Switch to Artisan Chutney, Jam & Marmalade

Most towns have shops where you can buy artisan chutney, jam and marmalade, made by locals who know how to cook with real ingredients. You can make your own, but most people don’t (it’s also quite complicated, as you have boil the jars or sterilise them in the dishwasher). Safer and easier to just buy from others!

Choose seedless preserves for children, swallowing difficulties or teeth problems. Check medication before consuming grapefruit or rhubarb. Before using, read our post on food safety for people and pets.

Chutney is very popular in England, though it’s actually from India (the word ‘chaatna’ means ‘to lick’ in Hindi – hence mango chutney. Mostly made with apples, onions and vinegar, it’s good with a vegan cheese sandwich or in a Ploughman’s lunch.

Piccalilli is also good with Ploughman’s, made with cauliflower, runner beans, garlic and mustard powder.

Preserves & Chutneys (made from food waste)

Fruits of the Forage (Cheshire) makes lots of good preserves, all made from food waste, that would otherwise go to landfill. The seasonal ingredients are taken from people’s  gardens (with permission!), hedgerows or farmers’ fields, where they would otherwise rot.

This family firm has also planted 2000 native trees, for the benefit of local wildlife. The range includes:

• Damson and Sloe Chutney (hedgerow fruits, good with vegan cheese).
• Heritage Pear Chutney (wild apples and heritage cooking pears)
• Cider and Onion Chutney (made with Herefordshire cider, sweet onions and Bramley apples)
• Quince Preserve (tastes like apple/pear combined, good with vegan cheese on toast)
• Dandelion Flower Syrup (vegan honey alternative, good for dressings and baking)

Artisan Jams and Marmalades

The range is extensive. A few of note are:

• Yellow Egg Plum Jam (made with wild plums from Vale of Evesham)
• Rhubarb Chilli Jam (with cooking apples and foraged wild garlic)
• Victoria Plum Jam (a hint of caramel sweetness)
• Hedgerow Harvest Jam (damson, plum, apple, elderberry, blackberry)

A wise bear always keeps a marmalade sandwich in his hat, in case of emergency. Paddington Bear

Syrups, Cordial and Liqueurs 

• Winter Warmer Cordial (a no-alcohol mulled wine with damson, plus and apple). Good also hot with a dram of brandy, or to spice chilled sparkling wine)
• Raspberry and Sweet Cecily Liqueur (raspberries and mint, with Peak District Sweet Cecily)
• Damson Brown Sauce (ideal with chips or a vegan BLT)

Tasty Relishes (from wonky fruits & vegetables)

The Wonky Food Co makes a small range of delicious relishes, all made from wonky fruits and vegetables, that are discarded by supermarkets and sometimes farmers, and would otherwise end up on landfills.

20 years ago, the founder’s summer job on a New Zealand fruit farm, was to walk under kiwi fruit vines, and throw ‘misshapen fruits’ on the  ground to rot. He never forgot this food waste issue, and now makes three relishes:

• Chilli Tomato (nice with vegan cheese or add to pasta, or use as a marinade)
• Zesty Lime (nice to add to curry recipes)
• Tangy Onion (for vegan gravy and stew recipes)