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