I recently went to South Africa with a friend for Chinese New Year and learned about the beautiful delicacy that is Mrs Ball’s chutney. I made sure to bring back some bottles for my own use. I was looking around and found this on a website, funkymunky.co.za, which has MANY South African recipes:
SARIE magazine did an investigation into the origin of the world famous Mrs H S Ball’s chutney. Not only did they find descendants of Mrs Ball living in South Africa, but they obtained a copy of the original recipe as well. SARIE gave me permission to publish it on my site, a world first, I think! The recipe was tested by SARIE and the tasters state that it is even better than the original!
Mrs H S Ball’s Chutney
Makes about 18 bottles (mild)
612 g dried peaches
238 g dried apricots
3 litres dark grape vinegar
2 1/2 kg white sugar
500 g onions
120 g salt
5 g cayenne pepper
To make chutney “hot”, add 75 g minced hot peppers.
To make peach chutney, leave out the dried apricots and use 850 g dried peaches.
Soak the dried fruits overnight in the vinegar. Then boil in the same vinegar until soft, and drain. Mince in a food mill or chop up with a knife. Add the fruit, sugar (dissolved in a little of the same vinegar) and onions (minced) and boil in the vinegar in a large pot. The amount of vinegar will depend on the consistency. It should not be too runny or too thick, but like the product in the bottle. Do not boil to long, watch the consistency. Add the cayenne pepper and/or hot minced pepper, and boil 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Stir now and then with a wooden spoon to ensure it doesn’t burn.
