Cantaloupe chutney recipes? 'Lope is a low-acid fruit & I have a water bath canner

I have tons of cantaloupe this year. After sharing a half-ton, I've pickled some & frozen more. But I love chutneys & think cantaloupe would be a natural combined with jalapenos etc. Can't find a recipe in the Ball Blue Book or my other canning books. My Extension service can't help me, nor the Facebook canning sites. I have a Water Bath canner. I was thrilled to find that you have a canning section with canning experts. Does anyone have a safe, reliable recipe? And for the record, how do the Ball or USDA folks etc. develop safe recipes. Can we home canners develop one & submit it for "testing" or something? Thanks for your help.

terryd
  • Posted by: terryd
  • September 11, 2011
  • 8349 views
  • 4 Comments

4 Comments

Eugenia B. September 18, 2011
Ripe mangoes have a pH of 3.40 to 4.80, green mangoes are 5.80 to 6.00. Since cantaloupes have a pH of 6.13 to 6.58, that may preclude substitution. (Check out FDA Approximate pH of Foods online--it's a super useful table for canners.) If you aren't sure that a recipe constitutes a pH of 4.5 or less, than you can't be sure it is safe to water bath can. (In general, the USDA does not recommend the open kettle method--using the heat from the food to create the vacuum in a jar). You can test recipes with a pH meter, but a good one costs about as much as a pressure canner. I recommend getting a pressure canner and then you can make any chutney concoction you like and simply pressure can it, using your altitude as a basis for the poundage and basing your timing on that ingredient in your recipe that takes the longest according to USDA pressure canning data. If you want to get a recipe of yours tested, contact you local state university extension. Many provide lab services for a fee. Sorry I don't have a recipe to share, and thanks, SKK, for inviting me into (onto?) the thread.
 
Author Comment
Please do boiling water bath any high acid items that you can such as jams, jellies, etc. If you do not want to boiling water bath then the items you can should be stored in the refrigerator not on the shelf Please this is very important and a food safety issue. There are a lot of short cuts out there, but they are short cuts to the science behind tested recipes. When Ball and Universities test food preservation recipes for the home preserver, they take into account the pH of the foods, the proportion of different food items and the finall pH of the product, the safest time to process the product in a canner or pressure canner to give you a safe produce without the fear of foodborne illnesses or botulism. Do not make up your own recipes, change things around such as ingredients or time unless you check with your State University Extension service or Ball
 
SKK September 11, 2011
One more thing, mango and cantaloupe are both low acid fruits so the chutney should be interchangeable between the two. Univ. of Georgia has a recipe for mango chutney. I also trust ethicurian.com http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_06/mango_chutney.html

Hopefully Eugenia Bone will weigh in on this question. She is the expert on preserving for this site.
 
SKK September 11, 2011
From http://www.ethicurean.com/2007/09/13/thanks-a-melon/
Cantaloupe Chutney
Makes 2 pints
1 c cider vinegar
1 c honey
1 c sugar
4 tsp pomegranate molasses or tamarind paste (optional)
1 T fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1/2 lime, seeded and chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 small hot pepper, seeded and minced
1 tsp whole cloves?1 tsp whole cardamom pods
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 c dried cherries (currants or raisins also work well)
4 to 5 c cantaloupe, cubed
In large nonreactive pot, bring all ingredients except the cantaloupe to a boil. Add the cantaloupe and simmer for 1 hour, until mixture has thickened. Pour into hot, sterilized jars, cover with heated lids and rings, and set aside to seal. (You might also run the jars through a hot water bath for 10-15 minutes to be on the ultra-safe side, but with the vinegar, I doubt you’ll need it unless you want to keep the jars in long-term pantry storage.)
 
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