Blueberry Chutney with Basil & Lime

Now you can wrap your lips around a sweet-tart fruity breakfast cup of fermented fruit and veggies. The base recipe for Blueberry Chutney with Basil & Lime is a foundation for a trove of fruit combos that can also be a dessert, palate cleanser, fruit salad, and more…

This recipe makes 1 quart.

– Recipe by Bill Hettg

Ingredients for Blueberry Chutney:

• 1½ pounds of jicama, peeled, medium shredded (use shredding disc or grater).
• ½ pound of Asian pear, peeled, cored, medium shredded, (or Bosc pear or other firm types).
• 1 teaspoon of gingerroot, peeled and finely grated.
• ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract.
• ¼ teaspoon of white pepper, (or black), finely ground, freshly milled is best.
• 1 tablespoon of Celtic Sea Salt or other premium brand for the brine.
• 1 cup of blueberries, fresh, frozen, or dried; coarsely chopped if large.
• ½ cup of fresh basil, loosely packed, 1/4-inch pieces.
• 1 fresh lime for 1½ teaspoons of lime zest and lime juice

Directions for Blueberry Chutney:

1. Prepare ingredients as described above. Mix well in a large bowl. (if using fresh blueberries, add them after step 2.)
2. Squeeze mixture for several minutes until a good wet brine forms.
3. Fill a clean 1 quart jar with your ingredients and the brine, tamping lightly as you go until about 2 inches from the jar lip.
4. To make your salt water brine, dissolve salt in filtered water at a ratio of 1 tablespoon of salt to 2 cups of water for this 1-quart batch.
5. Fill your jar with this brine solution until about 1 inch from the jar lip.
6. Use some sort of weighty object to hold the Blueberry Chutney under the brine solution. Be sure to place the jar in your sink as you do this as there is sure to be spillage. We sell our brine overflow cup as a weight here: Brine “Catch” Cup – Wide Mouth
7. Remove the cup and wipe any debris on the lip of the cup and the jar, then put the cup back in. Install a Lid Gasket inside a Wide Mouth Fermenter Lid. Tighten the lid until its snug.
8. Add tap water to a ClearView Airlock to the max line. Now gently insert the airlock into the hole of the fermenter lid until snug. Make sure not to push too deeply into the lid. As the fermentation happens, the water should move back and forth, and bubbles should move through the airlock, this is correct and indicates a tight seal.
9. Write down the date you began fermentation on the lid using a Lid Marking Pen. After 4 days, check to see if the Blueberry Chutney is sour enough for you. If it is not, just add a day and re-check.

For even better and more delectable recipes, check out our Fermentation Recipe Booklet, where you will find many recipes, tips and tricks to brine pickling, and so much more!