Peach Chutney
This chutney is in the fashion of Major Grey's chutney using peaches instead of mangos. Peaches are the star and make the backbone of the flavor profile. But you also get the complexity of sweet, tangy, savory along with warm spices.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds peaches
- 2 inch knob of ginger root (about 30 grams) finely grated
- 1 small onion (about 4 ounces) finely diced
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
Prepare the Peaches
- The peaches must be peeled and chopped into ½ inch pieces.
- There are two methods of peeling peaches. The first is simply to use a vegetable peeler. This works best with firmer peaches. Try to incorporate a little horizontal slicing movement or gentle zig-zagging as you peel, allowing the blade of the peeler to do the work. Draging the peeler straight down will often pull on the skin and not work as well.
- The second method is a blanch and tug method. Bring a pot of water to a boil and set up an ice bath. Score an X in the bottom of each peach. Working with 2 or 3 peaches at a time, blanch the peaches in the boiling water for 30-60 seconds and transfer them to the ice bath. Remove from the ice bath and tug at the skin from the scored X. If they were blanched for long enough, the skin should pull off in sheets.
Cook the Chutney
- Combine all of the ingredients in a sauce pot over medium-high heat.
- Simmer and stir regularly, using a wooden spatula to scrape up anything that is sticking to the bottom of the pot and a silicon spatula to re-incorporate what sticks to the side of the pot. The peaches will loose their form and the onions will soften. As the water content steams off, the chutney will thicken. You must stir more often as the chutney thickens.
- The chutney is ready when you can swipe a path on the bottom of the pot and the chutney does not flow back to fill the gap.
Notes
- This recipe produces about two and a half cups of chutney.
- Garam masala is a type of curry powder. It incorporates common curry powder ingredients such as cumin, coriander and cardamom, but it is characterized by warm spices such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. If you don't have garam marsala, simply substitute cinnamon, or a combination of cinnamon and nutmeg, or a pumpkin pie spice blend.
- I usually use a microplane to grate the ginger, so it's flavor is evenly distributed and there are no little bites of ginger. Mincing with a chef's knife works as well, but the texture of the ginger will be detectable and they will provide little bursts of flavor. Both methods are interesting, just different.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!