CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Donald Ikeda and grandson Brandon Hong show off all the chutney and jelly Ikeda made for the Discover Moiliili Festival.
Starting with right mango
key to best chutney
Donald Ikeda has been making mango chutney for 30 years, but ask him why and he doesn't have a quick answer.
Got chutney?
Find Donald Ikeda's mango chutney and lilikoi jelly at these events:
Discover Moiliili Festival
When: 3 to 9 p.m. Saturday
Place: Moiliili Community Center
Featuring: Food booths, preserves and baked goods, entertainment, kid's activities, storytelling.
Admission: Free. Presale tickets for sushi ($3.50) and spaghetti plate ($7) available at the center and other Moiliili locations.
Call: 955-1555.
Plant and Potpourri Fest
When: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 11
Place: Nuuanu Congregational Church
Featuring: Crafts, plants, sale of homemade foods
Admission: Free
Call: 595-3935
Certainly not for stress-relief.
"I wouldn't say it's relaxing," Ikeda says.
All that peeling and chopping, all the work and precision that goes into sterilization ... "It's quite intense."
Expensive, too, what with the jars, and all the ingredients (raisins, ginger, almonds). Good thing the mangoes are free.
But Ikeda is pretty much unstoppable when it comes to this predilection for preserving. He is the main supplier of not just mango chutney, but also lilikoi jelly for the Discover Moiliili Festival (in it's eighth year this weekend) and the Nuuanu Congregational Church's Plant and Potpourri Fest (in its 25th year next month).
"I don't mind it," he allows. "I enjoy it because I feel I'm doing some good."
Ikeda already has put up 150 jars of chutney and 120 jars of lilikoi jelly for the Moiliili Festival and will be working on more for the church event.
The lilikoi comes from his back yard, the juice frozen through the year as his plants produce fruit. The mangoes he gets from a friend. "I'm kind of fussy about using only Chinese or common," he says. "Somehow the other mangoes don't come out as good. "
Ikeda began preserving after a visit to his mother's home on Maui, where a common mango tree was in full-production and much of the fruit was going to waste.
He knew nothing of canning then, but plunged in anyway. He's since refined his technique, moving from paraffin seals ("that's a mess") to vacuum heat-sealing.
Ikeda is retired from his paid job as a radiologist at Kuakini Medical Center, but he doesn't anticipate retirement from his career in canning. "For one thing, our family loves chutney, and the other thing is that it's gotten to the point that at our church they're kind of expecting it. I figure it's a win-win situation."
He's willing to share his expertise, too. Here's his recipe:
Boil vinegar and sugar for 5 minutes, then add mangoes first, followed the other ingredients. Cook over medium to high heat about 1 hour, until mixture thickens.Mango Chutney
3 cups vinegar
9 to 10 cups sugar
7 to 7-1/2 pounds sliced green mangoes (common or Chinese mangoes are best)
1 cup finely sliced ginger
1 cup sliced orange rind
8 ounces raisins
1 large onion, diced
1-1/2 cup slivered almonds
3/4 teaspoon red pepper powderSterilize 12 or 13 16-ounce jars and lids by boiling for 20 minutes. As soon as the jars are ready, fill with hot chutney. Cap immediately.
Nutritional information unavailable.
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