Wisconsin State Fair: Door County Cherry Chutney

I'm actually a little bit giddy as I write this.
This afternoon, we'll be doing a cooking demonstration at the Wisconsin State Fair on behalf of the Wisconsin Cherry Growers Association.  I've actually been wracking my brains for days over what to make, and I've finally decided upon the perfect recipe.

Chutney.

If you're not familiar with chutney, well, I'd encourage you to rush right out and make its acquaintance. Similar in consistency to a jelly, salsa, or relish, chutneys usually embody both sweet and sour flavors.  Originating in India, these condiments can range in flavor from very sweet to quite sour.  They can be mild or spicy, thin or chunky.  And they can be made with fruits, vegetables or both.

Chutneys can be served with meat, poultry, seafood, desserts, and cheeses. Or they can be eaten as a snack, simply served with flatbread or crackers -- which is how we love to eat ours.  One of our favorite snacks has always been a bit of spicy mango chutney spread atop a wedge of whole wheat pita bread.

But, despite my love for the mango, there is nary a more perfect condiment than a chutney made from Montmorency cherries, a light red "sour" cherry most often used for cherry pies, jams and preserves.  After all, the cherries are  fragrantly sweet, tart, plump, and intense in both flavor and color.  They also stay impressively moist and plump, even when dried.  Best of all, tart cherries are seriously good for you.  They contain numerous antioxidants, as well as anthocyanins and bioflavonoids which may help in the relief of pain due to arthritis and gout.

If you're interested in a bit of history, I can tell you that the first Montmorency cherry orchard was planted on the Door County peninsula in Wisconsin in 1858. At the peak of Wisconsin cherry production, right around 1959, Door County actually produced 95% of the tart cherry crop in the U.S..  which contributed to the area becoming known as Cherryland USA.  These days, Door County is still famous for its cherries.

We're in the midst of Door County Cherry season right now, which means this chutney is just perfect seasonal food.  And I'm getting excited to share this amazing recipe.

If you're in the area, please feel free to join us.  We'll be on stage at the Wisconsin Products Pavilion at 12-noon.  And we'd love to see a few smiling familiar faces.

Of course, for those of you who can't make it, we'd be happy to share our recipe!


Door County Cherry Chutney


©BURP! Where Food Happens
Want more? Read Lo's latest ruminations at DEVOUR Milwaukee, her Milwaukee Magazine blog.

Candied Jalapeno Peppers: Daring Cooks Challenge September

Considering the state of affairs in my brain lately, it was utterly serendipitous that the Daring Cooks challenge this month had to do with food preservation -- because that's exactly what I've been spending my time doing lately.  And that means I haven't had much time for extra-curricular cooking projects!

One of our goals during the Eat Local Challenge this year has been to preserve as much local produce as possible so that we're able to sustain our regular local eating for a longer period of time.  And, so far, we've put up quite the stash of edibles:

• 25 lbs of roasted Amish paste tomatoes
• 14 cups of roasted tomatillo sauce (with more to come)
• 10 lbs Italian Romano beans
• 15 lbs of roasted red peppers
• 50 lbs of Door County peaches
• 20 cups applewood smoked sweet corn
• 1/2 lb dehydrated Principe Borghese tomatoes
• 6 lbs raspberries

Our freezer is filling quickly, so I had plans to start canning foods, rather than freezing them.  The first recipe on my list -- candied jalapenos!

I should preface all that excitement by confessing that, for a good many years, I've harbored a very irrational (yet real) fear of canning.  I have no idea where it came from, since my mother canned all sorts of delicious things when I was a girl -- tomatoes, peaches, pears, salsa, jelly, jam...  You name it, my mom seemed to be able to can it.   But me -- not so much.

About five years ago, I bought all of the supplies -- the jar grabber thingie, the magnetic lid picker-upper, the oversized funnel...  but the items sat there down in the basement. Unused.  And I'm not really sure why.  The fact of the matter was, I wasn't really afraid I'd give anyone botulism. But, canning seemed... like such a pain.

I knew I needed a great recipe to push me to tackle canning on my own. Fortunately, I didn't have to look very far to find one. Ever since I saw the recipe over at CakeWalk last summer, I've wanted to try my hand at canning these peppers. We were lucky enough to be able to sample them when Rebecca brought corn bread made with the peppers to our Soup Night last February -- and we fell in love.  I vowed to conquer my irrational fears of canning and make the best possible use of the jalapeno harvest in 2010 -- expressly to make these wonderful little sweet-hot wonders.

And so we did!  I didn't, unfortunately, have enough peppers in my own little garden to equal the three pounds needed for the recipe. But, I was fortunate that Kay from Jen Ehr Family Farms did.  Her peppers were fat and succulent looking -- with the tell-tale striations that always seem to belie a nice amount of peppery kick.

About 20 minutes with the mandoline yielded a large bowl filled with near-perfectly sliced jalapenos.  And a few more minutes  of cooking gave me the vinegary-sweet pepper-infused syrup that I'd need to get the canning process underway.


I'll admit I felt more than a little bit twitterpated by the thought of putting my (never used) canning supplies to work.  And I was even more excited by the fact that the recipe seemed quite nearly fool-proof.  Thanks to a few wise tips and lots of encouragement from Rebecca, I was on my way.

Of course, as I heard the water come to a boil in my canning pot, I also felt the butterflies mounting in my stomach.  How exciting was this?? I was canning!  And it was easy!

By the time our 7 half-pint jars were filled with jalapenos and the pot was bubbling gaily in the midst of processing, Peef and I had already decided that we also wanted to can the leftover brine from the recipes.  What would we do with it?  *wink*  Well, only time would tell!

In the meantime, we'll be happily eating our lovely jars of candied jalapenos -- in corn bread, on pulled pork sandwiches, burgers... and strewn deliciously atop jerk chicken nachos.  OH, YUM.

Candied Jalapenos


The September 2010 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by John of Eat4Fun. John chose to challenge The Daring Cooks to learn about food preservation, mainly in the form of canning and freezing. He challenged everyone to make a recipe and preserve it. John’s source for food preservation information was from The National Center for Home Food Preservation.


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