Meyer Lemon Chutney

If you have never tasted a Meyer lemon before, they are sweeter than a regular lemon – a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange.

January through April are the best months to either purchase Meyer lemons or pick them from your tree (if you are lucky enough to have one).

I’m going to show you how I make Meyer lemon chutney. Chutney is a traditional Indian subcontinent (India, South Asia, Caribbean, parts of Africa and Fuji) chunky spread. It comes in many different varieties, but is usually spicy in taste, and made with fruits, spices, ginger, and brown sugar.

Chutneys are wonderful as a spread for meats, a stand-alone side dish, or as a topping on rice or desserts. Really, it’s the ‘bomb‘ and goes with anything as far as I am concerned!

Okay, let’s get started.

I use a simple recipe from Food 52 that I found on the web:

Ingredients

4 cloves of garlic minced
¹/₂ cup raisins
¹/₂ cup of lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
¹/₂ cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1 pound brown sugar
¹/₂ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¹/₂ teaspoon red chili flakes
¹/₂ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon cinnamon
8 lemons (for the mix)
2 tablespoons sea salt

Directions

Remove the zest from 8 lemons with a vegetable peeler, being careful to not include the pith (white part). Cut away the pith and discard. Chop the zest and the flesh fine with a good sharp knife. Transfer into a glass or earthenware bowl, mix with 2 tablespoons salt, and let sit overnight.
On the next day, transfer the lemons to the pan and add all the other ingredients. Stir and cook gently over medium heat till it becomes thick (up to 45 minutes), dark brown and gooey. You will fill 4 to 5 medium size jars

As a side note, I found that 45 minutes was not enough time to get the mixture gooey. It was more like 90 minutes. Don’t worry too much as it will thicken up in the refrigerator overnight.

Zest from 8 Meyer lemons.