I like foods that go POW! in your mouth, and a good chutney is one of those kind of foods. It should be sweet, savory, tart, spicy and contain many layers of flavor that unfold like waves of an earthquake in your sensory system when you eat it. Chutney is a concentrated food - a condiment. If you come across a chutney recipe that calls for water, don't believe it!
Once you understand the basic principles of chutney, you can play around with ingredients and don't really need a recipe at all. In my understanding, a recipe is merely a suggestion, anyway. Unless you're baking, and then there are a different set of rules.
THE FRUIT When choosing your fruit for chutney, always pick something seasonal - peaches, mangoes, apricots in the summer; plums, pears, apples later in the year. Use fruit that has some fiber and heft to it. Watery fruits like melon and berries are not very suited. They are reserved for other delights. Make sure your fruit is ripe - in ripeness lies flavor. Rock hard peaches or mango will make for a tasteless chutney.
DRIED FRUIT The addition of a dried fruit is very helpful when making chutney. It will add depth and also structure to the consistency. Raisins - golden and dark, depending on your main fruit, are great. Dried cranberries and currants go well with lighter fruits, such as pears and apples. You can even use dried apricots or apples.
SAVORY The savory element will come from onion, garlic, hot peppers and ginger. It's important to chop these ingredients into small dice. They are supposed to provide an underlying element of surprise and not be big crunchy chunks that overpower.Chutney also likes salt. It's not a salty condiment, but the salt will bring out and marry all the flavors. No salt will make your chutney flat.
SWEET Sweet comes from the fresh fruit, the dried fruit and sugar. I almost always use brown sugar, though some recipes suggest white. Depending on your fruit, the ripeness and natural sweetness, you'll want to use more or less sugar. The finished product should be sweet but not cloying. Always taste your ingredients to make an educated decision about the sugar.
TART Tart comes from vinegar and citrus. Original Indian chutney was pretty sour, but British influence and development have made it sweeter. I like my chutney to have a bit of a tang without being jarring. The tart/sour element should be the perfect balance to the afore mentioned sweet. Depending on your fruit, you can use vinegars of varying acidity: apple cider, red wine, white wine vinegars are awesome. I would steer away from rice wine vinegar (too weak) and balsamic vinegar (too sweet and strong). You can also add chopped up lemon with peel, lemon zest, lemon juice, orange zest, lime zest. You can cook strips of zest with your chutney and fish them out later.
If you've suffered through my tome about chutney, you'll now enjoy two recipes I'd like to share.
Cranberry Chutney over Baby Brie with Toasted Pecans
Fresh Fig Chutney
This is best made when figs are in season, which is fall. Figs are sweet, though not as sweet as you might think when they are fresh. Slightly underripe figs will work best for this particular chutney (I know that contradicts my earlier statement). They cut up better and taste better in this context.
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
1 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 pieces of star anise
1 tsp allspice - ground
1 1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 cup dark raisins
Zest of one lemon
1 tart apple peeled, cored and chopped
1 small onion or 1/2 larger onion, chopped fine
1 pound of fresh figs - any kind will work - stemmed and cut into smallish pieces.
Put everything except the figs into a non-reactive saucepan, stir around and bring to a boil. Turn down to medium and allow the the liquid to reduce a bit - about 10 minutes. Add the chopped figs and stir. Simmer until the liquid is quite thick, about 20 minutes. Once the chutney is cooled, it will set up, too. So you don't want it to be gummy, but also not soupy.
When it has reached the right consistency, put it in clean or sterilized jars. This will make about two good-sized jars full. If you have not used a canning method, refrigerate and consume within 4-6 weeks. This chutney is very good with cheese - sharp cheddar, brie, etc. Or with lighter meats - pork (which I personally shun), turkey, chicken, etc.
Peach (or Plum) Chutney
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup light brown sugar or more to taste depending on your fruit
3/4 cup finely diced onion
1 jalapeno pepper, cored and finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
2 inches of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped, or grated if you have a ginger grater
1 Cinnamon stick
1 star anise
4 cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup golden raisins
2 pounds of peaches (or plums), blanched, skinned and chopped in smallish bits.
Combine all ingredients except the fresh fruit in a non-reactive saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce a little until the liquid is slightly syrupy. Add fresh fruit, bring to a boil, then simmer for about 20 minutes - stir occasionally. The liquid should be reduced, the fruit should be very soft.
Put into very clean jars and store in the fridge for up to 4-6 weeks. Or use a canning method and store until the ages. You can also warm the chutney and pour it over a whole brie - or a wedge, and of course enjoy with hot and cold meats. Many vegetarian dishes will benefit from chutney as well.
Try your hand at chutney - it's a fun and delicious condiment.
