[anitaws]

having had a rouge tomato plant in the garden this year, we have not planted any since last spring, I decided a bit of tomato rusting was in order.  I know have 2 jam pans of tomarto tresses but they are mostly green.

I've never tried green tomato chutney before but if they've grown thereselves and are just looking to be picked I'm going to try it.

Any tips for a first time chutney maker?

[Yorkie]

Keep the door to the rest of the house shut and the windows open.  The vinegar smell gets everywhere!

And I often find that it takes a lot longer for it to get to a relatively solid state than the recipe says.

And I never chop the veg finely enough.

[anitaws]

thanks, all good things to have in mind.  Just weighted them and 4 kilo's is a little more than I'd planned for.  I think I'll be making this in two batches.  Guess what everyone is going to get for Christmas this year.

[anitaws]

Being new to the chutney milarkey I've realised that I've got no idea how many jars I'm going to need.

The receipe I've got says 1.5kg of tomato's plus other items makes up about 2 kilogrammes of chutney, or better for me 4lb and 6oz.  How many jars should I get, beg and borrow this weekend?

[mumofstig]

standard size jam jars should hold about a pound each 

[anitaws]

finished off some unearly time in the middle of the night, just had to go to bed, struggling at work (always needed my sleep).  Yes it took lots longer than I expected, I possibly would have liked the pieces smaller and at that time in the middle of the night I never thought about opening the back door.  So all three kind warnings I received I wish to pass on to others as they also have happened to me.

When I've check the kilner jars this morning 4 out of 9 have sealed properly but 5 still have wobbly lids, I've never used these jars before.  Can I reheat chutney (it was probably slightly undercooked anyway), resteralise jars and re pot to see if I can save the majority of this enormous batch, after the hours spend simmering last night I don't want it to go to waste if I can rescue it.

[mumofstig]

yes, you can 

[anitaws]

thanks for your help, finally reheated and bottled, I was only about 20 minutes off of perfect consistancy last night/this morning but I just couldn't stop up any longer.  I'll try and remember next time that if I double the receipe I will need to double the cooking time .

The last jar is only half full, all that last bit of simmer down and moving around has lost it, should this store well or should we start with this one first?

Many, many thanks from a first time chutney maker, I could just be hooked and I'm wondering what I can make next. 

[Yorkie]

It'll be fine.  Most chutney needs to be left for about 3 months before it's mellowed enough to eat, though.