No runny batches. No mouldy jars. No wasted harvest.
Chutney Magic turns this year's glut into a larder of chutney that sets right, keeps for months, and tastes like nothing you can buy in a shop.
Just $29.97
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You know this moment.
It's late September. There's a box of windfall apples on the counter, the green tomatoes never ripened, and something has to happen to all of it this weekend or it's going in the compost.
So you do what everyone does. You open eleven browser tabs. One recipe says simmer for an hour, the next says three. One swears by malt vinegar, another says malt will ruin it.
You pick one, follow it to the letter, and it still comes off the stove looking like soup, with nothing in the recipe to tell you whether that's normal or a disaster.
Because somewhere at the back of the cupboard sit the jars from last year. The runny one. The one so sharp with vinegar you winced and binned it. The ones you grew, chopped, stirred, waited two months for, and quietly gave up on.
Now picture October instead.
A shelf of labelled jars in the cupboard. Apple and date for the cheese board. A spiced pear one you already know is coming out with Sunday's roast.
A few held back for Christmas, because a jar of homemade chutney with a handwritten label beats anything from the supermarket gift aisle.
Nothing from the garden went to waste. Every jar sealed, set, and safe to sit there until you want it. And when someone asks for the recipe, you get to smile, because you know exactly what you did and you can do it again next year.
That's the whole promise of this book. Not inspiration. Jars.
Why your batches were a gamble
Free chutney recipes are everywhere. I've published dozens myself. But every free recipe online was written by a different cook, with different ratios, a different pan, and a different idea of what "thick enough" looks like.
String ten of them together and you don't have a method. You have ten strangers' guesses, and your harvest is the test kitchen.
And the recipes leave out the parts that decide everything. That a lid left on traps the vinegar that was supposed to cook off, so the batch stays runny no matter how long you stir. That very ripe fruit brings water the recipe never accounted for. That chutney straight from the pan is meant to taste harsh, and turns mellow and rounded after a few weeks sealed in the jar.
Half the "failed" batches people pour away were a few weeks of patience from being lovely.
Nobody tells you any of that. So every batch feels like a coin toss, and you blame your cooking. It was never your cooking.
Hi, I'm Michelle.
I'm the cook behind Greedy Gourmet. I grew up in Pretoria, where Mrs. Ball's chutney went with everything, and when I moved to the UK twenty years ago I missed it badly enough to teach myself to make it. Then I couldn't stop. Fruit by fruit, batch by batch, ever since.
And here's the biggest lesson no recipe ever spelled out for me, yours free: chop everything finely. Leave the pieces chunky and the flavours never come together, and you end up with bits in vinegar instead of chutney. That's the kind of detail that decides a batch, and the kind I had to learn the slow way so you don't have to.
These days my preserving recipes get read over 200,000 times a year, and the 40 chutneys in this book are the ones I actually make, written to one consistent method and tested until they behave.
One tested system, from glut to sealed jar
These are British-style fruit chutneys, most of them the classic kind you seal, store and let mellow, so a weekend at the stove feeds you for months. And the recipes follow one consistent method, which means once you've made one, the rest hold no surprises.
- Pick your fruit. The guide tells you what works and what to look for, and the recipes cover the gluts nobody else writes for. There's a banana peel chutney in here. A watermelon rind one too.
- Follow recipes that behave. Sugar, vinegar and spice balanced per fruit, so it sets, keeps, and mellows the way it should.
- Store it the right way. Fridge, freezer, or sealed on the shelf: the storage guide tells you how long each route keeps, so there's no squinting at a jar wondering.
- Eat and gift it all year. A pairing guide included, so the jars get opened, not just admired.
What's inside the book
From readers who've made these recipes
★★★★★
"I absolutely LOVE this chutney. It's so delicious with cheeses and cold meats. After my first batch, and still with a surplus of courgettes, I made a second batch (but this time doubled it) and gave jars of it to friends and family. They are all raving about how delicious it is. This will definitely be my chosen recipe for surplus courgettes every summer."
Brenda
★★★★★
"I made this a couple of months back while we had a glut of grapes. Yesterday we opened our first jar! YUM!! It was so delicious, I loved the hint of rosemary. We served it on a cheese board with friends and they loved it too. Went really well with the blue cheese and also the creamy goats cheese."
Claire
★★★★★
"Hi there! Apricots are starting to be in season in southern France. Mangoes are very, very expensive here. We were craving chutney and commercial chutneys are often disappointing (when you can find them). I followed your recipe (more or less) and I just finished putting everything in sterilized jars. Then I realized that you also have a Mrs. Ball's style recipe. I tried copying that during Covid lockdown, by analyzing the ingredients listed on the label. Not everyone likes spicy so I kept it mild. I'll try more of your chutney recipes! Thank you!"
Diane C
★★★★★
"Well after waiting a minimum 1 month to let this orange chutney mature, my wife and I were absolutely impressed with the flavors and we were both impressed with how well it went with a meat and cheese board we served to some friends."
Josh
★★★★★
"I like to serve different kinds of chutneys with cheese boards and I recently tried this Tomatillo Chutney. It was very good with aged cheddar! I really loved the little kick from the jalapeños."
Shay
★★★★★
"I was a bit apprehensive when I tried making this chutney. But I was glad I did it. Because it was lovely. And different from any chutney I ever had. I must admit that I doubled the chili as I wanted the chutney to be spicier. And we had it in our burgers. Delicious."
Devy
★★★★★
"Made this cherry chutney to serve with crackers and cheese on a charcuterie board. Our guests loved it so much that I had to make a second batch."
Lisa
★★★★★
"I've never marinaded the kumquats before making a jam or chutney before. What a phenomenal flavor boost! This chutney was delicious! I should have bought more kumquats lol"
Lindsey
★★★★★
"I had a bunch of Asian pears that I got on sale and I wasn't sure what to do with them. This chutney was so good!"
Liz
★★★★★
"It was my first time making this gooseberry chutney and am glad it turned out so fine! I served it on our snack charcuterie board and it was a crowd-pleaser! Such a keeper!"
Sharina
★★★★★
"This recipe was spot on!! I did a bit of tweeking to make hotter but it turned out just amazing. Its nice to have another recipe for the quince from our tree besides quince paste and jam. Thank you!"
Sandra
★★★★★
"This dried apricot chutney was the best! The flavors are perfect! Will never get tired of making this over and over again!"
Janice
★★★★★
"I halved the grapes like you recommended in the notes of the recipe and it came out really well! You may be right about that."
Joshua
★★★★★
"Once I saw the picture on the recipe card I knew I had to replicate it and just have the chutney with some bread and cheese, wow what an incredible flavour."
Ellie
★★★★★
"This was super yummy. Who knew papaya made a great chutney? Will definitely make this again."
Elizabeth S
★★★★★
"Husband was very happy when we sat down for some late night cheese & crackers and I pulled this one out! Fantastic as always Michelle xxx"
Bianca
Is Chutney Magic for you?
It's for you if
- You've got a glut. Apples, tomatoes, marrows, figs, whatever the garden or the market lands on you. This book exists to make sure none of it gets wasted.
- You want it to come out right. Whether it's your first batch or your fortieth, you want jars that set, seal and keep. Every recipe here is tested to do exactly that.
- You make gifts. A row of homemade jars in December is the kind of present people actually remember.
- You like to tinker. The recipes are tweakable, and the guides tell you what you can change and what you shouldn't touch.
Skip it if
- You'd rather buy it. If store-bought chutney does the job for you, keep your $29.97.
- You won't get near a stove. These recipes are straightforward, but they're still cooking. A batch takes an afternoon.
- You don't like chutney. No book fixes that.
- You can't get fresh produce. The recipes lean on fresh fruit and veg. Without it, they can't do their thing.
Get the book, save the harvest
It's a digital download, so it's on your phone, tablet or computer two minutes from now. One wasted glut costs more than this book does.
Just $29.97
30-day money-back guarantee. If it's not for you, no hard feelings. Email me within 30 days and I'll refund you. I'd rather give you your $29.97 back than have you feel stung.
Questions, answered
- What kind of chutneys are these?
- Mainly fruit-based, made the British way, which means you seal them and store them long-term. Different beast from fresh Indian-style chutneys, which are eaten straight away.
- I've never made chutney. Will I manage?
- Yes. Every recipe has clear step-by-step instructions, and the guides cover the questions beginners actually have: which fruit, which vinegar, how do I know it's done.
- Do I need special equipment?
- Almost certainly not. A decent pan, jars, and a few bits most kitchens already have. The full list is in the book, so you can check before you start.
- How long do the chutneys keep?
- Depends on the route, and the book is straight with you about each: 2 to 4 weeks in the fridge, up to 6 months frozen, and up to a year for properly sealed jars in a cool dark cupboard. Many of the sealed ones improve with age.
- My last homemade chutney tasted harsh and vinegary. Will these?
- Straight from the pan, most chutney does. That sharpness is the vinegar doing its preserving job, and it mellows beautifully once the jar has been sealed and left for a few weeks. Plenty of perfectly good batches get binned by cooks who were never told to wait. The book tells you what to expect, so you'll know the difference between a jar that needs time and a jar that went wrong.
- Can I tweak the recipes?
- Yes, and the book tells you where you've got room to play and where the ratios need to stay put. Each recipe also links back to the full blog post for extra tips and substitutions.
- I have a mountain of produce. Will this help?
- That's the exact situation this book was written for. Gluts are the reason it exists.
- How does delivery work?
- It's a digital download. Pay, and the link is on your screen straight away, plus an email copy so you never lose it. Download it to your phone, tablet or computer. Then the support series starts arriving in your inbox, to help while you cook.
- What if it's not for me?
- Email me within 30 days and I'll refund you. Simple as that.
This time next year there'll be another glut. The only question is whether it ends up in the compost, or on your shelf in a row of jars you're quietly proud of.
Turn My Glut into Jars