Yesterday I made and canned thirteen jars of Cranberry-Apple Chutney for Christmas gifts.

"I ate an entire jar with a spoon, thinking, 'I wonder if the next bite is as delicious as the last?'" Kameon said.

I prefer this chutney with more apples. The original recipe called for four apples. Yesterday, I increased it to seven. Needed more liquid to cook the apples. So, I added a second cup of apple juice.

Reduced down, the chutney tasted too sweet. So I added a 1/4 teaspoon each of ginger and cinnamon and a splash of vinegar. It tasted good to me.

Hot, canned jars must stand undisturbed overnight, placed an inch apart.

Cranberry-Apple Chutney

Three cups brown sugar
Two cups vinegar
One cup apple juice
Two teaspoons ground ginger
One teaspoon granulated garlic
Quarter teaspoon coriander
One teaspoon cinnamon
Half teaspoon nutmeg
Half teaspoon diced orange peel
Half teaspoon salt

Five apples, peeled, cored and diced
One package (twelve ounce) fresh cranberries
Two cups raisins

Combine brown sugar through salt in a large, heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for five minutes.

Add the fruit to the mixture in the saucepan. Bring to a boil, then turn to very low and cook covered until the chutney thickens. The amount of time varies with the amount of juice in the apples. Stir it frequently. But it needs cook at least one hour.

Uncover and simmer, stirring frequently, to reduce the liquid. Remember it will thicken as it cools, so remove it from the heat just before it reaches the very thick stage.

Divide between containers if you are giving the chutney as a gift. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Yield: Twelve half-pint jars.

Photos:

1. Yesterday's jars made with seven apples after resting overnight. Ready for labels.

2. Two years ago made with five apples.