Gardener’s windfall apple chutney

Name: Gardeners windfall apple chutney
Cook time: 2 h 30 min

Fancy preserving the fruits of your labour? Try this fabulous apple chutney recipe by Ghillie James.

Published - 4 Nov 2025

This recipe is ideal for the novice chutney maker, as having prepared the apples and onion, you simply throw everything into one big pot and let it bubble away.

It also calls for few non-store-cupboard ingredients, so it’s perfect for those times when you come in from the garden and suddenly have the urge to create something using the produce you’ve harvested.

The chutney can be eaten as soon as it is cool, unlike some others which need to be left to mature. Just ensure that your first taste of it is with fresh white bread and really strong Cheddar. The combination is wonderful!

It keeps for a year.

Cooking Time

2 hours 30 mins

Ingredients

Makes 3 litres

1.5kg fallen cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 onion, peeled and chopped
4 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
200g sultanas
750g granulated sugar
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1½ heaped teaspoons salt
575ml malt vinegar

Method

Put all the ingredients into a very large pan (or divide between two slightly smaller ones).
Cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 2½ hours, or until the mixture thickens and starts to become sticky. As the mixture cooks, the liquid will rise to the surface, with the chutney thickening at the bottom of the pan.
Continue to stir every so often until the liquid has reduced to the point that it feels and looks less like a sauce, and has formed the consistency of a chutney, then ladle or pour it from a jug into warm, sterilised jars and seal.

One word of warning: be careful when stirring the hot chutney – it may be just trembling on the surface, but it can erupt like a volcano when you dig deeper. I find that turning the heat off briefly helps. And wear an apron!