Upgrade The Flavors Of Your Burger With A Sweet Fruit Chutney
While burgers may be the epitome of the savory taste, they can also be exciting bases for exploring other culinary avenues and unlikely flavor profiles that aren't savory. There are several unconventional burger toppings that may be on your list to try, and while sweet fruit chutney may not be nearly as shocking as some, it is tantalizingly wonderful and equally enticing.
Fruit chutney on a burger? Listen, it makes sense. Fruit chutney is paired with cheese, cold meats, and bread, as well as its traditional use alongside Indian dishes such as curries. In other words, it is not uncommon for fruit chutneys to balance salty, savory, or spicy flavors. So why not try it on a burger?
With burgers, the sweet, crunchy gems add flavor and texture that balance out the other flavors. Consider how a brie and turkey burger's flavor and appearance are instantly enhanced with the addition of sweet and slightly sour cranberry chutney. A small spread goes a long way, and plenty more chutneys are waiting to unravel your burger's flavors.
Mango chutney burgers
Mango chutney is another fantastic addition to crispy chicken, beef burgers, or vegetable patties. The tangy mango chutney adds a punch of big bright flavors to the patty, ideal when you want your burgers to give you a little pick-me-up. Better yet, mango chutney is not just about the mango but is recognized for its inclusion of a superb blend of spices. This may include a combination of cinnamon, cumin, and ginger or nigella seeds, cardamon, and coriander seeds. These all add another depth of warmth and earthiness to your burger. You could even kill two birds with one stone and transform your wasted mango peel into mango chutney; this way, you get a delicious burger topping and reduce your environmental footprint.
If smothering your burger in chutney sounds like a step too far, you could always ease yourself in by mixing the mango chutney with a bit of yogurt. This will calm some electric flavors but still provide a fruity edge. If you're garnishing your burgers with fried onions, you could even experiment with adding mango chutney to the onions while they soften. The onions will take on a slight zing from the chutney reminiscent of caramelized onion jam.
Delving into other chutney flavors
Apple chutney is your pulled pork or beef burgers' next saving grace. The flavors slide together like jigsaw pieces, with the sweet apple chutney complementing the meats' incredibly rich and juicy flavors. A bonus is that you also get little pockets of crunchy apple in every mouthful, which can be an excellent contrast to soft pulled pork or moist beef.
Tomato is an excellent choice for a sweet fruit chutney that teases with hints of umami. Consider tomato chutney an upgraded ketchup; it's acidic, sweet, and intensely moreish. With some flavor similarities to ketchup, you can also tell it will work wonderfully with bacon, beef, and cheese. Yet a tomato chutney will also work well in vegetarian or vegan burgers. Sweet potato burgers that can come across as stodgy would lighten up nicely with a dollop of tomato chutney. With an array of fruit chutneys and burger varieties available, there are no limits to the combinations you can try.