Chutney vs Relish
Man has been making use of food items to spice up mild flavored dishes in a meal since time immemorial. The art of preservation has made it possible to allow for spicy pickles, chutneys, jams etc to serve as condiments and also to spice up the flavors of meals that are otherwise dull for the taste buds. Imagine having to eat a burger without a sauce, chutney, or a relish. This is why people all over the world make use of chutneys and relishes without going into the nuances of these varieties. This article attempts to find out the subtle differences between chutney and a relish to enable readers to know the kind of condiment they are eating alongside their meal.
Chutney
Chutney comes from a Hindi word chatni that literally means highly spices, and chutneys from India are indeed famous for being too hot. Chutneys contain mixtures of vegetable and fruit pieces that have been preserved making use of vinegar and lots of spices. Chutneys could be salty or even sweet as there are some that become great condiments for hot and spicy food while most are salty and hot to make dull food palatable and tasty. Chutneys have a consistency that allows them to be evenly spread across breads and also allows them to be great condiments for curries and rice. Chutneys contain small pieces of vegetables and fruits, sometimes chopped very fine, to produce a smooth texture of the condiment.
The most famous of Indian chutneys are the ones made with mint, coriander leaves and green mango pieces that are mixed thoroughly in a mixer to make a paste that is wet and used fresh alongside a meal. In southern states, chutney made with coconut that has been ground is eaten with almost all dishes. Some chutneys require the paste to be sautéed in a suitable vegetable oil.
There are many more types of chutneys such as lime chutney, chilly chutney, garlic chutney, tomato chutney, onion chutney, and so on.
Relish
Relish is a broad category of food items that are served alongside a meal for the purpose of a condiment. Relish includes jams, sauce, chutneys, pickles, etc. In particular, relish refers to a food item that contains a jam of cucumber that has been spiced and preserved. This relish is mostly eaten with burgers and other fast food items, to enhance their taste.
Relishes in general contain fruit and vegetable pieces that are meatier than that found in chutneys, and the sauce they are found immersed in is not that prominent. A relish is, therefore, not as smooth as a sauce or chutney.
In North America, Canada is the country where relish is served in fast food chain of restaurants like Mc Donald’s while it is not served in most of the US. In US, mustard and sauces are preferred over relish and, at some places, pickles are provided to customers as condiments instead of relish.
What is the difference between Chutney and Relish?
• Chutneys and relishes are similar in taste and appearance and serve the same purpose of making a meal more pleasurable
• Chutneys are of Indian origin while relishes were developed in western countries
• Chutneys can be served fresh whereas relishes are meant to be preserved for some time. However, there are chutneys that can be preserved for a long time
• Relishes contain bigger pieces of vegetables and fruits while chutneys have smaller pieces of ingredients
• Chutneys have a smother consistency and can be easily spread whereas focus is on chunks of vegetables in a relish