Is chutney best served hot or cold?
If you are a real foodie, you will know that chutney originates from India. It is made with a fruit base, vinegar, sugar and many spices. But there’s more that goes into making a delicious chutney, you might wonder if chutney is best served hot or cold.
Depending on the recipe and the goals you are looking to achieve when pairing chutney with your food… you will find that chutney is highly versatile.
Can I serve chutney with hot food?
Chutney is originally made to go with spicy curries, so what’s the issue with adding it with any other dish? Chutney is known worldwide and with other cultures creating their own from the blueprint India has set out for the world.
For example, American chutney is not intended to be spread on sliced bread, but it makes a delicious spread on lamb, no matter the way you like to serve them. The best way is in the form of lamb chops, they are luxurious meat that needs something delicious to complement the tasty flavours of the lamb. Glaze the meat with chutney, serve to your guests or loved ones, and then you are on the way to becoming Gordan Ramsay’s head chef!
But let’s move on from the chops, if we carry on talking about food, we might end up sending you to your fridge for a quick snack!
Although, sticking to meat… it depends on what dish you are looking to level up.
For example, if you run out of honey glaze for your ham joint, then the idea of serving chutney with hot food should spring to mind. Be adventurous and add a dollop of chunky, sweet, slightly spicy chutney and glaze along your ham, pop it in the oven and it will present to you a gorgeous, reflecting layer of chutney. But know that you can add it before it goes in the oven and when it’s sat ready to devour at the dinner table.
Do you love cheese toasties? Well, adding a spoonful of chutney to your ham and cheese or bacon and cheese toastie is the finishing touch to a brie-lliant toastie! A classic English breakfast that will never go old!
Now, if we flew across the globe back to southern Asia, (where chutney first originated) we will find that aromatic soup noodles will have chunks of fruit and vegetables in the broth.
This is because the locals have simply added a dollop of chutney into their noodle soup. Why not? More flavours the better right? Noodles are comfortably warm, rich in savoury and spicy flavours which work well with spicier chutneys.
Would serving chutney be better with cold food?
Absolutely, absolutely! (But don’t rule out serving it with hot food!)
Typically, you would serve chutney when it has been set to room temperature, this is where the condiment is the best performing.
We now know that chutney does work well with hot food, but pairing it with cold food can satisfy pretty much anyone.
Look at it this way, what makes a great snack? Not just the flavour, texture, or how much it costs but realistically, a great snack is when everyone is together. Like Christmas, birthdays, and anniversaries. Weddings and more.
Serving chutney on a food buffet during a special occasion can really take things to the next level, let’s find out which cold foods are best served with chutney.
Let’s begin…
1. Cheese & Crackers!
You have read the word ‘cheese’ and now your eyebrows have lifted in surprise. But if you didn’t know, cheese and chutney go hand in hand. Traditionally cheese, crackers, bread, fruit and chutney go way back, you see…the real foodies will tell you to grab a cracker, add a slice of cheese and a dollop of chutney and your mouth will explode with flavours!
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3. Classic Ploughman’s Lunch
A ploughman’s lunch is an English cold meal. The foods that come with it are bread, cheese, butter, pork pies, salad and chutney.
Think of chutney like a sauce, you add it to your food to enhance the flavour. That’s exactly what the aim is with chutney. You might think a ploughman’s lunch is quite bland but it certainly is not with the presence of chutney to add that finishing touch to all the foods included.
