Vintage Eats Recipe: 1984 Hot Spicy Curried Fruit

Right now, while typing this post, I’m wrapped in a woolen cap, sweater, yoga pants, socks, shoes, and fuzzy blanket. I slept during the night covered by a quilt made by my great-grandmother (handsewn and in great condition –I love it!) and a flannel blanket made by my daughter-in-law (I love her!).

In case you can’t tell from the number of clothing pieces, I live in one of those many spots on the map that is currently experiencing frigid temps.

An inch of snow yesterday fell on ground that was already frozen and snow-covered, thanks to a much-colder-than-normal winter. This photo was taken by my daughter of our backyard — lovely in its icy stillness.

I’m praying for all people who have to be out in this weather, especially those who work outside. Please take care of yourselves and thanks for all you do.

On this snowy day all I can think of is cooking something to warm up the kitchen. And that something should be warm and comforting.

Hot Spicy Curried Fruit is the perfect answer!

Hot Spicy Curried Fruit is taken from “A Taste of Indiana—A Holiday Sampler Cookbook.”

This is a new recipe to me, but it was a popular one from the number of times I saw it featured with slight derivations in dozens of these older church cookbooks.

Assorted fruit mixtures heated (usually baked, though sometimes put into a slow-cooker) and spiced with cinnamon and curry appeared time after time.

My small can of curry powder had sat on my pantry shelf for a long while. I decided to give it a go. Those myriad of cooks from the past couldn’t be wrong!

One problem — my pantry shelves didn’t hold dark cherries, pears or peaches. Why bother making the recipe if I didn’t have several of the main ingredients?

I did have frozen blueberries, apricots, raisins, a can of cherry pie filling, and bananas. Having baked with all of those, I felt certain they would work as tasty substitutions. I was right!

Plus, the other cookbooks used these extra fruits in their variations. Really, any fruit could work in this tasty compote.

The curry seasoning was just right, not too hot, but just enough of a high note to excite my senses.

I ate a small dish plain—yummy. I could see it being poured over pound or angel food cake or added to oatmeal for breakfast. The possibilities are endless!

See my notes at the end for tips on making Hot Spicy Curried Fruit. This is a good recipe to clean out your pantry, refrigerator, or freezer. Plus it is easy with a minimal amount of stove cooking which I added.

Let me know what combination of fruits you use and what you think of this recipe.

Take care,

Featured Cookbook:

A Taste of Indiana—A Holiday Sampler Cookbook

It was published by volunteers of the Indiana Division, Inc. of the American Cancer Society. This 4^th edition has 173 pages, including a table of contents with special menus for holidays (as befitting the title) and index of recipes. It contains recipes from cooks in many of Indiana’s counties and names of cooks and counties are included.

According to the introduction by Nancy L. Howell, State Cookbook Chairman, “Dollars raised from cookbook sales will be spent in the American Cancer Society’s program of research, public education, service and rehabilitation.”

The blurb inside the front cover: “The cookbook is dedicated to volunteers who are helping to find the greatest recipe of all, the cure for cancer.”

I can’t emphasize my own desire for this as well. My beloved husband, John, died in October 2024 from prostate cancer. It’s still hard to think about.

When weather permits, I hope to volunteer with cancer-related events to promote this cause of finding answers. God bless those working to find cures.

I know John would have loved this recipe as he loved all fruits.

Take care,

**

Hot Spicy Curried Fruit

1 16-ounce can dark cherries

1 20-ounce can pineapple chunks

1 16-ounce can pear halves

1 16-ounce can peach halves

¾ c. packed brown sugar

½ stick butter (4 ounces or ¼ c.)

2 t. curry powder

1 t. cinnamon

½ t. nutmeg

Drain fruits, saving the juices.

Arrange fruit in flat casserole dish.

Combine juices with brown sugar, butter, and spices.

Bake at 325 degrees about 20 minutes or until heated through.

Serve as an accompaniment to main dish or meat.

Yield: 8-12 servings

Submitted by Mary Jane Wilson of Montgomery County (Crawfordsville)

My Notes:

1. As mentioned above, I substituted other fruits in equal amounts for those listed with great results.
2. I chose to thicken the juices so I heated them in a medium-sized sauce pan over low heat until just boiling, then poured the sauce over the fruits before baking. This step may not be necessary so I’ll omit it next time.
3. My oven’s temperature was set for 350 degrees for another item so I left it there, keeping an eye to make sure the fruit didn’t burn. They were only in for 20 minutes so all was well.

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