I have been selling jams and chutney for donations to the Little Dog Rescue Centre and was amazed at how well everything sold. Only sold to work colleagues of my husband but have now received lots of orders which is great. As we had sold out of all chutney we asked if anyone had a glut of veg they didn't need and received this huge bag of beans.
So..........I had made some of this chutney last year and wasn't too impressed with my efforts but this year I followed Delia's recipe and it has come out quite well. My only concerns/thoughts are these.
Nearly everything I have read on runner bean chutney suggests that it is ok to use the older tougher beans but I'm not convinced. First taste of this batch is good but you still get all the sharp stringy bits - do these soften and break down after time? It does say to leave for at least a month.
Also I blended my mix down quite a bit, not quite smooth but not chunky either. Most of the recipes I read say to just cut into strips but we did that last year and thought it looked unattractive.
Has anyone on here made this chutney and if so what do you think?
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.
I have not made this chutney in particular but will share my thoughts on chutney in general. Firstly, they definitely improve for standing - a month is a minimum though I usually held mine back until they were at least 3 months matured before passing on. After six months the flavour does not seem to change much.
Texture - that is a personal thing. As I prefer a pourable texture - more like a relish - this is how I prepare my chutneys - no big chunky pieces. With the runner beans I would imagine this could help in terms of softening them up properly. They may also tenderise further on standing.
Ooh - we love runner beans and always so surprised when I hear people who dont. You don't get any stringy bits with the nice tender ones just the older tougher ones. We grow them every year but this year all our crops have been on the poor side ......apart from the raspberries.
Now for the better news, the first batch I made which I was worried about is actually very nice once you try it as it is meant to be eaten.....either in a roll or sandwich or with ploughmans etc. It's still too soon for it's flavour to have mellowed but hubby has tried some out of the testers pot which I always have for jams/chutney/jelly (I never seem to make exact amounts for jars, do you?) and assures me that there are no noticeable sharp or stringy bits. I have him well trained to be honest with me otherwise how will I know if it's any good or not.
2nd batch is being done today and we are going to make sure all older beans are excluded to see if it makes any difference.
Thanks for your thoughts Rob, I did read (somewhere) that the vinegar and sugar in the chutney helps to tenderise the beans if they need it, which seems to make sense.
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.
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