Generally speaking in a chutney all the ingredients are cooked together for at least part of the cooking time, resulting in a preserve with a softer consistency with all the flavours melded together. In a pickle, the spices and vinegar are cooked together and then poured over the vegetables, which are often not cooked – resulting in crunchy veg pieces in a thinner sauce or liquid. Relishes tend to be somewhere in between, the fruit and veg often chopped into smaller pieces than for a chutney or pickle, and cooked for a shorter time.

Organically certified means that we are registered with an organic certification body (in our case the Soil Association) who inspect us at least once a year, with additional unannounced inspections, to ensure that we’re following organic practices Our growing, harvesting, cooking and sales records are all thoroughly audited to ensure that we’re not selling more organic produce than we have evidence of having produced – in other words, to show that we’re not cheating. If you see anything for sale described as “organic”, ask to see the seller’s organic certification – if they are genuine then they will be only too happy to show you.

A few of our preserves are made with fruit which has been gathered from hedges which are either in the wild or not on organic land, so they can’t be certified organic. This doesn’t necessarily mean they have been exposed to chemicals, but they aren’t certified organic.

Our chutneys mature for a minimum of 4-6 weeks, depending on the recipe – but usually far longer. The flavour of chutney mellows and develops as it matures, which avoids the sometimes harsh, acidic taste of a newly made chutney.

Yes. Our products are all entirely plant-based, we don’t use any animal products in our ingredients, and our kitchen doesn’t handle any meat or dairy at all. Having said that, we do occasionally use animal manures in our vegetable growing, and we do have bees – both of which may be an issue for some vegans.

No – we use traditional recipes and techniques, and there’s no denying that these contain a fair bit of sugar. We use all natural ingredients so we don’t use any artificial thickeners or setting agents which might allow us to reduce the sugar content. However, jams, jellies and chutneys don’t tend to be consumed in large quantities (unless you plan to finish the jar in one sitting!) so we hope that for most people a jar of our jam on the shelf isn’t going to be damaging to their health.