We ended up with surplus sterilised jars this afternoon, which, coinciding with a freezer clear-out, led to some unplanned chutney making. Rhubarb chutney is the first chutney I remember making, and also the first I made after moving to the UK and discovering I craved foods from home. Our next door neighbour used to make it, and give us a jar, and I always loved it with caribou steaks or burgers, but unfortunately, these years caribou is hard to come by (which makes me rue the years in which I complained about having caribou 'again'!), although seriously good venison makes an adequate substitute.
Anyway, when Mrs Noel grew too frail to make it, I starting making it, following her recipe. Sadly, the original got lost, and in recent years I've been using this recipe from a classic cookbook - The Treasury of Newfoundland dishes. I don't think this is quite the same - I might be tempted to add some ground ginger. But it's not bad.
My copy of the cookbook is the 8th edition from 1976, but its been recently reprinted and is still available. It was sponsored by Cream of the West flour, but collated recipes from various contributors, whose names and addresses are listed at the back. Despite the corny bits of dialect and jokes, there are some real gems of recipes.
Anyway, today's chutney is experimental because although I had enough rhubarb to make my usual half-batch, in the interests of freezer-space, I decided to add an equal amount of gooseberries. I'm not sure Mrs Noel (nor the worthies of the Treasury) would approve.
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