I'm not dreaming of a White Christmas.. I long for a deep, purply red affair from Cranberries and nothing but! We all know that a successful festive meal involves Tezza the Turkey being smothered in the stuff but what about the surrounding snacks? A chutney just has to feature!
The tartness of plump cranberries is balanced beautifully by the sweetness of caramelised red onions. Serve on a warm ciabatta with a soft, creamy farmhouse brie and salad.
I picked up this jar of Baxters Cranberry & Caramelised Red Onion Chutney from trusty old Tesco which I can't remember the price of nor can I find it on the website.. Always one to be highly informative, me!
If I had smelt this with my eye closed, I would have thought it was a Branston Pickle wannabe - Between that and a onion jam anyway! Regrettably, I took a taste of this straight out of the jar (Not the whole spoonful, mind!) and almost had my socks blown off. It was ridiculously vinegary acidic and tangy which burnt on the way down and would most likely set off the most horrific bout of a Gaviscon required ailment. Once the sharpness had subdued, I thought it had a salad cream sort of taste along with full on onion from the big chunks and as it smelt, a pickle edge. My tongue was a bit sore from just trying a little but I am happy to say that when eaten as suggested with a creamy cheese, the flavour did mellow with a slight cranberry sweetness making for a wonderful accompaniment - Not to mention a bit different to your usual chutney!
Overall and after my little mishap of taste testing a fresh jar of chutney by it self, along with living to tell the tale, I very much enjoyed this offering from Baxters. I will definitely be trying it on my boxing day sandwich instead of the usual Cranberry Sauce and can easily see myself going all out and maybe even using it as a dip for hot Camembert Bites - A 4 out of 5 from me!
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