BBC Good Food

20 December 2007

Tested

"Wonderful flavour and texture ... eventually! Like others I found it took far longer than expected to reduce the mixture after adding the 500ml water - three hours, in fact. I wonder if it makes a difference how wide a pan you use. Mine was 20cm and quite a deep casserole shape - maybe a wider pan, such as a preserving pan gives quicker results. I agree boiling rather than simmering would have shortened the cooking time, but when I tried this, the results were volcanic. so it was back to the gentle simmer sharpish, before all the chutney ended up on the hob! This was the first time I'd made chutney so I didn't know what to expect, but I have other chutney recipes which warn you to allow hours rather than minutes for simmering, so I think my experience is probably par for the course. And my husband likes it too- the first time he's ever found a chutney he will even consider."