MANGO CHUTNEY

Aunt Nettie's Major Grey Mango Chutney

Camille Glenn

The Heritage of Southern Cooking

10 pounds of under ripe mangoes

 1  pound fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped or

 1  pound crystallized ginger, finely chopped

 1  pound seedless raisins, ground

 1  pound currants

 2  heads garlic, cloves separated, peeled and cut in half

 5  large red bell or pimento peppers, cored, seeded, and slivered

 6  cinnamon sticks

 2  quarts cider vinegar

 ¼ cup ground ginger

 ¼ cup cayenne pepper

 ¼ cup non-iodized salt

 8  pounds sugar

Peel mangoes, slice flesh from the pits and cut into rather thick slices.  Put all the ingredients, except the sugar, into a heavy 8-quart preserving pan.  Caramelize the sugar slightly.  Put half the sugar in a large heavy iron skillet over medium heat.  When the sugar starts to melt, start stirring.  Stir constantly until the sugar has turned a very light amber.  Remove from the stove.  Add all the sugar to the mango mixture and stir thoroughly to dissolve it.  Bring the mixture to a low boil, stirring frequently.  Mixture sticks and burns easily; watch it carefully.  Cook until mixture has cooked low and flavors have blended, 2½ to 3 hours.  Remove cinnamon sticks.  Pour chutney into hot, sterilized jars to ¼ inch from top of each jar.  Seal at once.  Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.  This chutney also freezes well.  Use sterilized jars and caps.  Pack food into jars, leaving space to allow for expansion.  When jars have cooled, freeze as quickly as possible.  Thaw slowly in refrigerator overnight.

Yield: 16 pints.