Zabricot chutney recipe

Making Zabricot Chutney

What is “Zabricot” I hear you asking. Its name comes from Les Abricots (the apricots) in French and our forebears must have named it thus for its colour because it doesn’t look or taste anything like an apricot. It is also known as Mammy Apple and Mamisiporte in other Caribbean islands. I’m really not sure why this fruit is so unknown and underused as it grows on a gigantic tree and produces a huge crop. It also tastes good and is full of vitamins and minerals. All you have to do is look at the vibrancy of its colour. The flesh is soft and sweet tasting and the yield from each fruit is approx 600g (21oz)!

The zabricot is the one up front in the photo below with cinnamon coloured skin and a “belly button.” In order to peel, make an incision, skin deep, at the opposite end to the belly button and repeat so you now have the 4 quarters marked out. Just peel away like in the photo above. The resulting skin looks so graceful don’t you think?

You then cut through the fruit carefully into thirds or quarters depending on how many of the large wooden seeds are inside. You kind of have to feel around with the tip of your knife to find the way through. After that simply cut the flesh away from the seeds and chop quite small as this fruit doesn’t break down easily during boiling.

Zabricot Chutney Ingredients

Recipe makes 5 smallish jars

750g (27 oz) zabricot flesh

425 ml (15 oz) cider vinegar

1 yellow seasoning pepper or chilli

1 tsp salt

115g (2 oz) ginger

170g (6oz) sultanas

350g (12oz) brown sugar

Mix all the ingredients into a roomy pot and allow to simmer for about 45 minutes. The test for doneness is, if when you drag a spoon across the middle of the mush and it leaves for a moment, an indentation. I likened it to the parting of the sea in the old testament in my post on mango chutney.

Remember to wash your jars well and heat for a few minutes in the oven to kill any nasties. This will ensure that your zabricot chutney will last if undisturbed, for many months.