What is the difference between Chutney & Pickle/Achaar?
It is Saturday morning, and you wake up to the faint sizzle of batter hitting a hot iron pan in the kitchen. That is a familiar sound. You rush out of bed and go to the bathroom to quickly do your business and brush your teeth. Running downstairs you head towards the kitchen until you see what you already knew, Amma pouring scoops of dosa batter onto a round flat iron pan. Not only that, you see a spread on the table of freshly made accompaniments: piping hot potato masala to stuff into the crispy dosa and freshly made chammanthis or chutneys. Always there will be coconut chutney but my all time favorite is my mom’s tomato onion chutney. A torn slice of crisped dosa hugging a bit of the potato masala and then dipped into a freshly made chutney…wow a South Indian dream am I right?
Now, this picturization is a very romanticized version of my life. I wanted to add a bit of “masala” to get my point across as to how delicious dosa is with freshly made chutney. And to me, for the longest time, that was chutney, either coconut or cilantro or onion, a mix of grinded up ingredients that were freshly made and usually consumed within a day or two.
This was my understanding until I watched an episode of Masterchef. The contestant made a lamb dish with…apple chutney? Now what is apple chutney?! I have never heard of it and neither did my mother. Can Indian dishes (or Indian inspired dishes) exist that my mother and I have no knowledge of? Yes, of course! But this was totally new for us! In theory you can make a chutney out of many fruits and vegetables but I would have to consider two main characteristics for it to be classified as a chutney, all the ingredients must be fresh and it should be consumed within a few days before it turns displeasing. Does this apple chutney meet the requirements?
I looked through dozens of recipes online, especially the most popular ones that appeared on the first three pages of the quick google search I did. All of them used a combination of apples, spices, onions, sugar and vinegar. Sugar and vinegar are common ingredients used for preserving methods like pickling and making jams. Also, many of the recipes are being made with the intent of storing or preserving apple chutney for months. So based on this, I would say apple chutney is not a chutney, it is more of an achaar or pickle. Yes the ingredients can be fresh like the apples or raisins but when incorporating vinegar I don’t see how this is a chutney! So why are people calling it chutney? Why am I seeing bottles labeled in stores as mango chutney or cranberry chutney with expiration dates 6 to 12 months in? In short, this new method of chutney making originated during the time of the British Raj.
Like curry or the concept of curry, chutney has traveled the globe. I see it in many African and Caribbean dishes which makes a lot of sense. When the British Empire colonized around the globe, there were so many transactions of cultures back and forth. As people moved, many through force and others through free will, they took with them their culture or a fondness of a different culture. This vinegar and sugar version of chutney was most popularized by the British as they loved chutneys and the idea behind it but wanted a more milder version with a longer shelf life. Major Grey’s was one of the first and most popular types of these British style chutneys. The Brits took this concept with them everywhere even to America which is why this version of chutney making is so popular here in America. So popular to the point where the original method is almost too foreign in the view point of non-Indians. This bothers me because I feel like Indian food has not had its moment in the food world because of instances like this. Something so obvious and quintessentially Indian but absolutely remixed due to a historical fiasco and then that is what eventually becomes popularized. You know what is really cringy? Cringy to the point where it is pretty annoying and makes me scream “WHY?”. If you do a quick google search of the definition of chutney, almost all “reliable” forms of dictionaries or publications define chutney as being this thick sauce of Indian origin that is made up of fruits, vegetables, spices, sugar and vinegar that is “especially” eaten with meat and cheese. The biggest contrast to these definitions is when you read the articles or posts on Indian based websites or blogs.
Let me take a moment to expose the reason of my frustration other than the utter curiously panicked feeling I felt watching that episode on Masterchef. Ever heard of the brand Stonewall Kitchen? Yea, they are great. They have a lot of cute gifts, I see them everywhere, their packaging is classic and chic…cut to one day coming across “Major Grey’s Chutney” on their online store under the “Chutney & Dips” section. Not sure if I can or should pass this off as being extra hormonal that day, but their description of Major Grey’s Chutney made me want to vigorously itch off all the dandruff on my dry ass scalp! I’m sorry but “Major Grey's Chutney is considered by many the gold standard of all chutneys”….WHAT??? BY WHOM?? (or is it by who?) WHY DOES THIS PRESUMED MYTHICAL BRITISH OFFICER GET THE CRED OF “CREATING’ THE GOLD STANDARD OF ALL CHUTNEYS?! Oh yea, did I forget to mention that people aren’t even sure if he existed?
I’d like to settle this matter straight. Here are the types of chutney’s you’ll commonly come across in all of India: Mint Chutney, Coconut Chutney, Onion Chutney, Peanut Chutney, Tomato Chutney, Tamarind Chutney, Onion & Tomato Chutney, Coriander Chutney and Mango Chutney. There is even a chutney that is known to be a delicacy called Chapda Chutney or Red Ant chutney. This is more commonly eaten and found in the east of India in states like Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand. No I have never had, but if I ever came across it I don’t think my prudish Western adapted pallet would desire to try it. But hey, just like the Beibs once sang, never say never. What I find common in all of these types of chutney is the fact that I had mentioned before, all the ingredients are fairly fresh, grinded or minced together and cooked with some tempered spices to top it off. They are generally made to consume within days.
Aachar, on the other hand, is meant for preservation. It can be translated as pickle too and as everyone commonly knows to pickle something is to preserve it for long periods of time. Not only can vegetables and fruits be made into aachars but also meat! Seriously my life changed after an uncle dropped off his family’s fish and beef aachar. Mustard or Gingelly/Sesame oil is used as a natural preservative to pickle in order to create a delicious tasting aachar. There are actually a couple of different ways to make aachar such as for mango aachar, small pieces of raw mango is coated in salt for days and then cooked with spices and oil before being left in a dark cool place for a couple weeks. Another way is to chop up raw mango then add spices and tempered spices with oil followed by either eating it right away or storing it in a jar in a cool dark place for sometime or a mixture of both. But the point is to preserve it.
Thus, I believe, when I read recipes that indicate the use of vinegar for chutney the recipe is actually instructions on how to make a type of aachar. Vinegar, just like mustard or sesame oil, is intended for preservation purposes in its use for these “chutney recipes”. So, if the apple chutney or blueberry chutney you are making includes ingredients that are intended for storing the sauce or relish for months, it has to be classified as aachar and not chutney. Right?!
I don’t think I have really closed the case on this yet…does this discourse exist within food historians or anthropologists or…people? Do you wake up and think about these types of things or is it just me? Just me? Okay. Because then I or rather we would have to consider the South Asian diaspora, including Africa. In Somalia, they have a type of chutney called Shidni or Somali chutney and I came across a recipe that includes vinegar. So by my understanding, is this actually an aachar? But how can I justify changing the name and intent of a very cultural dish that I am not part of? (But I have also seen it referenced to as not a chutney but rather a chili sauce with tamarind-so probably more research needs to be done there). Or how about Mrs. Balls Chutney, a South African chutney? It is absolutely iconic in South Africa (and hopefully I can first-hand confirm that one day).
Indian food has a notorious reputation of being labeled as “complex” and for instances like this topic I can understand why. There is a major grey area, pun not intended. It is hard to debunk certain things such as this topic due to the history of colonial rule in India and the fact that this is a culture that has lived on for centuries. I thought I would be able to do a quick google search about this topic to understand it more but it only left me even more confused yet somehow even more sure? Thus, I feel like this post is more of something like my opinion rather than being accurate though which is why I waited a year and a half to revisit this again. But one thing is for sure, British style chutneys are NOT the gold standard of all chutneys! Can I get an AMEN?
Links to websites mentioned/referenced:
https://indianexpress.com/article/express-sunday-eye/finger-lickin-good-chutney-recipes-5967892/
https://www.tarladalal.com/recipes-for-chutney-245
https://www.seriouseats.com/panty-essentials-all-about-chutney
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-chutney-and-6-easy-chutney-recipes#quiz-0
http://www.hungrezi.com/the-history-of-chutneys/
https://www.stonewallkitchen.com/major-greys-chutney-130821.html#:~:text=Major%20Grey's%20Chutney%20is%20considered,of%20fruits%2C%20vegetables%20and%20spices.
https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/recipes/chutney/
https://recipes.timesofindia.com/us/web-stories/9-popular-chutneys-of-india/photostory/81155783.cms
https://www.delightedcooking.com/what-is-achar.htm
https://gosumitup.com/tag/achar
https://www.ice.edu/blog/achar-indian-pickles
http://xawaash.com/?p=5939#sthash.VpA4VgzL.dpbs
https://www.foodleclub.com/mrs-balls-chutney-copycat-recipe/