I love to reuse, repurpose and eliminate waste wherever I can. It actually makes me a little giddy to create something valuable out of a thing most people would discard. So, when I read Rosemary Glasdstar’s suggestion to use the marc from making Fire Cider into chutney, I was all over it. The marc is the plant material left over after you have filtered/pressed all the liquid out. My Fire Cider recipe was made from such wonderful and powerful ingredients (ginger root, horseradish root, turmeric, onion, garlic, jalapeno peppers, and lemons), it did seem a shame to compost it. And thanks to Rosemary, I have something yummy to do with it.

During the process, I learned that it was not necessary to put the Fire Cider through a press which leaves the left over marc rather dry and chutney is not supposed to be dry. I ended up adding some Fire Cider to moisten it up. Therefore, if you intend to use the marc from the Fire Cider, simply filter it through a cheesecloth lined stainless steel strainer.

Here’s my version of Fire Cider Chutney.

• Fire Cider marc
• ½ cup chopped dried apricots
• 1 cup raw buckwheat honey (I like how the bold, rich taste of buckwheat honey balances the hot and spicy taste of the marc)
• Fire Cider, if marc is too dry

Add all the ingredients to a food processor and mix on pulse; you want it chunky, not a paste. Gently warm the honey so it will mix easily with the Fire Cider marc, add to taste (make sure not to heat honey over 120°F, as it will kill the wonderful enzymes and bacteria that are so rich in healing properties). You want a hot spicy and sweet chutney; play around with the ingredients.

I was so excited to share my new creation that I brought little jars to a dinner party for friends to taste and experiment.  I was overjoyed with the results, some people simply enjoyed it right out of the jar, and others added it to hamburgers. I am having fun adding it to many of my favorite dishes. I love the spin it gave my chicken soup. My brother-in-law enjoyed it on his falafel sandwich. I can’t wait to try it on my next Salmon dish, I usually mix mango chutney with mustard but I think Fire Cider Chutney will be a nice twist. Add the chutney to stir fry, eggs or veggie dishes. You are only limited by your imagination.

Store the chutney in the refrigerator to ensure freshness.

Enjoy!