Tangy Tomato Chutney product reviews

When the children come for dinner, it is important to ensure that there is kid-friendly food available. I keep a stock of chicken nuggets and other such bland foods on one shelf in the freezer so I know we can feed them if the rest of us are having something rather more sophisticated. I suggested they try my new jar of tangy tomato chutney instead of their usual lurid brew of cheap supermarket tomato sauce. They agreed reluctantly so I carefully put a small amount between the mashed potato and frozen mixed vegetables so they could see it clearly - just in case they turned up their noses at it!

We were pleasantly surprised. Miss 10 said it was really nice and reminded her of her mother's home-made salsa. She picked out some of the larger pieces of tomato to demonstrate, and then asked for more as I had not given her enough. Mr 12, the picky eater in our family, liked it too. He was wary of the tomato pieces as he recently got braces on his teeth, but there was no skin in evidence so nothing to catch on the metal. His comment was that it tasted like a sweet-and-sour sauce and decided he would like to put some into a stir-fry some time. I had thought he would dislike the vinegar aftertaste, but he assured me that the balance was exactly right.

For the adults, I had prepared a Moroccan recipe using chickpeas and onions. The sauce complemented the vegetables and pulses, which would otherwise have been quite boring, and just under half the jar was sufficient to liven it up without overwhelming the other ingredients. I had not dared to offer this meal to the children, but Miss 10 tasted it anyway and said she would have eaten it if there had not been the chicken nugget option. Good to know for next time! (Mr 12, on the other hand, was not interested in tasting anything that included chickpeas!)

There was still a quarter of the jar left, so we spread it on a home-made pizza, adding olives and feta cheese. Fresh tomatoes were out of season but the chutney added enough taste to replace them; being concentrated, it was equal to several large tomatoes so nobody was left feeling deprived. I felt we got excellent value from a jar which, although quite small (150g), made six individual meals and a large pizza. Since it is thick, it does go a long way: in our family that is important as we all have healthy appetites and there is little waste after a meal.

Tomato relish makes me reminisce about sitting on a stool at my grandmothers steam-filled kitchen bench while she cooked up a large batch of her yummy relish, made from tomatoes grown lovingly by my grandfather. The smells were intoxicating and the taste equally fantastic. So it was an easy decision to request to review Castle Rock Tangy Tomato Relish.

When the jar arrived, I was initially a bit disappointed by the size of the jar but I thought 'it's the taste that counts', so I eagerly opened the jar and I inhaled a mix of curry, onion and of course tomatoes! I had beef crumbed schnitzel on the menu for tea that night so I thought it would be a great accompaniment, and I was not wrong. The relish was tangy and nice and chunky, you could actually see all the ingredients of the relish; what a change from the processed mass produced relish you get at the supermarkets. My husband thought the relish really topped off the meat and it was also a great addition to eat with his mashed potatoes, which is great praise as he's been bought up a simple meat and three veg type of man.

While I could understand that this relish is handmade, I was quite shocked at the price of $6 per 100g jar (I'm guessing this is the jar size, as the label had no weight on it), so I would be reluctant to purchase especially as a first time buyer who may not have had the opportunity to taste first.

A very versatile relish which would be excellent on a cheese board when guests come over, in the work/school lunches with cold meats or with any meat dish really. I would recommend the relish to discerning buyers who appreciate a high quality handmade product that has a fantastic tangy taste.

I love tomato relish and always have some in the house, the only problem is unless you make it yourself it's hard to find the perfect relish. Until now at least Castle rock cafe tangy tomato relish is perfect! It's more like a home made relish then the mass produced ones you usually get. I have already used my jar and need to order some more asap. If I had any complaint it was that the jar was just a little too small, when I order more I will be getting the bigger size.

Opening up the jar straight away you can see the difference to other relishes, it has the rustic feel to it. There is a great mix of chunky bits in it rather than just pure mush that mass produced relishes have. The first time I tried it I just grabbed a cracker from the cupboard and just threw some on. First bite I was in love their was a perfect mix of tomato and onion and as promised it had a real tang to it. I could of almost eaten the lot it was that tasty but I wanted to keep some to try out with other things.

Wanting to try it out in a few different ways I mixed a little with cream cheese to make a yummy spread to go in my ham sandwich. It also made the best cheese toasties to go with my soup for dinner one night. The last bit of my relish I decided to experiment with a bit and I coked some pasta and then threw a tablespoon of relish through it and topped it with a little cheese. I really don't think there is a bad way to use the relish it's just that good. I can't wait to order more so I can try out the other ideas I have for using it. The biggest challenge is not eating it all with crackers and cheese before I get the chance to try out other recipes!

I have been on the lookout for a really good Tomato Relish for a long time. The last two I tried were not at all what I was looking for and my hopes had been fading fast. To be honest I received three different Relish flavours to try and this is the one I was the most afraid to sample. I had been using the other two all week and only just decided to try this on Wednesday and now I am kicking myself for taking so long.

It is devine. It is delicious and it will always have a place in my fridge from now on. I love a Tomato Relish that includes onions that you can actually taste. Something with a bit of a bite to it and this is just perfect I can not stress how happy I am that I have found it. My only complaint is why did I receive such a small jar because this will be gone in no time. I love Cheese and Crackers as much as the rest of my family and as this as the topper it adds a whole new level to it.

For the past couple of days I have been having various meat sandwiches with or without extra fillings and topped with this and I can not complain except for how long it takes for me to prepare it while I drool looking at the container. It adds another level to the meal and the onions are perfect to it. I will not try another Tomato Relish ever again since finding this. definitely a winner that I can not gush about enough. Yummmmmm.

I absolutely love good old tomato relish and always have a jar of it my fridge, along with several flavour variations, but it's usually the mass produced supermarket stuff which is probably full of preservatives. I welcomed the chance to try this quality product with a short ingredient list full of simple healthy produce.

Upon opening the jar, I could see the difference between this and a mass produced product - it looked like something my Grandma would have made, full of chunky bits with nothing evenly cut - in other words perfect! I dipped my finger in for a taste and it really lived up to it's name, with a real tang to it. I immediately noticed a small hit of chilli, but nothing too overpowering, so I'd call this mild to medium if I had to give it a label.

I was keen to try this out and immediately tried a toasted muffin split with the relish and some cheese on it. I could live on relish and chutneys on toast, so I wasn't surprised that I loved it! I think it would be even better mixed with cream cheese as the tang is enough to break through the creaminess... but I'm going through the jar so fast that I won't get a chance to buy cream cheese before it runs out. I'll have to save that idea for the next jar!

Over the week, I've managed to find excuses to dollop this on the side of most of my dinner meals. Tonight (as per the pic), I made a sausage, egg and cheese strata and decided to pop a bit of the relish inside the recipe. I didn't go overboard as I didn't want to put Miss 7 off her dinner, but I'm pleased to report that she quite happily gobbled it all down, and Hubby also commented that dinner was delicious. I added extra relish to the side of my dinner too and it really did lift the taste of the dish. This can make any dish that bit more elegant, with flavour to die for - but it does mean the jar is used up fast!

However I'm happy to score this high on value for money, as even though it's expensive for it's size, I don't usually go on price for this sort of product. I'm always happy to scout out good quality products especially if I'm serving it on the side where you'll really notice the flavour. I have no hesitations recommending this, and now I've had the chance to get addicted to the taste, I'll certainly be keen to buy some more myself too!

YUMMMMMMMMM!!! I am a big fan of tomato relish and this tomato relish has gone to my top spot I absolutely loved it, the only problem was that there just wasn't enough in the jar for me, especially when my partner cottoned on to the fact that there was a new type of relish in the house that he insisted on trying on his sandwich, from this moment on he refused to use our usual relish as only this would do!

The relish is called a 'Tangy Tomato Relish' and I think that this description is spot on as I did find it had quite a tang to it. When I read the ingredients and noticed that it contained chilli, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I couldn't taste this as I really am not a huge fan of hot and spicy foods. The relish was packed full of flavour and had very generous chunks of tomatoes in it, however some of these were rather big and so I found myself chopping them into smaller pieces. The flavours of the onion, tomatoes, herbs and spices were a perfect combo and went so well together.

I first tried the relish out on crackers with cheese, and then on a toastie along with some Havarti cheese and ham the flavours were stunning and the addition of the relish really made these to snacks even more amazing then usual. The only thing I found was that it was quite hard to spread with the chucks to it, however this wouldn't stop me from eating it, as it's all about the taste! I was making deviled sausage pie for dinner and had a small amount of the relish left over and so decided to add this to the sauce, this worked out to be well worth it as I loved the additional flavour and chunks of tomato and onion that it brought to the meal, it made a nice meal spectacular.

This relish is on my to purchase very soon list as I adore it, if your a fan of a chunkier style tomato relish then this one is for you!

I consider myself to be a rather strong person, well strong enough to open a jar of relish anyways. When I could not even open the jar I was a little frustrated, and thought if I can't manage this how would someone else. I ended up stabbing a hole in the lid to release the air pressure and then a couple of good turns later I got the lid off. I was excited to finally taste the relish as I love tomato relish and I was interested to see what it would be like.

The label saying tangy tomato relish but the taste was more a light spicy tomato relish, the curry and chilli could be tasted for sure. As soon as I tried it, it reminded me of my nana, just how she used to make it, but with a little more spice than her one. I used the tomato relish on crackers with cheese, I noticed it was full of chunks and on one cracker was a big tomato chunk, which I didn't mind but wasn't easy to spread.

I did love the tomato and onion hit you got from it, and it was balanced well with the cracker and cheese. My 7 year old son favourite snack is tomato relish on crackers, but I wouldn't have served this one to him as I find the hit of chilli would have been a bit too much for him to handle. For the price of it, you wouldn't want to be putting on your child's snacks daily anyways, would be more of an adult treat with a platter with mates. It would go nice with a platter of crackers, cheeses and olives, and a nice red wine. After ten minutes of eating the crackers, my mouth still had the hit of chilli, would be interesting to know how much was used in it, considering its labelled a tangy tomato relish. In saying that I do like spicy food so not a big deal for me, but maybe other people who are not keen on spicy food might not be too fond of it.

To say I am a die-hard tomato relish fan would be a dramatic understatement. I have bought and eaten almost every version of this condiment that has been sold in NZ supermarkets for the last 40 years, I have tried more 'craft market' versions than is probably healthy for me (considering the number of times I have paid the intestinal price of the maker's enthusiasm for everything except a clean kitchen), and I have also tried way more 'boutique' verities than I can count. This was the latest in an extremely long line...

...and I found myself quite pleased with it really. I wanted to really give it a go and assess it in the same manner I would use other similar products - the sample received being a bit too small, and thus precious, to risk it on experimental recipes. Thus, on toast with grilled cheese - a winner! Strong tomato and onion flavour, very mild spiciness sneaking through on the after-taste. On a cold-meat sandwich with some smoked Havarti cheese - another success. A heaped teaspoon mixed through a single-serving of spaghetti bolognese - wonderful added levels to the taste profile that enhanced without overwhelming the existing flavours. Then... it was gone.

There were a few tiny issues, mostly to do with my personal preferences more than a 'product fault' but then, I am picky about such things. I found the small chunks of tomato and onion gave it a wonderful texture that set it above and beyond the mass-produced, unrecognisable puree sold in the stores as "relish"... but I also found a few chunks that were far larger than suited me. Yes, I could - and did, easily - chop them down to a smaller size, but they did trigger the impulsive thought of 'Does this mean there is more of this than would be a fair, even balance of ingredients?"

After scraping the bottom of the the jar clean, the conclusion I reached was "Nope - this was pretty good actually!" I found myself seriously considering jumping online and ordering a box of the larger sized jars... but for me, it just didn't quite justify the cost. For $12.00 per 250ml jar, I doubt I could go into a supermarket and find anything of comparable quality, but I know I could go into the store and load my trolley up with a quantity that would be quite tolerable for the same money.

Overall, an extremely accomplished preserve, and one the creator/s should be very proud of. However, this is, I regret to say, one of the few products I have found where the high quality did not offset the very high price enough to put it on my must-have-anyway shopping list. It is, and will remain, a 'special event treat' product for me - something I will order a week ahead of any events that warrant it. I also must compliment Castle Rock Cafe on their choice of jars - so cute, and very useful afterwards for decorative craft projects!

My first reaction to this relish was that there was chilli in it. It was something that I hadn't expected as I hadn't looked at the ingredients list when I first sampled it. The name "Tangy Tomato Relish" didn't indicate the inclusion of chilli (in my mind anyway). I was very happy with the flavour even if it was unexpected.

Tomato was the strongest flavour followed by onion. This matches the order of ingredients on the label. The product has nice chunky pieces, which look good and taste good too. You can taste the piquancy of the curry and chilli but it is not very strong and does not take over the flavour.

I adore cheese and crackers with a bit of relish. This was the first option that came to my mind when it was time to serve and test this relish. The crackers that I had in the cupboard had a rosemary flavour and I think that the relish drowned out the flavour of the crackers. I tried it on plain crackers and I think that the combination was much more suitable. Plain mild cheese, a plain cracker and tasty Tangy Tomato Relish - I couldn't really go past this. I was sold!

I would highly recommend that you buy the larger sized jar. Not only it is better value (250gm for $9.00 rather than 100gm for $6.00) but you may also find that the 100gm is simply not enough. I really enjoyed this relish and found it a bit too 'moreish' to simply have the small container in my pantry! It had such a homestyle look and taste to it, it was just like something that someone could have whipped up in their own kitchen.

I really love the fact that the ingredients are easy to recognise. In fact, they could be ingredients which would be found in most pantries in New Zealand (or easily sourced from the supermarket!). My preference is to give my family real food without unnecessary additives and this product certainly ticks the boxes for me.