Ingredient

Chutney

Chutney is fruit or vegetables cooked slowly with vinegar, sugar and spice until thick and dark. The vinegar is the point: it preserves, it balances the sugar, and it is why chutney improves for months where jam does not.

What makes it a chutney

Jam relies on sugar and pectin to set and preserve. Chutney relies on a combination of sugar and acetic acid from vinegar, cooked down until very little free water remains. It does not set; it thickens by reduction.

That means chutney is far more forgiving than jam. There is no setting point to hit, no pectin to worry about, and a chutney that is too thin is simply cooked for longer.

It also means chutney takes a long time. An hour and a half of slow simmering is normal, and the finish is unmistakable: drag a spoon through and the channel should stay open for a few seconds without vinegar running back in.

The method

1. Chop everything to a fairly even size. Chutney is not blended, so the pieces you cut are the texture you get.
2. Put the harder ingredients — onion, apple, root vegetables — into the pan with the vinegar first and simmer until beginning to soften.
3. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Adding sugar too early toughens fruit skins and they never soften afterwards.
4. Add the spices. Whole spices in a muslin bag can be lifted out later; ground spices go in directly and colour the whole batch.
5. Simmer uncovered, stirring more often as it thickens, for an hour or more. It will darken considerably — that is caramelisation and it is what you want.
6. Test with the spoon channel. When it stays open, it is done.
7. Pot into sterilised warm jars with vinegar-proof lids — plain metal lids corrode — and seal at once.

The balance

Vinegar

Malt for traditional English chutneys, cider for fruit ones, wine vinegar for lighter ones. It should be a substantial proportion, not a splash.

Sugar

Usually dark brown or demerara. It sweetens, thickens and darkens.

Salt

A surprising amount. Chutney needs it to taste of anything.

Spice

Mustard seed, coriander, cumin, ginger, chilli, allspice, clove. Generous — the flavours mellow substantially over months.

Dried fruit

Sultanas, raisins and dates add sweetness and body and are traditional.

Maturing, and why it matters

• Fresh chutney tastes harshly of raw vinegar. This is normal and not a fault.
• Left in a cool dark place, the acidity mellows and the flavours combine. Two months is a minimum; six is better.
• This is why chutney is a good autumn job for Christmas, and why every recipe says to make it well ahead.
• Use vinegar-proof lids. Acid corrodes bare metal, which taints the chutney and can perforate the lid.
• Once opened, keep it in the fridge and use it within a few weeks.

Common questions