Celery glut..need a tested chutney recipe

[taff]

I'll be freezing a lot of it, but there's going to be loads left. Having made special green tomato chutney, I feel I have the necessary qualifications [i.e.burns, chopped up fingernails etc] to attempt making more.
Dos anyone have a tried and tested recipe?

[bazzaboy]

Celery's not the easiest crop so very well done, Taff, to have a glut! (I always said I'd give up veg gardening once I could successfully grow celery and cauliflowers and still feel pretty safe to continue...). There was an earlier thread about this that I'll try to find but I don't think you can freeze it (well you can of course but it goes limp and watery so then really only suitable for cooking...). b.

[bazzaboy]

Taff, re the earlier thread I mentioned, I fondly recall tales of limp celery on:
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...lery_9949.html

On freezing see Freezing Celery

Re chutney, if you Google "celery chutney" you'll get dozens of recipes mostly with other main ingredients (e.g. celery plus tomato, celery plus peppers, celery plus mangoes etc). Here's one that's largely celery, gently lifted from the CIAO Jams and Preserves site (can't realy vouch for it as have never had a glut of celery but sounds tasty):
4lb. celery chopped
1 1/2 pint's vinegar
4 chillies
6 shallots
1 oz tumeric
ginger
salt
1oz mustard
6oz sugar

Boil the vinegar, chillies, shallots ,tumeric and sugar for 1/4 hour. Add the celery and boil until very soft. Add a little ginger salt and mustard. Pour into hot clean jar's and seal.
Yield approx 7-8 lb.

b.

[taff]

Thanks for that
It's probably more by accident than by design, honest. I only managed three last year, but since the bunny died, everything is more or less safe from predation now, so i ended up with 12. Doesn't sound like much now does it? I'll freeze 6 chopped up for soups in the winter including leaves, no-one else really likes it so to avoid munching away like a madwoman, I'll cook with it and make some more christmas presents
Good thread too, I enjoyed reading it

[bazzaboy]

Taff, To me managing to grow 2 would be a glut so 12 is quite impressive! Supermarkets seem to offer 2 and sometimes 3 different sorts - given the difficulty of growing and storing plus transport costs etc all at a very reasonable price (though I know from experience the 'economy' range is likely to be a bit tough and really only suitable for cooking). Celery seems to have become something of an overlooked veg surpassed by new kids on the block like peppers and aubergines! Mrs Beeton has countless references to it as a veg, a sauce, a soup, basis of gravies, salads etc. - e.g. page 212: "there are very few nicer vegetable preparations brought to the table than a well-dressed plate of stewed celery".... LOL... whereas Jamie at Home doesn't mention it once (one ref to celeriac). Tut.... b.

[SarzWix]

I'm really hoping to have a glut of celery this year - I've got 20 plants and none have died yet! So I might have a go with the chutney recipe. It'll also go into all the toamto based sauces, soups and ketchups that we make, and some in the freezer too

[Hilary B]

Where we spend time in Spain, celery (including the leaves) is a major ingredient in the 'stock pack' sold everywhere. I include it in the stock for paella when there. For that sort of purpose it should freeze just fine!