Plum chutney! It's a favorite in our house. We hope we can make it a favorite in yours, too.

We're making it from scratch in this episode of our podcast. We've got a one-minute cooking tip. And we'll tell you what's making us happy in food this week.

We're veteran cookbook authors Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough, authors of three dozen cookbooks (plus more to come!). We've been contributing editors at EATING WELL and COOKING LIGHT and had food columns in both magazines.

Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:

[00:47] Our minute-cooking tip: an easy way to make great hot chocolate with store-bought plain truffles.

[02:24] We’re making plum chutney!

Here's the recipe:

Makes about 8 pints (can be halved). The jars, lids, sealing rings (if using), funnels, and ladles must be sterilized in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes.

• 8 pounds or 3.65 kilograms of small red plums, preferably Santa Rosa plums, although any juicy, sweet, red plum will do
• 2 1/2 cups or 600 milliliters apple cider vinegar
• 2 1/2 cups or 540 grams demerara sugar
• 2 cups or 400 grams granulated white or caster sugar
• 9 medium garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• One small-hand-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and
• minced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 cup or 60 grams finely chopped crystallized or candied ginger
• 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup or 150 grams raisins

1. First, a trick. Pour 16 cups (8 pints or 4 quarts) or 4 1/2 liters of water into a large stock pot. This is how much chutney you’ll make. You need a pot about a third larger than this for boiling. And notice where the water is—you’ll need this mark for later.
2. Pour out the water. Mix the plums, vinegar, and both sugars in the pot.
3. Set the pot over medium-high heat and add the remaining ingredients. Stir constantly until the sugars dissolve. Bring to a boil, stirring often.
4. Reduce the heat to low and simmer slowly, stirring often, until thickened a bit, until the chutney in the pot comes to about that mark where the water was in the first step.
5. Ladle the chutney into eight clean 1-pint or 570-milliliter jars. Either seal, cool for no more than 1 hour, and store in the fridge for up to 1 month or in the freezer for up to 1 year; or seal the jars and water- or steam-can them for 10 minutes.

[16:48] What’s making us happy in food this week: Italian meringue on a cake and smoked beef chuck stew!

The Instant Pot became a true craze. Even an international craze. At one point, a major department store was selling up to sixty Instant Pots per minute.

But things have dramatically changed. And we know why. We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough. We've written three dozen cookbooks including THE INSTANT POT BIBLE and THE INSTANT POT BIBLE: COPYCAT RECIPES. (Click those links if you're interested.)

We rode the Instant Pot roller coaster. And we're here to report back what happened. Join us for our food and cooking podcast. We're glad you're here.

Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:

[00:50] Our one-minute cooking tip: Trash your garlic press and use a small hand-held grater.

[03:27] What happened to the Instant Pot? It went from an international craze to a much smaller presence. We rode this roller coaster. We're here to report back, from our initial reserve about the pressure cooker to our giant, big-selling Instant Pot bibles!

[23:31] What’s making us happy in food this week: unexpected food pleasures and lemon marmalade.

JM Hirsch is no stranger to this podcast. He's got a new book out, all about building cocktails you can keep in your freezer door, ice cold for when friends drop over or you want to kick back. Join us as we welcome him back to our show.

We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough, authors of three dozen cookbooks (with more coming!). We've been contributing editors and columnists for the likes of COOKING LIGHT and EATING WELL. We've written for WINE SPECTATOR and THE WASHINGTON POST. And we've developed tens of thousands of original recipes during our twenty-five-year tenure in the food and cooking business.

This is our podcast about our passion. Thank you for being a part of it.

Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:

[01:09] Our one-minute cooking tip: toasting nuts in a microwave.

[03:22] Bruce's interview with JM Hirsch, author of the new book, FREEZER DOOR COCKTAILS. If you'd like to get a copy, you can find the book at this link.

[22:00] What's making us happy in food this week: smoked knackwurst and kimchi!