Table 1 – Apple Chutney

When I spent my summers as a kid and teenager at Camp Onas in the late 1970s and early 1980s, we ate all our meals in a huge, screened in dining hall. It held about 150 of us at 18 rectangular tables surrounded by simple wooden benches. Each table sat a couple of counselors and seven or eight campers. For meals, you weren’t allowed to sit with your friends. Rather campers of all ages – eight to fourteen – were assigned randomly and shared each table, the better to mix things up and get to know everyone.

We ate family style with one or two campers acting as “runners” who went to the kitchen counter to get serving bowls and platters filled with food. At the end of each meal another camper stacked all the plates while two more cleared the table. Some counselors assigned these tasks equitably among the table’s campers, occasionally even helping out themselves, while others played elaborate but fun table games, the losers having to carry out the chores.

We switched tables every week. Sometimes you would get a good group, other times, not so much. It didn’t really matter, as long as you weren’t assigned to Table 1.

Russ and Jane were the camp directors when I attended, as they had been for many years, and they always sat at Table 1. It’s not that Russ and Jane were bad people – they were actually lovely and did a wonderful job leading the camp, making it a very special place for many of us – but when you sat at their table, you had to be on your best behavior. Conversations were more subdued and serious, you didn’t play table games, if you had a problem you didn’t discuss it, and you had to eat a little more respectfully; the overall mood was different.

One particular summer when I was a counselor I got assigned to Table 1. It was perfectly fine, if not particularly exciting. For some reason, someone started talking about apple butter, and it turned out that Jane was a serious devotee. One might call it obsessed. And she insisted it had to be served with cottage cheese, which, I learned was an old Pennsylvania Dutch combination.

For a week it must have been all we discussed. And then, out of nowhere, as campers from each table ran to get food for their respective tables one morning, they were carrying back bowls of apple butter and cottage cheese to spread on bread. A privilege of being director, I guess.

At Table 1, Jane was thrilled. Despite the eye rolling and probably gagging, Jane made everyone try it, campers and counselors alike. I was not a fan. The apple butter itself was meh, and to this day I cannot stand cottage cheese.

The combination lasted only a few days in the dining hall, a result of less than stellar enthusiasm from the majority of camp, but Jane was happy. When the week was over, and we switched tables, I left Table 1 and moved to one where we talked about something other than apple butter and cottage cheese.

Apple Chutney

There are an infinite number of different types of chutneys, relishes, and spreads that accompany an Indian meal, ranging from savory and salty to spicy and sweet. They are one of the highlights of eating South Asian food. This apple chutney – modified slightly from the Moosewood Cookbook – may not be a traditional variety, but I love its adaptation. And apple chutney is not all that different than apple butter, albeit with the spices significantly amped up. Whenever I cook an Indian curry or grill yogurt and spice marinated chicken I simmer up a batch of this chutney to accompany dinner, especially because there are almost always a couple of apples in the refrigerator.

Using apples, this chutney is sweet, tart, and spicy, and while not pretty, it is the perfect foil to a rich meal. I have even adapted it into Cranberry Chutney to serve in place of cranberry sauce and brighten the heavy Thanksgiving dinner. It’s much better than any chutney you can find in a jar. As always, modify the spices – especially the amount of cayenne – to match your flavor profile or that of your guests.

makes about 3 cups, 1 hour, mostly unattended, plus chilling time

1½ lbs. cooking apples (about 3), cored and chopped (no need to peel)

1 clove garlic, minced, pressed, or grated

1 Tbsp. ginger, minced or grated

½ cup orange juice

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. cloves

1 tsp. salt

1 cup honey

¾ cup cider vinegar

½ tsp. cayenne pepper, or more to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer uncovered, about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Allow to cool before storing in a clean container in the refrigerator.

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