3 lb apricots, -or- dried apricots
1 lb onions, peeled, chopped fine
1 1/2 pt cider vinegar
2 garlic cloves - peeled, crushed
2 oranges (rind only)
1 lb light brown sugar
8 oz sultanas
2 tsp salt
1 tsp english mustard
1/2 tsp powdered allspice
8 oz walnuts - very roughtly chopped
Directions
Split and stone the fresh apricots and chop roughly. If using dried
apricots, put them to swell overnight in water. Boil the chopped
onions for a few moments to soften them, otherwise you always seem to
get a few hard bits. Drain. Put all the ingredients except the
walnuts into a large preserving pan and bring to the boil. Turn down
the heat and cook gently, stirring regularly, for 1 1/2 hours until
the mixture is thick and jammy. Stir in the walnuts. Pot while hot
in warm sterilised jars. Seal. Makes about 6 lbs.
Source: Elisabeth Luard in "Country Living" (British), November 1988.
Typed for you by Karen Mintzias
Servings: 1 servings
Apricot & Walnut Chutney Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Fruit; Nut
The History of Recipes
We can track the history of `recipes` way back into the far past, in truth as far as the Egypt of the Pharoahs, and possibly even further than that. Interesting though that is, in the main part, these ancient records were just very basic hieroglyphic instructions for meal preparation.
In fact, the most ancient recipe discovered, according to academics is a series of clay tablets in Sumerian which describe the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made anyone who tried it feel blissful and exhilarated. Later on, in Roman times around 25BC a roman called Apicius assembled a collection of scripts which described recipes prepared by the Romans. In his scrolls, he recounts how the meals were divided into starters, entrees and desserts, something we still use today. Additionally, he recounts how the early Romans made use of many different herbs, including some that we all recognise for example bay, fennel and asafoetida. For the next few years, the upper-class families of Wesstern Europe tried to lay on the most extravagent banquests, and consequentially cooks and their recipes were at a premium. However, it was during the 1800s that fine cooking and recipe books really came of age. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Merritt Farmer in the USA, dedicated the best years of their lives to assembling, verifying, and writing down recipes common in their social group. By the advent of the twentieth century, cooking books are increasing in popularity as a result of better eduction, more free time and having more disposable income. The introduction of the TV brings us celebrity chefs and the demand for the spin-off recipe books. Which pretty much brings us up to date and the internet revolution, permitting everybody to search through massive numbers of recipes like those on the site you are now reading. |
We hope you enjoy this Apricot & Walnut Chutney recipe.
