Sweet Chili Sauce

This old-fashioned chili sauce is more like a spiced fruit chutney than anything you’d find in a bottle.

Fresh ripe tomatoes cook down with peaches, pears, onions, celery, and bell peppers in a vinegar-sugar base laced with cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. The fruit breaks down as it simmers, giving the finished sauce a naturally thick, jammy consistency with sweet and tangy layers.

Low and slow is the way. Stir frequently and keep the heat gentle so the sugars don’t scorch on the bottom. The sauce is done when it coats the back of a spoon and holds its shape on a plate.

Chef Tips

• Use dead-ripe tomatoes. Underripe ones lack the sugar and juice that make this sauce special. Late summer, when tomatoes and peaches overlap at the farmer’s market, is prime time.
• Chop everything to roughly the same size so it cooks evenly. Bigger chunks of fruit will leave lumps in the finished sauce.
• Taste as you go and adjust the vinegar-to-sugar ratio. Sweeter fruit needs more vinegar for balance; tart fruit needs more sugar.
• This freezes well in mason jars. Leave headspace for expansion.

Variations

• Spicier version: Add a chopped habanero or a few dashes of cayenne for real heat behind the sweet.
• Apple harvest: Swap the peaches and pears for tart apples and add a splash of apple cider vinegar for an autumn batch.