In our neck of the woods (in Nevill’s little raised bed), the Tomato plants are starting to give up, and their fruit are making the decision to stay green.

This is a heartbreaker because I feel I didn’t eat enough tomato sandwiches this year.  Fortunately, these hard, green spheres are perfect for frying up at breakfast or making into chutney.  Virgina Chutney gets our green tomatoes from The Farm at Sunnyside.

Here is a picture of Nevill and his brother Graham chopping up a big batch.

"And you want to be my latex salesman?"

If these two can do it, then so can you!  Here is our recipe for you to make at home, or else please BUY OURS.

Green Tomato Chutney

Makes 9 half-pint jars

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups (about 1 1/2 pounds) green tomatoes, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
• 2 medium unpeeled Granny Smith apples, cored, then cut into 3/4-inch chunks (2 cups)
• 1 medium yellow onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice (3/4 to 1 cup)
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 small clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon mustard seed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves or ground allspice
• Pinch ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup golden or dark raisins

Directions:

Combine the tomatoes, apples, onion, brown and granulated sugars, vinegar, garlic, mustard seed, salt, crushed red pepper flakes, cloves or allspice, cinnamon and pepper in a large, heavy-bottomed, nonreactive pot; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often with a wooden spoon so the mixture does not burn. Reduce the heat to medium-low; cook for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring fairly often.

Stir in the raisins; cook for 15 minutes, stirring several times. To test for doneness, pull the spoon across the bottom of the pot; you should be able to see the bottom of the pot for a moment or two, and the consistency of the chutney should be quite thick. As soon as that happens, remove it from the heat. Overcooked chutney can become a solid brick; undercooked chutney is too runny. Measure the temperature with an instant-read thermometer; it should be above 185 degrees.

Use a wide-mouthed funnel and/or ladle to carefully transfer the hot chutney into sterilized glass jars, leaving about 1/4 inch of head space at the top; use a chopstick or nonmetallic skewer to remove any air bubbles (see NOTE). Top with new, clean lids, close tightly and let cool to room temperature. The lid of a properly sealed jar should be slightly concave; if the lid springs up when you press your finger in the center, the lid is unsealed. If the lids have not sealed, process for 15 minutes in a hot-water bath (jars submerged with least 1 or 2 inches of water overhead), let cool and test again.