Here’s how you can make the Duchess of Cambridge’s Christmas chutney

Nothing says Christmas like a jar of homemade chutney. The combination of apples, dates, sultanas and spices makes a wonderful sauce for turkey or cold ham. Plus, chutney is so easy to make and stores really well.

But, if you really want to impress your guests this festive season, we’ve got the Duchess of Cambridge’s famous Christmas chutney recipe. The chutney in question is an old Middleton family recipe with marrows, apples, brown sugar, vinegar and raisins – and, according to reports, it’s Queen Elizabeth’s favourite.

The duchess revealed in the documentary Our Queen at Ninety, made in honour of the Queen’s 90th birthday in 2016, that she gave the monarch a jar of homemade chutney when she had her first Christmas with the royal family.

“I was worried what to give the Queen as her Christmas present,” Catherine said. “I was thinking, ‘Gosh, what should I give her?’ And I thought back to what would I give my own grandparents. And I thought, ‘I’ll make her something.’ Which could have gone horribly wrong.

“I was slightly worried about it, but I noticed the next day that it was on the table. I’ve noticed since she’s done that on lots of occasions and I think it just shows her thoughtfulness, really, and her care in looking after everybody.”

Catherine isn’t the only royal to make her own gifts in the kitchen either as, during a royal visit to Australia, the Duchess of Sussex surprised royal fans with a baked banana bread.

Find the full chutney recipe, which was printed in Pippa Middleton’s cookbook, Celebrate, below:

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 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp ground ginger
• 2 tbsp 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.