Mango Jam... Sweet Mango Chutney

With all the cloudy days we've been having, I haven't been able to take a descent outdoor/indoor 'natural light' photo in all last week. Don't you agree that this is a nice outdoor 'last minute'...photo of my amazing mango jam, and sweet mango chutney?

If I want to take descent natural light photos, I have to take them at my daughter Lora's house in her lovely kitchen with plenty of natural lights or on the patio. As for my little condo, I have only one spot for photos, but I DO have GREAT lighting in my tiny kitchen, 3 different types which are very helpful for photos!

Enough of the photos...still up to our 'eyeballs' with the mangoes, as you can see in Lora's recent post as well!

Since she came back from Italy, we've been busy making all kinds of things with mangoes...but she's the one that made the majority of the jams.

See what I mean? ...natural lighting is 'everything'...same mango chutney inside, by the glass door...can't even correct the color...and the same one, in the jar.

BTW-this pretty dish is an American antique from the 1930's 'thrift find' for $2.99 that I gave to Lora. I just love the ruffled details and the 18 carat gold...if that's not an amazing treasure, than I don't know what is!

Although Lora brought back with her Italian pectin and has used the metric system measure with her little scale to weigh the fruit, the sugar, and use the pectin accordingly, I am satisfied with our 'good old' American made by KRAFT FOODS, which I'm happy to say, I also used for the Sweet Mango Chutney, which I will give you a full recipe for the 'spicy' version, but you can eliminate the spicy peppers, onion, and garlic for the sweet version that I used, because the little ones love this even as a thick jam!

Just to let you know how much I love this product, I did buy a double VALUE PACK just the other day, to use it for a GIVEAWAY gift for any one, that would be interested of using that great pectin, made in the U.S. by KRAFT FOODS!
It is a double pack, sealed in plastic, with instructions on the box, and inside with a packing slip, as well for other suggestions of uses. It is 100% natural, and no 'animal' products added. If you are interested in receiving this amazing product, which takes the place of AGAR...that is a lot more expensive...than by all means let me know, and mention what you wold like to use it for! I will use the RANDOM.org calculation, to determine the winner, by Friday @ 11:00PM Eastern Standard time.

On another serious note:
Did you know that on Aug. 1, 2012, Foodbuzz will no longer exist?...or is it joining Daily Buzz Food? As a Foodbuzz Publisher, I don't recall getting any notice in my e-mail...but I do know that for several months now, I have not been getting paid for ads into my Pay Pal account. I have close to 3,000 friends on Foodbuzz that I have been so fortunate to befriend in the nearly last two years on Foodbuzz, among them my dear friend Lizzy, Gina, Chef Dennis, and Jo...from day #1 we've been supporting one-another all this time, and I've had the pleasure of meeting them (except Lizzy)...at last year's fantastic Foodbuzz Food Festival, in San Francisco...another question?
What is happening this year with the Food Festival? I've gotten the invite, but have not responded...and now, THIS?...I am totally perplexed!

I've submitted an application to be a content contributor for DailyBuzz Food, and given you my RSS feed. Why don't I see my content yet?

Diane
posted this on Jul 23 12:16

Our system soon will push your RSS content onto appropriate channels automatically, but for the time being we're manually processing posts. They'll show up as soon as we can mark them active. Thanks for your patience!

This was just one of the questions posted re: the new Daily Buzz Food...if anyone knows more info regarding the change on Foodbuzz, please let us hear about it...I'm in the 'dark'...and have no answers other than what you may all know!

For the Mango recipe:
Follow the instructions of the Sure-Jell, or other pectin of your choice, package instructions. You can make any kind of jam easy, as long as you have a sterilized jar, and lid...make sure you refrigerate it, otherwise you would have immerse the jars with the jams in boiling water for 10 minutes, and let it cool completely. before storing it in a cool place in your cupboard. (Personally, I prefer the fridge method)

Mango Chutney
adapted from Cooking Light

2 medium ripe mangoes
peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 sweet onion chopped
1/2 red bell pepper chopped
1 jalapeno pepper diced
1/2 cup golden raisins
3 Tbsp brown sugar
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger
1 teaspoon of pectin
(you can use powdered instead)
dash of salt
dash of black pepper
1 garlic clove minced

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan Cook over medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes or until thick. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat, Cool completely. If too chunky, mash with potato masher. Spoon carefully into sterilized jars with sterilized lids, and refrigerate. It will keep fresh for up to 3 weeks (if it stays that long)

For the sweet version:
Just omit the hot peppers, including the black pepper, and also the onion and garlic...otherwise, follow as in the original method. (the original version did not use pectin; but it really does make a great difference in texture and flavor, so I added it)

note: either one is great as a condiment on burgers, fish tacos, or as a side sauce, heated up and thinned out a little, or even as a jam on toast!