Top 5 – Vehicles for preserves

I have spent a lot of time preserving things lately.  Along with bottling tomatoes, which will eventually find their way into soups, curries, and pasta sauces, I have been making chutneys, pickles and jams.  Some of these will just naturally get eaten – tomato sauce (ketchup) for instance just seems to vanish (I have noticed Mr 3 drinking it on occasion).  With some of the pickles though I may have to work a bit harder to ensure they are used up.  But what are the best things to make to ensure they are eaten?  These are my top 5:

Burgers

There are very few savoury condiments or preserves that don’t work well with a burger in my opinion.  From the tomato sauce you smother on top to the Bread and Butter Cucumbers you put inside, via the beetroot, which is an essential part of any Aussie Burger, to the mustard which gives beef burgers in particular a lift.  Condiments are made for burgers and burgers are the perfect vehicle for condiments.

Rice

Whether it be fresh chutneys or raita, or sweeter more vinegary preserves with chilli, rice makes a great vehicle for all manner of condiments.  Many Indian meals are based around a serve of rice accompanied by all manner of fresh and preserved chutneys and pickles.

Sausages

Tomato sauce is the most common combination with sausages but I also like all kinds of chutneys and mustards.  In fact most vinegary sauces work really, really well with a sausage.

Sweeter condiments like chilli jam and plum sauce can also be perfect with stronger sausages.

My personal favourites include: chicken sausages with beetroot chutney, beef sausages with mustard, and veggie sausages with tomato and chilli jam.

Whether you eat your sausage in bread (in true Sausage sizzle style), with potatoes in some form or in a stew there is usually a condiment to suit.

Cheese

I love cheese and Bread and Butter Cucumbers.  I love cheese and chilli jam.  I love cheese with lime pickle (thanks Nina).  I love cheese and plum or quince paste.  There’s something about the tang of a sweet, salty, vinegary pickle against the fat of cheese that really really works.

Bread

Cheese and pickle sandwich, strass and sauce (who else had that at least twice a week in their school lunchbox?), ham and mustard, salad including pickled beetroot, beef and horseradish, chicken and pesto, the sandwich possibilities go on and on.  And that’s before you even start thinking about toast with jam.