Cheese and chutney pairing (AD)

We all love a festive cheese board: it’s the perfect end to any meal and there’s so much cheese available to choose from, so it’s easy to find a cheese for everyone. We often tend to focus on cheese and wine pairing, but I believe that it is equally relevant to give the same importance to cheese and chutney pairing – especially during the festive season. There are endless variations of chutneys, ranging from spicy hot, tingly tangy and all the way to sticky sweet. The main ingredient can also vary from classic vegetables (onion chutney, tomato chutney) to nuts (peanut chutney), pickles or fruits (apple chutney, fig chutney). With so much variety, how do we choose the perfect chutney to pair with our cheese?

Cheese and chutney pairing ideas

• Spicy, vegetable-based chutneys such as onion & chilly, spiced tomato etc. work well with medium-hard, aged cheese like Cheddar, Pecorino or Gruyere. These cheeses usually have a mild taste which can be easily complimented by hints of spices and heat.
• Tangy, fruit or vegetable based chutneys such as apple chutneys make a good pairing for White Stilton, Cheshire or other crumbly cheese that have a slightly stronger flavour. It’s really all about balancing the acidity of the chutney with the flavour of the cheese.
• Sweet, fruit based chutneys such as the Epicure Sticky Fig Chutney are great with mild, soft cheeses such as Brie, but they work just as well with intensely flavoured blue cheeses such as Stilton or even Gorgonzola.

I love the Epicure Sticky Fig Chutney so much that I have picked it for the Ingredient of the Week Challenge. You can use it to pair with cheese or even pates. So feel free to share your cheeseboards with sticky fig chutney on Instagram. Tag me @mintandrosemary and @EpicureCooks and remember to use the hashtags: #TheWeeklyIngredientbyAndra and #BeEpicurious.