# Educate me about chutney? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 12, 2008, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-chutney/476805 "2008-12-12T01:04:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-chutney/476805/1 "2008-12-12T01:04:28Z")
I’m 37 years old and I’ve never had chutney. I’m not even certain what it is, exactly. From descriptions, it sounds very similar to salsa, though with a mango base instead of a tomato base? Education desired! And if there are jarred brands I might be able to find, that info would be great, too. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-chutney/476805/2 "2008-12-12T01:13:22Z")
[Crosse & Blackwell - Major Grey’s chutney](http://www.crosseandblackwell.com/products/default.asp?groupid=48&catid=254&prodid=472). Try it with Cool Ranch Doritos. After that introduction, you can branch out to others. But that’s where to start. You can put it on damn-near anything - [meat](http://homecooking.about.com/od/chickenrecipes/r/blpoul112.htm), veggies, [fruit](http://homecooking.about.com/od/dairyrecipes/r/blfruit4.htm), it doesn’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-chutney/476805/3 "2008-12-12T01:20:49Z")
I have a confession. I despise raisins. Is the chutney you linked to something with whole raisins? There are very few foods I hate and raisins are right up there with mint. Bleargh. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-chutney/476805/4 "2008-12-12T01:24:16Z")
Chutney can be made with mangos, but it doesn’t have to be - any fruit with enough body to withstand the cooking process without turning into mush can serve as a base. Green tomato and papaya are fairly common primary chutney ingredients. Chutneys are usually eaten with curries, although I _think_ that may be a result of British colonial influence in India, rather than a locally generated culinary habit. Since I’m not sure and I’m too lazy to look it up, I will shut now. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-chutney/476805/5 "2008-12-12T01:27:33Z")
There aren’t that many of them…just pick them out if you must. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-chutney/476805/6 "2008-12-12T01:28:02Z")
Chutney is a broad category of pickled fruit and vegetable products, ranging from mango chutney, which is almost like a jam, to the dark, spiced relishes that may or may not contain raisins and may be chunky or finely chopped. Relish is probably closer than salsa (the latter often being a fresh, unpickled concoction - in my understanding and experience of it, at least) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-chutney/476805/7 "2008-12-12T01:29:09Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > There aren’t that many of them…just pick them out if you must. [Oh, there are more than a few.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chutney) ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-chutney/476805/8 "2008-12-12T01:31:28Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > There aren’t that many of them…just pick them out if you must. I could mail them to you if you like. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-chutney/476805/9 "2008-12-12T01:39:18Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > [Oh, there are more than a few.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chutney) He was replying to my question about the raisins, because raisins are evil. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-chutney/476805/10 "2008-12-12T04:25:58Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > He was replying to my question about the raisins, because raisins are evil. I for one welcome our new wrinkled overlords. ---
**Author:** ![Carson\_O\_Genic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Carson\_O\_Genic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carson_O_Genic)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-chutney/476805/11 "2008-12-12T11:47:58Z")
I grew up in a culture where people made their own. Mangetout’s description fits my experience. Good chutneys make slight deviations from the acid/sweet balance according to personal preference, and always have some texture, tending towards chunky. Vinegar was the acid of choice, unlike salsas, even though citrus was at hand. Used as a table condiment, on whatever you were having. The Crosse & Blackwell version is a good starter if you’re in the U.S., but note the original wouldn’t have used HFCS. ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-chutney/476805/12 "2008-12-12T12:53:25Z")
As others have said, there are a tremendous amount of chutneys out there - some so different that it seems odd that they should all fall under the same category. Some can be preserved - like mango chutney, some should be made fresh every day - like tomato or coconut chutney (my GOD I love coconut chutney!). Check out [Manjula’s tomato chutney recipe](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t2uqOkc4NQ) - easy to make and pretty tasty. If mango chutney is more to your taste you should not settle for less than [the wonder that is Geeta’s](http://www.geetasfoods.com/chutneyspickles.htm). I have never had better mango chutney than Geeta’s - even in India. Delicious. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-chutney/476805/13 "2008-12-12T17:53:20Z")
Coconut chutney? Oh my. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-chutney/476805/14 "2008-12-12T19:37:49Z")
Jsgoddess, although it is not technically a chutney… I believe a common American binary of chutney would be [Mincemeat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mincemeat), as in [Christmas Mincemeat Pies](http://www.eaglenonesuch.com/history.asp). If you’ve tried a mincemeat pie then you have a baseline for the taste of some types of chutneys. I imagine you would hate mincemeat however, because it is chock full of raisins… ---
**Author:** ![superwombat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superwombat/32/16616_2.png) [@superwombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/superwombat)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2008, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-chutney/476805/15 "2008-12-13T04:13:51Z")
[Oh God, I’m sooo sorry for this.](http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/chutney/) Tee Hee ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2008, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-chutney/476805/16 "2008-12-13T05:57:01Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > Jsgoddess, although it is not technically a chutney… I believe a common American binary of chutney would be [Mincemeat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mincemeat), as in [Christmas Mincemeat Pies](http://www.eaglenonesuch.com/history.asp). If you’ve tried a mincemeat pie then you have a baseline for the taste of some types of chutneys. I imagine you would hate mincemeat however, because it is chock full of raisins… Thanks. I was reading through the replies, looking for a description of what a chutney might actually TASTE like, and **Mangetout** ’s reply had me thinking “Hmm, that sounds like a mincemeat.”