Hi, Folks; I’m back.

Excited about the food, but still wish I was on the road.

I have not made it back into the laboratory for a new recipe yet (although I have great ideas to try), but I wanted to say a word about Chutneys.

That word is “wow.”

Chutneys come into our food world from the Indian subcontinent, and were adapted and adopted by the British. British food has traditionally been rather bland, but they have a fine appreciation for condiments of every kind, and borrowed heavily from this spicier tradition when they occupied India as a colony. Chutney can be a variety of things, but is generally made of fruits, vinegar, sugar, salt, and spices that are boiled down to a thick sauce–about the consistency of jam. The combination of the pungent tartness of the vinegar with the sweetness and the flavor of the fruit, along with the saltiness and the spices is amazing, and allows for an infinite number of possible combinations.
It is great to accompany simple things like a ploughman’s lunch or eggs, but can be served on the side of just about anything. I had an amazing sandwich picked up at a Spencer & Marks store of a caramelized onion, wensleydale cheese & chutney.  A somewhat similar thing would be certain British forms of pickle–like Branston Pickle or Piccalilli. They can be used for many of the things we would use salsa.

I had sort of been preparing for chutney thanks to my friends from “Eat Local Or Die!” at the Johnson City Farmer’s Market, who make some incredible savory jams, or which my favorites are the Caramelized Onion Jam and the Caramelized Onion and Ghost Pepper Jam. I made a really interesting bruschetta by stacking a slice of raw beet, a slice of sheep ricotta salata, a dollop of Ghost Pepper Jam and some roasted salted pecans on a piece of French bread toast.

Anyway, instead of a recipe, I will encourage you to go out and experiment on your own, either boiling down that fresh fruit you have with some vinegar and making your own chutney, or by finding some and seeing what you can come up with.

Enjoy.
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Love.