Tomato relish with ginger, coriander and chilli
Saturday, November 13, 2010 at 4:06PM Does anyone know the difference between chutney and relish?
I have tended to use the terms interchangeably, but with a preference for ‘relish’ since I think the double meaning is rather fitting; I certainly take delight in eating it. I have always called this recipe a relish, but before posting it I wanted to check that I was using the right term.
I started by looking in the River Cottage Handbook No.2: Preserves by Pam Corbin. She begins by explaining that we “learnt about chutney-making from our Indian colonies in the nineteenth century, and authentic Indian chutneys are usually fresh preparations served with spicy foods”. So far so good, on this point I can find a general consensus. She continues,
The British interpretation of chutney is rather different: rich, highly spiced, sweet-sharp preserves, based on vegetables and fruit which are chopped small and cooked for a long time to create a spoonable consistency and mellow flavour.
Relishes she defines as sitting somewhere between pickles and chutneys,
these are made from diced or chunkily cut fruit and vegetables but they are cooked for a shorter time than a chutney. They can be spicy, sweet, sour (or all three), may be eaten soon after making and should be kept in the fridge once opened.
At this point my recipe is sitting somewhere between the two; my fruit and vegetables are cut to unspecified and varying sizes, cooked for a long time to create a spoonable (if by that she means thick) consistency, but with a flavour that is far from mellow (yes, all three). It may be eaten soon after making (I dare you to resist) but is better after two months maturing in a cool, dark place. Despite this, it ought to be kept in the fridge once opened. Hmm.
Larousse Gastronomique is less concerned with the size of the fruit or vegetables, “Some chutneys are reduced to a pulp; others retain recognizable pieces of their ingredients” and describes the texture as 'syrupy'. I am relieved when I read that “Chutney is served as a condiment or relish”, surely this attests to the synonymous nature of the words? This relief turns to elation when I read the definition for relish,
A highly flavoured condiment which resembles chutney, usually with a hot or piquant flavour ... A relish may take many forms; for example; it may be a sweet-and-sour puree made from sour fruits and vegetables, with the addition of small pickled onions, guerkins and spices (such as ginger, chilli pepper, cinnamon, white pepper, cloves and nutmeg), simmered with soft brown (coffee) sugar and vinegar. [my emphasis]
Hurrah! Not only does this suggest that the words are interchangeable, but it is bordering on providing a description of this very recipe.
Conclusion: I’m going to stick with relish.
Ingredients
Method
Heat the olive oil over a low heat in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the onions and garlic, stir and cover. Sweat until soft and translucent (approximately 5 minutes), stirring occasionally.
Turn the heat up to medium, add the tomatoes (tinned and fresh) and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Add the sugar and vinegar and leave to simmer on a low heat for at least two hours, stirring occasionally. When it is just starting to thicken, add the ground coriander, coriander root, paprika, cayenne pepper, ginger and a little of the red and green chilli. Stir and check for seasoning then add more chilli if it is not spicy enough; be careful not to let the chilli overpower, it should just provide a little background heat.
Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, add the dill gherkins and cook until it has reached a thick and spreadable consistency with soft chunks. Add the coriander, stir and remove from the heat.
Spoon into sterilised jars while it is still warm, cover with a little olive oil and screw the lid on tightly.
Makes approximately 1700ml (about 8 small jars).
This recipe is at it's best after a month or two, so if you make it now your relish should be about right at Christmas time. It makes a great gift when you have lots of extended family to buy for and need to be reasonably thrifty, and people are always really appreciative that you have made something yourself.
My preference is to serve the relish with strongly flavoured cheeses, such as a mature cheddar or potent blue, but it also goes well with cold meats or on burgers.
Reader Comments (5)
YUUUUUMMM!
i think i am going to take a leaf out of your book this christmas and make relish and/or jam for those whom i want to give something but know i dont really have the money!
im very excited for the end of exams when i can become all domestic and bake and simmer and such!
will certainly be trying this one out.
xxx
A word of warning, it will be hard to maintain the self control to keep the relish until it has matured, but it is worth the wait. You may also find it rather difficult to part with, hence the big recipe! It is a very dangerous jar to have in the fridge. I have eaten half a kilo of cheese already this week. Naughty!
sooo i had a late afternoon coffee and decided what better time to make vixy's relish!?
its now 130 in the morning...and i don't think im tired yet...eeek!
anyway relish went really well...except i think it may be too sweet...do you have any remedies for this? or is simply a case of letting it mature?! naturally i haven't left enough time for it to mature before i give to people for xmas so that its at its prime...how long should i put on the label that it can keep for/should be waited to consume?
not sure if any of that makes any sense but hopefully you can read through my over tired coffee addled nonsense and get the gist!
xxxx
The relish should be quite sweet. It won't lose its sweetness in maturation (although the flavour may become less dominant) so it is probably too late now, but I would say next time if you think it is too sweet you could add more vinegar and salt to counteract it. I wouldn't recommend adding less sugar because that would affect the consistency.
Re. use by date - if you have sterilised and sealed the jars properly, it should keep pretty much indefinitely. However, an older relish will go off quicker once opened. It is easy to tell if it is going bad because it will go mouldy. The reason two months is optimum is that I find the ginger and coriander flavours fade if it is left much longer. Why not just tell them when it will be best, rather than give a best before?
I have seen many posts similar to this one on internet but all other have filler content and are not up-to-the mark.