

 What to do with all that spring rhubarb?  I’ve made rhubarb-strawberry jam and rhubarb relish in the last few years.  Time to find something new- Rhubarb chutney.  This recipe is based on one from a New York Times Héritage Cookbook recipe.  It would be a great addition to a charcuterie board or served with a roast pork.

Rhubarb can be incredibly “brown”- lol.  To add more colour, I infused the vinegar with a handful of bright red hibiscus petals and replaced the raisins with dried cranberries -  the result was not bright red, but better than “boring” brown.  Here is the recipe.

Makes approximately 12 x 250 ml jars.

Ingredients

8 cups    sliced rhubarb

6 cups    sliced onions

2 cups    dried cranberries (or 2 cups raisins)

7 cups    light brown sugar.

1/4 cup    approx. dried hibiscus petals (optional, for better colour)

4 cups    apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp    salt

2 tsp      cinnamon

2 tsp      ground ginger

1 tsp      ground cloves

1/8 tsp    cayenne pepper (you can add more cayenne to add heat)

Directions:

Warm the apple cider vinegar and gently stir in the hibiscus petals.  Turn off the heat and allow to sit for about 15 minutes.  Strain out the petals.

Combine all the other ingredients (including the strained vinegar) in a heavy kettle.  Bring to a boil and simmer gently until slightly thickened- about 45 minutes- less if you want to maintain some of its texture.  Stir frequently to prevent sticking.  

When the texture pleases you, give it a taste.  Add more cayenne or other spices if you wish.

Pour into the cleaned canning jars and process in a steam canner for ten minutes.