Major Grey’s peach chutney

Ready in 2½ hours Makes 5 small jars

3kg ripe peaches or mangoes, destoned

and chopped

3 finely chopped onions

2 red bell peppers, deseeded and diced 3 Tbsp crushed garlic

3 Tbsp finely grated ginger

2 Tbsp salt

1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

3-4 whole cardamom pods

4 chillies or 1-2 tsp chilli powder

6 cups malt vinegar

1kg soft brown sugar

750g dates

Peel, stone and chop peaches or mangoes. Combine in a big, heavy pot with all other ingredients except dates and sugar. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer gently for 1 hour. Add dates and sugar and continue to cook until thick and pulpy (a further 30-60 minutes), taking care it doesn’t catch near the end of cooking. Bottle in 5 small sterilised jars and cover with sterilised lids. It will keep for months. NOTE: This lovely Indian chutney goes so well with cold meats, cheeses and savoury pies.make a batch when peaches are in peak supply or mangoes are cheap.

Match this with ...

Sunshine Brewing Tropicale Pale Ale 440ml 5.5% ($9.50)

I’m a massive fan of a ploughman’s platter and I tell you now, any lump of cheese sitting on a slab of seedy loaf should be very afraid when this beer and chutney are in cahoots. Deliciously peachy and passionfruity, slightly sour and beautifully bitter, the Bengal using Azacca hops, named after the Haitian god of agriculture. There’s a kick of mango magic on the finish which works dangerously well with this crazy-good condiment. sunshinebrewing.co.nz — Yvonne Lorkin