The Duchess of Cambridge’s Christmas chutney

Last year, the Duchess of Cambridge revealed she gave the Queen a jar of homemade chutney when she had her first Christmas with the Royal Family, using her own grandmother’s family recipe.

Catherine said she made a batch of the delicious chutney and gifted it to the Queen, who couldn’t wait to dig in!

In Our Queen at 90, an ITV documentary released in 2016, the Duchess talked about giving the present to the Queen.

“I noticed the next day that it was on the table,” Catherine said. “Such a simple gesture went such a long way for me.”

The recipe, which has been passed down through the Middleton family, uses ‘marrow’ – which is similar to zucchini. The Duchess says you can easily substitute the two if you can’t find marrow at the supermarket.

Kate’s sister Pippa first published the recipe in her 2012 cookbook Celebrate, revealing that her family calls it ‘Granny’s Marrow Chutney’, and now that the Duchess has revealed it’s a royal favourite, people are rushing out to make it!

We think the recipe looks great and the end result sounds delicious!

Makes 8 x 350g jars

Ingredients

• 1.8kg marrows, peeled, deseeded and chopped into small chunks
• 4 medium onions, peeled and chopped into small chunks
• 3 apples, peeled, cored and chopped into small chunks
• 225g sultanas or raisins
• 225g stoned dates, roughly chopped
• 600ml malt vinegar
• 900g soft brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons ground ginger
• 2 tablespoons mixed pickling spices, secured in a piece of muslin

Method

1. Put the chopped marrow, onions and apples into a large preserving pan, add the rest of the ingredients and the bag of spices and stir together, then place over a medium heat. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and simmer gently from 1 ½-2 hours or until well blended and thick.
2. Take the pan off the heat, cool and remove the muslin, squeezing the liquid form from the bag. Spoon it into sterilised jars with vinegar-proof lids, filling them to within 1cm of the top.
3. Ensure the rims are clean, screw on the sterilised lids and store in a cool place for up to 12 months. Once open, store in the fridge and use within 1 month.