by Jesse Griffiths

Photography by Jody Horton

Chutney is an all-encompassing and delicious use for leftover vegetables, bumper crops, or those big bags of fruit given to you as a gift. It can be made with anything. I prefer a mix of sweet fruit, some vegetables, raisins, sugar, vinegar and spices. The technique is nothing more than cooking everything down to a paste and seasoning to your liking to achieve that nice balance between sweet, spicy and sour. I have used apples, pears, green tomatoes, overgrown zucchini, plums, onions, kumquats, peaches and sweet potatoes with varying success. The great part is that you can make it a month ahead of time—it keeps well in the fridge and gets better with age.