Chutneys are highly-spiced, sweet-sour pastes with the consistency of
thick jam. They come originally from East India and make a tasty
accompaniment to meat, fish and other dishes; they can also be added as
a delicious seasoning to dishes being cooked. Chutneys can be bought
ready-made, but home-made one taste even better. You can make from a
wide range of different ingredients. They are always based on fruit
(apricots, mangoes) or vegetables (e.g. tomatoes), to which are added
sugar and vinegar, a wide range of spices and seasonings and often
raisins as well. The ingredients are cooked slowly over a low heat until
they form a thick paste. Chutney can be served fresh or can be put which
still warm into small jars - it will keep for months if tightly sealed.
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Pickled & Preserved food plays an important part in the oriental diet.
In the days before refrigeration and rapid transportation, fresh food
had to be preserved for the lean months, so that it could be conveyed
to regions that were often a long way from the source of supply.
For pickled & preserved vegetables, to a lesser extent, fruits are used
all over Asia. Some of the more famous examples include chow chow, the Chinese
sweet mixed pickles that are now an American favorite, and kimchee, the
tart, garlicky pickle that is served at almost every Korean meal. In
Japan, pickled vegetable are hugely popular, as are pickled plum, while
Indonesian cooks relish atjar kuning, a yellow mixed pickle which is
mildly hot.
There are several ways of preserving & pickling food. The most common
way is to use salt as a preservative, then dry the food in the sun or by
another source of heat. Another age-old method is to partially dry the
food, then pickle it in brine or a soy-based solution.
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