How To Preserve Homemade Chutney: Easy tips to increase the shelf life of homemade chutney (2024)

FAQs

How To Preserve Homemade Chutney: Easy tips to increase the shelf life of homemade chutney? ›

​How to store chutney and increase the shelf life

For most chutneys, a boiling water canning process is adequate, but other foods may require a pressure process. During storage in the sealed jar, oxygen and additional microbial contamination is kept from the product.

Sunlight can have an effect on the colour and humid places may cause fermentation. Chutneys and pickles have at least a year's shelf life, fruit liqueurs and fruits in alcohol up to two years. Once opened store in the fridge and use within four weeks.

The preparation of chutneys and sauces is a well known method of preserving fruit and vegetables. The basic principles of the preservation method are the addition of sugar and acid (acetic acid or vinegar) combined with concentration of the mixture by heating to reduce the water content.

​How to store chutney and increase the shelf life

Pour water till the pot is half filled. Allow the water to heat for 4-6 minutes. Next, once the water starts boiling, reduce the flame and take a clean glass jar in which you want to store the chutney. Place it inside the pot so that the jar can be sterilized.

Pour boiling hot chutney into hot jars, leaving a half-inch of headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel; adjust two piece metal canning lids. Process pints for 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.

Like most finished unopened preserves, chutney has at least a year's shelf life, as long as it's stored in a cool dark place. Some chutneys might even last up to two years. When opened, tightly covered and stored in the fridge, chutney should last at least a month.

Chutneys are best eaten after a long maturing period so we recommend storing them in a cool, dry dark place and leaving them for no less than 8 weeks before opening them.

OPEN-PAN PRESERVING

Use this technique when making a small batch of chutney or sauce. Step 1: Reheat jam or chutney if needed. Step 2: Sterilize jars (see sterilization methods above). Step 3: Using oven gloves, hold hot jars and fill with piping hot chutney or jam to within 5mm from the top.

Vinegar used in making chutney must be good quality and have at least 5% acetic acid content. Any good brand white, malt, wine or cider vinegar should possess the correct qualities. Brown sugar is used for darker coloured chutney but where a lighter colour is required granulated sugar is recommended.

How thick should chutney be before bottling? ›

There's a very simple test. When the chutney appears thick enough, make a channel with a wooden spoon across its surface. If it leaves a channel imprinted for a few seconds without being filled by spare vinegar, it is ready.

Fill the hot dry jars right to the top – preserves shrink slightly on cooling and a full jar means less trapped condensation. Seal the jars while still hot. This rule applies to all jams, jellies, pickles and chutneys.

Our answer. When you make chutney its consistency is determined by the evaporation of liquid as the chutney cooks. So if possible you should use a wide pan as this has a larger surface area which means that liquid will evaporate more quickly and should help to prevent the fruit in the chutney from becoming too soft.

You need to avoid infections so you should clean the jars in very hot water and then dry them out. You could use a warm oven for this if you're using glass. However, it only has to be warm, not at a cooking temperature.

A preservation technique refers to methods used to minimize the degradation of contaminant concentrations in samples by applying specific measures such as refrigeration, adding acids or bases, using specialized containers, and employing chemical additives to maintain the chemical state of contaminants.

The acidity from the added vinegar and the natural acids of the fruit prevents growth of several spoilage and pathogenic bacteria, molds, and yeasts. Cooking the mixture to concentrate it lowers available moisture that is needed for microbial growth. The cooking step also kills most microorganisms that may be present.

Modern methods include canning, pasteurization, freezing, irradiation, and the addition of chemicals. Advances in packaging materials have played an important role in modern food preservation.