How to make cherry chutney

This cherry chutney recipe is a fantastic summer condiment. If you are unfamiliar with chutney, let me give you a quick description. It’s like a relish, it has sweet and sour ingredients, usually coming from sugar or fruits and vinegar. It is a blend of sweet and savory. Warm summer months, when stone fruit is at its peak, is the perfect time to make this recipe.

I’ll give you variations and substitutions where I can, plus helpful tips and tricks for success. Read on for this info as well as the recipe. If you’d like to skip straight to the recipe, use the jump to recipe button at the top of the post.

If you enjoy fruit chutneys, you might also like my apple chutney bruschetta or my loquat chutney recipe. For ease of browsing, you can find all of my fresh cherry recipes in one place.

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Why you should make this cherry chutney

This chutney is really versatile, and cherries are at their peak from the end of May through August. During the summer months, I buy pound after pound of fresh cherries because the season is not very long.

I paired it with grilled meat, but it can also be a great addition to a cheese board, a charcuterie platter or as a tasty spread on a sandwich. Chutneys go really well with cheese.

Chutney is a great condiment to use with grilled meat or vegetables and this cherry chutney went splendidly with a grilled skirt steak.

There are so many chutney varieties. Try this one and once you get a feel for chutneys, mix it up and try different fruits! Experiment with your favorites or combine a few different fruits.

Chutneys are a fantastic way to preserve fruit without turning it into a sweet jam. You can make this chutney your own by adding in whatever fruit you have on hand. If you have a handful of ripe fruit that needs to be used up, toss it into the pot.

What is chutney?

That, my friends, is a lengthy discussion. If you are thinking about traditional chutneys from India, those are entirely different than this fruit chutney. 

The chutney that I am referring to, for our purposes, likely came from the British. Thank you, England! It was a way of preserving fruit, much like making jam. The main difference is the addition of vinegar.

All chutneys should have a sweet and tart (or sour) quality to them. If it is just sweet, it should be called preserves.

Ingredients

This chutney recipe uses common items. If you have a well-stocked pantry, you might already have most of the ingredients.

• Fresh cherries – I’ve used fresh cherries here, but you can use frozen cherries if they are not in season.
• Grainy mustard – It is milder than other mustards and the soft seeds add great flavor.
• Red wine vinegar – Fruity and gives a perfect balance to the sweetness.
• Red onion – Mild onion, substitute with a sweet onion if you can’t find red/purple onion.
• Garlic – Normally, I go very heavy on garlic, but not here. It will overpower, so be judicious.
• Ginger – Gives this chutney a little heat and tons of flavor. You can use squeeze ginger from the produce aisle if you can’t find fresh.
• Brown sugar – provides sweetness to balance the vinegar, has a deeper flavor than white sugar.
• Currants // raisins – I prefer currants, but raisins (regular or golden) are the best substitute.
• Oil – Just enough to sauté the onions and garlic.
• Salt & pepper – Because everything needs to be seasoned. Always.

How to make cherry chutney

Here’s a quick summary of how to make cherry chutney. Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full recipe. 

1. Sauté onions and garlic in oil.
2. Add red wine vinegar and cook for a few minutes to soften onions.
3. Add remaining ingredients and cook for about 30 minutes.
4. When mixture has cooked down and is thick and syrupy, you’re done!

Fresh cherry chutney Q & A

Here are a few quick tips, and some answers to frequently asked questions.

Variations and substitutions

If you like a little heat in your chutney, you can add half of a finely diced jalapeño pepper, or a teaspoon of crushed red pepper.

Shallots are a perfect substitute for red onion, and the flavor is a bit milder.

Raisins or currants can be omitted if you are not a fan, but they do lend a sweetness to the chutney, so you may have to adjust sugar.

Helpful tools & equipment

• Cherry pitter – This is an essential tool for making the job of pitting cherries go quickly
• Dried Currants – This is what you’re looking for at the grocery store, and a link to grab them from Amazon if you can’t find them
• 8 inch Chef Knife – a great investment, buy a quality knife and take care of it. You’ll never have to buy another one.
• 8 oz jars – perfect size for storing your chutney

Serving suggestions

This cherry chutney recipe pairs well with a charcuterie or cheese board, plus it makes a great bruschetta topping.

Try it with grilled meats like steak, lamb or pork.

Cherry season is not around for long, so don’t wait too long to grab a couple of pounds. I’ll be making another big batch before the summer is over to put up on the shelves so I can enjoy them long after they disappear from the stores.

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Originally published 8/2/16.

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