Chilli Jam?! (Ok - Tracklements Mango & Chilli Chutney) - (@NLi10)

After Uncle Roger initially caused a stir on YouTube about Egg Fried Rice he then criticised Jaimie Oliver for using 'Chilli Jam' in his own recipe.  This is correct - Mr O rarely gets the recipes right, and is a big fan of bashing in anything within arms reach to great effect.  

Thing is - I was pretty sure we had a jar of the stuff sitting unopened at the bottom of one of our cupboards.

Looks ace right? But when are you actually going to use this at home?

That's a lot of spicy stuff - maybe too much for a nice side with ham after Christmas.  But wait! We can order popadoms with our takeaway as an indulgence and have an excuse to try this!

And wow is this powerful.  I chose a curry at the top end of my spice tolerance and this made it feel tame for the first few mouthfuls.  I think it's the ginger - I have a really low tolerance for it - but my goodness is this special.  I don't want to waste this chucking it at EFR, I want to save it for the inevitable left-overs and for the popadoms as intended.  I guess this counts as another Diwali review (I had Masala Mughlai) but frankly I'm eating this all over the winter and looking forwards to it.

Another ace pick up from the Tracklements family. 

(and here is the video in question)

 

Leftovers and Cottage Delight Apple chutney (@NLi10)

As with other years we have lots of odds and ends left after all the family festive food, and we got a gift to help us take care of it.

While it’ll take us most of a year to get through all this preserves are a welcome addition to any cupboard.

The just For Pulled Pork is a smart angle to go for, but frankly I can’t wait for the pre-chewed Pork phase to pass. I mean McDonalds got told off for selling mechanically reclaimed meat, and now it’s a big trend. I’m fine without.

This does look like a nice treat though so let’s find some regular meat to try it with.

Doesn’t look like much on the plate, but it packs a mighty punch. The hot part is nice, not overpowering but suitably picante. The smokey was less noticeable but the sweet flavour of the apple carried it through. The bites had varied texture so I’m guessing you’ll get peaks and troughs in the flavours too which is nicer than a purée or jelly.

I’ll enjoy trying the other parts of this box too (thanks mom!) but for now a spoonful or two of this can be expected to be added to every meaty meal that I eat. Lovely stuff.

Hellfire Plum Chutney (@RaydalePreserve) [By @SpectreUK]

This Hellfire Plum Chutney was bought by Cinabar's brother at a farmer's market near Leeds and sent to me via express delivery to either blog about or just to torture me in some bizarre way! Ashamedly it's sat on a shelf in the Foodstufffinds grotto ever since. Until one brave moment (okay so it was going out of date) I plucked up the courage (couple of weeks and it would have been in the bin) to try this Hellfire Plum Chutney on a lunchtime sandwich for work. I could see the dark purple colour of the chutney through the transparent jar, there were plenty of chilli seeds bobbing evilly around in there like a multitude of baby demons waiting in plain sight. Despite the scary hot look of the chutney there was a pleasant sweet fruity smell of plums, and I could see that there was plenty of raisins and chopped up bits of fruit and onions in the purple chutney. I put a brave (dumb) hefty dollop on my corned beef sandwich. I foolishly forgot at that point and licked the knife before putting it next to the sink for washing. First of all a good safety tip would suggest not licking knives (I did cut my lip the other day, which suggests a lack of learning from one's mistakes). Secondly don't lick anything that is covered with something that's called "Hellfire". Having said that, this chutney had a sweet plum and appley fruity chutney taste to it with a chilli bite at the end of the flavour that caught at the back of my throat. I had spread the chutney pretty thick on my sandwich, so I began to worry a little (okay, more than a little). I needn't have worried though as the plum chutney really brought out the flavour of the corned beef, complementing the meaty taste in such a way as to make me feel stupid (even after licking a knife a second time that week) for not trying this chutney immediately after I had unwrapped it. This Hellfire Plum Chutney made my corned beef sandwich almost unputdownable. All the flavours of the chutney were present from the fruity plum and apples, the onions, the raisins, the zing from the vinegar, the ginger tongue tickle, and the final throat catching chilli heat at the end of the flavour. An excellent healthy feeling chutney I must say. I don't know about hot as Hellfire, but this Plum Chutney was devilishly pleasurable to eat!

Information on the label;
210g. Produced by Raydale Preserves, established in 1978 by Lesley and Derek Kettlewell on their family farm in Leyburn, North Yorkshire. Ingredients included; plums, apples, onions, raisins, sugar, white wine vinegar, chillies, ginger and salt.

By Spectre

Slightly Naughty Jam (hotstuffchillicompany.co.uk)

The packaging and product name rather amused Spectre, he liked the jar and the idea of a chilli product that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Despite this I decided to do the write up of this item, as it isn’t one of the ‘liquid fire’ chilli sauces, and instead is more of a manageable heat.
The jar suggests using the jam with cheese and cold meats, but I decided to try it first as a garnish with fish cakes. Its bright red colour looked attractive on the plate, and its thick jelly nature made it look appetising.
The flavour was wonderfully sweet with a sour edge, which perfectly balanced the heat from the chilli. The spice was decent, adding a good tang and a tingle, but I felt it enhanced rather than overpowered my tuna fishcake. This is an ideal heat for me, I like the fact the chilli shines through, but there is depth to the flavour and it complements other tastes.
I was pleased to discover a strong product behind the quirky jar. We also have a bottle of Hot Scotch Sauce from the same company, which I looking forward to trying, but I might leave Spectre to the right up for that one – he has braver taste buds! In the meantime I am rather looking forward to trying this chilli jam with a rustic platter of bread, cheese, meats and olives.

Somerset Ale Chutney [By Spectre] (thebaytree.co.uk)

There are quite a few ale chutneys on the market, but this one from The Bay Tree struck me as one worth writing about. It has a mix of real ale, Bramley apples and cider vinegar that is recommended on the jar to go well with a good cheddar. Spread thickly on a beef salad sandwich this chutney ended up on a plate with Cinabar’s Worcester Sauce flavoured Twiglets, a selection of pickles and olives and a large chunk of Marmite Cheddar. As recommended I also put a dollop of chutney on the side of the plate to eat primarily with the cheese. We sat down to enjoy an episode of Burn Notice. You can definitely taste the sweet apples in the chutney, and there is a sour edge of cider vinegar to tease the palette. The ale in the chutney complemented the beef in the sandwich well, but the best part of the lunchtime feast was each piece of cheddar I popped in my mouth went down with a helping of chutney. This was a heavenly combination that was akin to the Food of the Gods. The strong cheese, the apple and cider vinegar, the meaty Marmite flavour and the ale all mixed together lovingly in my mouth. And of course, watching Fiona flouncing around on the screen made it a double treat!

By Spectre