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Fermented Winter Fruit Chutney
Background info: One of the earliest dishes to appear in recorded history, chutney (derived from Hindi ‘chatnī’, meaning ‘to eat with appetite’) was first adopted outside of Southeast Asia by the ancient Romans, and, eventually, British colonizers, for whom it remained an army ration staple even when it fell out of popular favor.
Unlike its Westernized cousin made from fruit, sugar, and vinegar, traditionally made chutney is typically served as a smorgasbord of savory and spicy flavors designed to complement a main dish. It often features colorful, lacto-fermented creations such as achaar, a popular mixture of pickled fruits and vegetables. Lacto-fermentation carries many health benefits, such as increasing availability of nutrients like iron and improving cognitive function.
– Price-Pottenger
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One of my favorite ways to enjoy winter fruits is in the delightfully effervescent, slightly sour form of a lacto-fermented chutney. You can get as fancy as your imagination dictates by choosing complementary ingredients from a rich and colorful palette of fruits, nuts, and aromatics. Use this recipe as a template, and let your senses guide your masterpiece!
Seed a pomegranate; quarter a bag of fresh cranberries; dice an Asian pear, a persimmon, and a handful of figs; mince a large jalapeño and a couple of handfuls of dried fruit (I use candied ginger and dried cranberries); grate a 2-inch knob of fresh ginger; and chop a big fistful of fresh mint.
Combine everything in a large bowl and sprinkle with a scant tablespoon of unrefined salt, preferably Celtic or Himalayan salt, and a quarter cup of whey or a packet of culture starter per quart.
Press down into jars tightly, using Pickle Pebbles or other fermentation weights to keep the chutney under the brine.
Cap jars and store in the cupboard for 2 to 3 days (or until you see bubbles) before transferring to the refrigerator for longer-term storage; will keep refrigerated for several months.
About the Author
Annie Dru attended the University of California, San Diego, and has studied the art of nutrition for over 25 years. She teaches a local series of classes on food preparation based on the research of Weston A. Price, DDS, and is a member of the Price-Pottenger advisory board. She has lectured at San Diego State University and the University of California, Santa Barbara.
See her wonderful presentation on the Price-Pottenger YouTube Channel. Annie’s DVD Easy to Make Lacto-Fermented Foods is available now from Price-Pottenger.
Check out these other nourishing, delicious recipes from Annie including a main dish, appetizer, and dessert:
Braised Turkey Drumsticks with Sage Dates
Roasted Bone Marrow with Honey Butter
Published in the Price-Pottenger Journal of Health & Healing
Winter 2017 Volume 40 Number 4
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