Starfruit Chutney

Recipe for 10 kg of starfruit

Harvesting and preparation

• Harvest predominantly or fully yellow-orange starfruit using the harvesting pole and collection basket. Follow the separate harvesting instructions.
• Weigh out 10 kg of starfruit.
• Wash the whole fruit under potable running water. If necessary, gently clean the areas between the five ridges with a clean produce brush. Dark marks on the surface can often be removed at least partially. Do not scrub so hard that the skin is damaged.
• Using a sharp knife, trim the edges of the five ridges. On ripe fruit, remove only the outermost edge; less ripe fruit may need slightly more generous trimming.
• Remove the tip, stem end, and any damaged or mushy areas.
• Cut the starfruit into slices 4–6 mm thick, removing the seeds as you go. Our tree usually produces fruit containing only one seed, although some fruit may contain three or four.

Additional ingredients

• 8 large onions
• 20 small chile panameño peppers
• 20 garlic cloves
• 200 g fresh ginger
• 700 g tapa dulce, an unrefined cane sugar
• 1 litre white vinegar with 5% acidity
• a small amount of vegetable oil for sautéing
• salt to taste

Method

1. Dice the onions.
2. Finely chop the chillies and garlic.
3. Cut the ginger into thin slices across the grain, then dice it very finely. This prevents long fibres from remaining in the chutney.
4. Heat a small amount of vegetable oil in a frying pan and sauté the onions over medium heat until translucent.
5. Add the chillies and ginger. Add the garlic shortly before the end and remove the pan from the heat before the garlic begins to brown.
6. At the same time, place the starfruit slices in a large pot and heat them, stirring frequently. The fruit will soon release a substantial amount of its own juice.
7. Once enough liquid has accumulated in the pot, add the tapa dulce. Continue stirring until it has completely dissolved in the starfruit juice.
8. Add the vinegar and sautéed ingredients and mix thoroughly.
9. Simmer the chutney for approximately 60 minutes, stirring occasionally. If it is still too liquid, extend the cooking time to no more than approximately 90 minutes.
10. Season with salt.
11. Fill clean, heat-resistant, boiled jars with the hot chutney, leaving approximately 5–10 mm of headspace. Make sure that the solid ingredients are covered with liquid as far as possible.
12. Close the jars immediately and allow them to cool.
13. Label each jar with the contents and production date, then keep it refrigerated at all times.

Flavour development

Immediately after preparation, the chutney may taste considerably hotter. After several days in the refrigerator, the flavours combine and the heat generally becomes more balanced.

Important notice

This recipe has not been validated for storage at room temperature. The chutney must therefore be kept refrigerated.