Major Grey's Chutney is a type of

chutney A chutney () is a spread typically associated with cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, such as a tomato relish, a ground peanut garnish, yogurt, or curd, cucumber, spicy coconut, spicy onion ...

, reputedly created by a 19th-century British Army officer of the same name who, though likely

apocryphal Apocrypha () are biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of scripture, some of which might be of doubtful authorship or authenticity. In Christianity, the word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to ...

, presumably lived in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. Its characteristic ingredients are

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

raisins A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, the word ''raisin'' is reserv ...

vinegar Vinegar () is an aqueous solution of diluted acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains from 5% to 18% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting ...

, lime juice,

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a Legume, leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa and naturalized in Asia. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic taxon, monotypic, meaning that it contains only this spe ...

extract (occasionally), sweetening, and

spices In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

. It has been described as a mild chutney compared to others that have a spicier flavour profile. In 1982, Major Grey's Chutney was described as being the most popular type of chutney used in the United States. The product was long associated with Sharwood’s Mango Chutney, Major Grey version, but this is no longer

mass-produced Mass production, also known as mass production, series production, series manufacture, or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. ...

for sale in the United Kingdom.

Commercial varieties

Commercial Major Grey's Chutney products typically contain similar ingredients, with some variations occurring in the formulations of the various products.

India

Major Grey's Mango Chutney is

by Sun Brand in India and by Desai Brothers Ltd. in

Poona Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

, India under the brand name Mother's Recipe, and has been exported to Singapore. Originally all Indian condiments were fiery hot. Hence they were too spicy for the European settlers' palates. It is reputed that a British army major named Grey had a sweet variety of mango chutney made especially to suit his taste. Thus Major Grey Chutney is thought to have been born, made by Merwanjee Poonjiajee, established in the year 1876. Mango chutney & curry powder made under the "SUN BRAND" were some of the first of their kind to be exported from India.

North America

A number of manufacturers

mass-produce Mass production, also known as mass production, series production, series manufacture, or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. ...

a "Major Grey's Mango Chutney" for sale in the United States and Canada, for example, British brand Patak's (who

a simila
Mango Chutney
for the U.K. market) and Sharwood's. One of the oldest brands, reputedly the first manufacturer to popularise the chutney in the West, is

Crosse & Blackwell Crosse & Blackwell is an English food brand. The original company was established in London in 1706, then was acquired by Edmund Crosse and Thomas Blackwell in 1830. It became independent until it was acquired by Swiss Conglomerate (company), con ...

, now partly owned by the J.M. Smucker Company. It has been suggested that Crosse & Blackwell purchased the formulation for Major Grey's Chutney, "probably in the early 1800s".

References

External links

{{Wiktionary
Major Grey's Chutney
''

Saveur ''Saveur'' is an online gourmet, food, wine, and travel magazine that publishes essays about various world cuisines. The publication was co-founded by Dorothy Kalins, Michael Grossman, Christopher Hirsheimer, and Colman Andrews. It was started ...

''.
Chutney
Recipezaar.com. Sn Brand name condiments Premier Foods brands Anglo-Indian cuisine

Commercial varieties

India

North America

See also

References

Further reading

External links