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Peach Melba Sauce

Peche Melba is a classic French dessert consisting of poached peaches covered with raspberry sauce. This combination of flavors also makes a great sauce. Try using it on ice cream, plain cheesecake, or layered with crème fraîche in parfait glasses.

Three 16-ounce bags frozen sliced peaches, defrosted and coarsely chopped, or 9 cups peeled, pitted, and coarsely chopped fresh peaches

Two 16-ounce bags unsweetened raspberries, defrosted, or 6 cups fresh raspberries, rinsed and picked over

2½ cups sugar

Grated zest of 1 orange

2 tablespoons cornstarch

combine all the ingredients in the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours, until the fruit is softened and the sauce is thickened. Cool to room temperature. Using an immersion blender, purée the sauce, then push the purée through a fine-mesh sieve.

store the sauce in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or the freezer for up to 1 month.

makes about 10 cups

Mango Chutney

Chutney is a sweet and savory condiment that is served with Indian foods. When mangoes are on sale at my local grocer or farmers’ market, I’m there grabbing the plumpest ones for this terrific chutney. I will give this away as gifts in pretty jars to my friends at Christmastime; I’ll include the recipe to go with it, too. The chutney is traditionally served with curry, but it also can be spooned over a block of softened cream cheese and served with crackers. It’s delicious as well stirred into mayonnaise and used to dress chicken salad.

10 large ripe mangoes, peeled, pitted, and cut into ½-inch dice

½ cup cider vinegar

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 cup golden raisins

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon turmeric

Two 4-inch cinnamon sticks

combine all the ingredients in the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, until the mixture is thickened and the mangoes are soft.

cool to room temperature, remove the cinnamon sticks, and store in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

makes about 10 cups

Apple Pear Chutney

Autumn fruits pair in this sweet and savory condiment that is terrific served with pork or poultry. Try using this chutney to glaze a ham or pork roast; the sauce from the roasting pan will be a delicious combination of the drippings and the chutney.

1½ cups cider vinegar

1½ cups firmly packed dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons crystallized ginger, finely chopped

Two 4-inch cinnamon sticks

1 cup golden raisins

1 cup dark raisins

1 medium onion, finely chopped

Grated zest of 1 lemon

Pinch of cayenne pepper

6 under ripe pears, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped

6 crisp cooking apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped

combine all the ingredients in the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours, until the chutney is thick and the apples and pears are softened.

cool to room temperature, remove the cinnamon sticks, and store in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

makes about 10 cups

Cranberry Chutney

This sweet and savory sauce is scrumptious served alongside poultry and pork. I serve this at Thanksgiving classes to rave reviews, but it’s so good that many students make this all year-round to glaze ham or pork loins.

Two 12-ounce packages fresh or frozen cranberries, defrosted, washed and picked ovr (discard any white cranberries)

Two 16-ounce bags frozen sliced peaches, defrosted and coarsely chopped

3½ cups sugar

2 medium onions, chopped

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

2 cups pecan halves

combine all the ingredients in the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours, until the cranberries have popped and the chutney is thickened.

cool to room