This month of October I have been making chutney, an activity both more rewarding and more successful than my attempts at jam.
I use a recipe with distilled vinegar, raisins, apples, cane sugar and ground cloves and have a supply of clean warmed small coffee jars. It takes time and patience to keep your chutney simmering until all the excess vinegar is gone and the chutney is thick but not sticking to your heavy pan. I can tell mine is ready when a wooden spoon dragged through the chutney shows the bottom of the pan for a moment.
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What is a preserved life? A life where the bitter has bound itself to the sweet through the long process of heat, yet not burned. A life where all the ingredients - the fruit of the vine and the fruit from the orchard, sweet sugar from the cane - have blended, and the scent of cloves reminds us that Christmas is coming. A life that brings relish to the ordinary and is content to be stored in the dark.
