How Do I Store The Christmas Chutney?

Our answer

Nigella's Christmas Chutney (from NIGELLA CHRISTMAS) cooks cranberries, dates and apples in a mixture of sugar, vinegar and spices. This is a British-style chutney and the combination of the long cooking time plus the acid from the vinegar and the sugar in the mixture means that the chutney does not spoil as easily as some other relishes. So it does not need to be "preserved" or "canned" further by cooking the sealed jars in a water bath.

However, the jars do need to be sterilised in advance of using and to do this you should wash the jars and lids thorougly in soapy water, rinse them well and let them dry in a low oven (140c/120c fan/275F) for around 15 minutes. Remove the jars from the oven and let them cool slightly before adding the chutney, but the jars should still be warm when the warm chutney is spooned in to prevent the glass from cracking. You can also sterilise the jars and lids by putting them through the dishwasher on a hot cycle, but make sure that when you remove the jars and lids from the dishwasher that you do not touch the inside of the jars or lids and that the jars are still warm when you fill them with the chutney. Once the jars of chutney are completely cold, check that the lids are on securely (particularly for screw-top jars) and store in a cool, dark, dry place.