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Monday, April 20, 2015

Review/Giveaway: Virginia Chutney Co. (and Recipe)



“Ooooh!! What’s this??”

Steve (my boyfriend) plucks the jar of Virginia Chutney Co.’s ‘Major Grey’s Mango Chutney’ out of my hand and turns it over to read the label. No nonsense—just mangoes, sugar, apple cider vinegar, ginger, salt, raisins, garlic, lime juice, cinnamon.

Steve’s a bit…particular when it comes to food. He’s pretty open-minded regarding flavors or culinary traditions, but label scanning and ingredient analysis is a different story. (e.g., I was recently sent to the grocery store to return a package of ravioli because the label didn’t specifically state where the shrimp in the filling was caught, or whether it was farmed or wild.)

I’m a pretty avid label-reader myself (and abide by the philosophy of “pronounceable is preferable to unpronounceable” and “less is more” regarding the ingredient list), but I can’t really hold a candle to Steve.

So far, so good.

We get two spoons, pop open the jar, and dig in. It is absolutely delicious--fruity, spicy, with a hint of garlic.

It has a nice, substantial, chunky consistency, without any cornstarch or thickening agents.

Some of the dialog exchanged included the words “mouthgasm” and “food-boner”.

We gobbled down half the jar before I remembered that I should probably save some to, you know, try with things. Virginia Chutney Co.’s website suggests serving their chutneys with cheese. Thankfully, they had packed two jars in the box, so we could go full Chutney Smeagol with reckless abandon. (Or, relish. Ha!)

We tried it paired with cheese as suggested, and while tasty, I like it best on pork chops. It also works well with shrimp, and makes a wonderfully simple sauce for stir-fry.


Easy Shrimp and Broccoli Stir-Fry

(1) medium head of broccoli, washed and cut into manageably-sized pieces
(1) 1-lb bag of frozen raw peeled and deveined large (21-25 ct) shrimp, thawed and rinsed
3-4 tbsp of Virginia Chutney Co.’s ‘Major Grey’s Mango Chutney’
fresh chopped cilantro
lime wedges
(1) box of stir-fry rice noodles
oil for frying

1) Prepare rice noodles according to package directions and set aside.

2) Heat oil in a wok or large stir-fry pan.

3) Saute shrimp in oil 1-2 minutes, then add broccoli pieces and continue to stir-fry until shrimp turn pink.

4) Stir in noodles briefly, adding more oil if necessary.

5) Add chutney to taste and stir to heat through and thoroughly coat noodles. Serve with chopped cilantro and lime wedges.


This recipe took all of about 10 minutes to prepare and is a healthier, better-tasting alternative (and more effectively appeals to one’s sense of instant gratification) than ordering pizza, which, after factoring in time spent arguing over which toppings to get, requires roughly the same amount of effort.

It’s also beautifully well within the capabilities of your average 10-year old, so you could consider this a delicious opportunity to introduce the wonders of preparing family meals to your children.

We will definitely be trying Virginia Chutney Co.’s other flavors, such as “Spicy Plum’ and ‘Balsamic Fig’. The ‘Major Grey’s Mango Chutney’ will certainly become a staple in our home.

Virginia Chutney Co. is generously offering a gift box that includes (1) 10 oz. jar and (1) 4.4 oz jar of Major Grey’s Mango Chutney as well as a mystery chutney as a Giveaway for you, Dear Readers.

If you don’t win and/or want MOAR CHUTNEY (and you will), you can purchase it online from their website at Virginia Chutney Co., where they also have recipes, information, and a store locator so you can also get your chutney in person from real humans if you so choose.

You can also call them at (540) 675-1984. (YES, this is a thing. Remember when people did that?) 

Virginia Chutney Co. blog
Virginia Chutney on Facebook
Virginia Chutney on Instagram
Virginia Chutney on Pinterest



To enter the giveaway, leave a comment in this entry as instructed by the Rafflecopter, then leave the name you commented under and your email in the box in the Rafflecopter entry. (This allows us to contact you if you win!)  This will open up additional optional entries to increase your odds of winning.

This giveaway is open to US RESIDENTS ONLY
and will end just before midnight ET on 5-4-15. 

The winner will be notified by email within 24 hours after the end of the giveaway.  In order to claim the giveaway prize, the winner will need to respond within 24 hours of notification, or an alternate winner will be selected.

Good luck everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

33 comments:

  1. I adore chutney, and I love having a chutney like the Virginia Chutney Company's Hot Peach Chutney on a grilled cheese sandwich.

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  2. I'd like to try the Hot Peach Chutney in a pita sandwich with grilled chicken and greens.

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  3. I'd like to try the Hot Peach Chutney in a pita sandwich with grilled chicken and greens.

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  4. I'd like to try the sweet peach chutney.

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  5. Their Balsamic Fig Chutney sounds divine!

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  6. Another product I would like to try is the Balsamic Fig Chutney.

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  7. I learned that the Chutney is low sodium and I would love to use the Sweet Peach Chutney mixed in my Quinoa and Steel Cut Oats mixture that I like to eat for breakfast. YUM!

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  8. I love their description of chutney as pickled fruit jam lol. They all sound yummy. I am loving the recipe for the salmon burger with the hot peach chutney. I'd also really like to try the balsamic fig chutney!

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  9. That looks and sounds so amazing! I absolutely love anything with mango in it!! #tastytuesday

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  10. Being in the UK didn't stop me from reading with interest - and slabbering a bibful! That recipe sounds delicious, so much so that I shall be using it for an evening meal very shortly!

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  11. the Sweet Peach chutney sounds amazing. I think it would be a great thing to serve this summer with grilled chicken and a nice salad

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  12. I would also love to try the sweet peach chutney and the cranberry chutney. I would probably put them over duck or turkey as a condiment.

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  13. I would try the cramberry chutney om a beef sandwich

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  14. I learned they are not too far from me. The grilled cheese with chutney sounds like it would be really good.

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  15. I think the Cranberry Chutney sounds amazing. thankyou ken pohl19@comcast.net

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  16. Thank you for sharing at Waiting on...Wednesday!

    Holly
    www.iwillservewhileiwait.blogspot.com

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  17. I would love to try mango chutney!

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  18. I'd love to try the Spicy Plum Chutney! Sounds delish!
    Digicats {at} Sbcglobal {dot} Net

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  19. Your Mango Chutney Shrimp Stir Fry sounds lovely! Mango Chutney is so lovely and this brand sounds really interesting. Thank you for sharing this post with us at the Hearth and Soul hop.

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  20. I think that this would be great on biscuits

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  21. I'd like to try the grilling three pack of chutney. Hot Peach with chicken, Spicy Plum with pork and Mango with shrimp skewers or salmon. Yummy!

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  22. I would love to try the Hot Peach Chutney.

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  23. I'm not sure I even like chutney, but the Balsamic Fig Chutney sounds divine!

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  24. The stir fry looks super yummy! Haven't really ever had chutney but sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  25. I didn't actually know what chutney was, no I know its a savory jam. Its sounds fun to mix them with the cheese as they intended. Thanks for sharing on Snickerdoodle Sunday!

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  26. I think I could live off a steady diet of spicy plum and brie.!

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  27. I'd love to try the balsamic fig chutney!

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  28. I would really like to try the spicy plum chutney on bagels.

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  29. The company is located in Flint Hill, VA, Rappahannock County

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  30. I would use the spicy plum in a sweet and sour chicken stir fry. They all sound delicious and I would love to try this brand.

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  31. The Balsamic Fig sounds amazing - I'd love to try it with goat cheese on crackers.

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  32. I would like to try either the sweet peach or major grey's mango first and would probably try it first in a chicken dish.

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  33. I would like to try the Sweet Peach Chutney with some pork chops.

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