This month's notes: May 2013: The cool weather has delayed blooms and slowed growth by a couple of weeks, but don't miss strawberries: they started in most Southern areas in late April, and in late May up north. Click here for strawberry facts and picking tips, and this page for easy strawberry jam making directions. Blueberries will come in June in most areas. Of course, Florida, southern Texas, and other very warm areas are already picking both crops! See this page for hundreds of easy canning and freezing instructions/recipes, canning equipment guide! Also make your own ice cream - see How to make ice cream and ice cream making equipment and manuals. Then see each state's crop availability calendar for more specific dates of upcoming crops. Organic farms are identified in green!  See our guide to local fruit and vegetable festivals!. Please tell the farms you found them here - and ask them to update their information!!

Subscribe to our: Email alerts;  Follow us on Twitter or via RSS:  Add this page to your favorites! - Email this page to a friend, or to yourself

How to can your own mango chutney  (complete directions with photos)

How to Make Homemade Mango Chutney

Click here for a PDF print version

You think making and canning your own mango chutney is difficult or expensive?  Not at all!  Here's how to do it, complete instructions in easy steps and completely illustrated. In the winter when you open a jar, the mangoes will taste MUCH better than anything you've ever had from a store, and by selecting the right fruit, it will use less sugar than store-bought canned mangoes. Don't let the list of ingredients worry you; they're all readily available at any grocery store! Best of all, you can refrigerate it OR can it for later use.

Prepared this way, the jars have a shelf life of about 12 to 18 months, and aside from storing in a cool, dark place, require no special attention.

You may also be interested in How to make mango salsa and Mango-raspberry jam and how to can mangoes.

Directions for Making and Canning Mango Chutney

Yield: 7 - 8 eight-ounce jars

Ingredients and Equipment

Recipe and Directions

Step 1 - Selecting the mangoes

Choose ripe, mature fruit of ideal quality for eating fresh or cooking. They should not be mushy, but they also should not be rock hard: just as ripe as you would eat them fresh.  You can also use solid green mangoes. Select firm, non-fibrous fruit. Caution: Handling green mangoes may irritate the skin of some people in the same way as poison ivy. (They belong to the same plant family.)  (see this page for more information) To avoid this reaction, wear plastic gloves while working with raw green mango. Do not touch your face, lips or eyes after touching or cutting green mangoes until all traces are washed away. 

Step 2 - How many mangoes and where to get them

You can pick your own, or buy them at the grocery store.  But for large quantities, you'll find that Costco, Sam's Club and BJ's seem to have the largest mangoes and best prices.

Step 3 - Wash the jars and lids

This is a good time to get the jars ready! The dishwasher is fine for the jars; especially if it has a "sanitize" cycle. Otherwise put the jars in boiling water for 10 minutes. I just put the lids in a small pot of almost boiling water for 5 minutes, and use the magnetic "lid lifter wand" (available from target, other big box stores, and often grocery stores; and available online - see this page) to pull them out.

Step 4 -Wash the mangoes!

I'm sure you can figure out how to wash the mangoes in plain cold or lukewarm water.

Step 5 - Peeling the Mangoes

Green mangoes are fairly firm, so a regular vegetable peeler works pretty well. This is probably the most tedious step of the process, though. 

Step 6 - Cut up the mangoes

Cut out any brown spots and mushy areas. Slice the mangoes in 1/4 thick slices! It just takes practice to figure out where the pit is.  the pit is sort of flat, rather than egg-shaped, so you'll get more flesh of some parts of the mango than others. 

Then chop the mango slices up into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces. You will need about 5 to 6 cups of chopped mango

This mango splitter works great!

Step 7 - Add the spices

Add the spices: 2 cups brown sugar, 2/3 teaspoon cumin, 1 cup raisins, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon red cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric, 1.5 teaspoon ginger paste, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 3 cups vinegar, 2 teaspoon garlic puree and 1 large onion (finely chopped )  about 3/4 cup, to the chopped mangoes.

Step 8 - Cook the mango chutney

Simmer over low heat for 30 to 90 minutes - the goals is just to thicken it to the consistency you desire!  When it cools, it will thicken further, so there's no need to cook it to death!

Step 9 - Fill the jars

Wipe rim and screw threads with a clean damp cloth. Add lid, screw band and tighten firmly and evenly. Do not over tighten.

Step 10 - Process the jars in the water bath

Put the sealed jars in the canner and keep them cover with at least 1 inch of water and boiling. Boil them for at least 20 minutes (and no more than 30 min).

Step 11 - Remove and cool

Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool without touching or bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight), here they won't be bumped. You can then remove the rings if you like, but if you leave them on, at least loosen them quite a bit, so they don't rust in place due to trapped moisture. Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it. Some people replace the lid and reprocess the jar, then that's a bit iffy. If you heat the contents back up, re-jar them (with a new lid) and the full time in the canner, it's usually ok.

Mangoes, pears and apples may also show a blue, red or pink color change after canning. This is the result of natural chemical changes that sometimes occur as fruits are heated. It is harmless and won't affect flavor!

Also, avoid storing canned food near heat sources such as a furnace, water heater, hot water or sunny areas. Jars need to be kept cool and dark for longer storage life and to protect against spoilage. Be sure to store in a dry place. If the lid or band rusts, that can cause the seal to break.

Your chutney will probably be darker in color than these and look more like the single jar shown.  It depends upon how much spice you use and how long you cook it.

Other Equipment: From left to right: Jar lifting tongs          helpful to pick up hot jars Lid lifter          - to remove lids from the pot          of hot water  Lid         - disposable - you may only         use them once Ring        - holds the lids on the jar until after       the jars cool - then you don't need them Canning jar funnel       - to fill the jars	You can get all of the tools in a kit here:
Frequently asked questions!

Home Canning Kits Features: Everything you need to get started with waterbath canning (fruits,pickles, jams, jellies, salsa, sauces and tomatoes) 21-1/2 qt. enamel water bath canner Funnel, jar lifter, lid lifter, bubble freer spatula Ball Blue Book This is the same type of  standard canner that my grandmother used to make everything from mangoes to jams and jellies to tomato and spaghetti sauce. This complete kit includes everything you need: the canner, jar rack, jar grabber tongs, lid lifting wand, a plastic funnel, labels, bubble freer, and the bible of canning, the Ball Blue Book. You'll never need anything else except more jars and lids! Features: * All the tools you need for hot waterbath canning - in one comprehensive set! * Complete with 21 1/2 qt. enameled waterbath canner and "Ball Blue Book" of canning. * Also includes canning rack, funnel, jar lifter, jar wrencher, bubble freer, tongs and lid lifter. * A Kitchen Krafts exclusive collection. Average Customer Review: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Deluxe Food Strainer & Sauce Maker See this page for more information, reviews, descriptions of other strainers and supplies or to order! With the Deluxe Food Strainer/Sauce Maker, you can make creamy mango sauce and smooth tomato sauce without having to peel and core! This multi-use strainer forces food through a stainless steel screen, automatically separating the juice and pulp from the seeds, shins, and stems. Perfect for purees, creamed soups, baby foods, pie filling, juices, jams, and more. Save time, effort, and money by preparing your own tasty sauces to be used immediately or boiled for future use. Do bushels with ease and in a fraction of the time. Includes the tomato/mango screen with easy twist on design and instruction/recipe booklet. The Deluxe model comes with the standard Tomato/mango Screen; as well as the Berry Screen, Pumpkin Screen, and Grape Spiral. Note

Illustrated Canning, Freezing, Jam Instructions and Recipes

[ All About Home Canning, Freezing and Making Jams, Pickles, Sauces, etc. ] [FAQs - Answers to common questions and problems] [Recommended books about home canning, jam making, drying and preserving!] [Free canning publications to download and print]