- Season
- Available all year. It is a shelf-stable jarred preserve, and home cooks usually make it in late summer and autumn when the new onion crop comes in.
- Price
- Medium
- Nutrition per 100 g
- 233 kcal
- 0 g protein
- 0 g fat
- 53.3 g carbs
Onion Chutney
Pantry staples
Onion Chutney
Cibulové čatní is a thick, sweet-sour preserve of red onions cooked down slowly with sugar and vinegar. Czech shops and delicatessens sell it in small glass jars, and it is eaten mainly as a relish with cheese, pâté and cold meats.
In practice
How to store
- On the counter
Keep unopened jars in a cool, dark, dry place, such as a pantry or cellar, until the best-before date. Once opened, do not leave it at room temperature for long.
- In the fridge
After opening, keep the jar closed in the fridge and use it within the time printed on the label, usually a few weeks. Always use a clean, dry spoon. Throw it away if you see mould, smell fermentation or find the lid bulging.
- In the freezer
You can freeze it in a small airtight container for a few months. The high sugar content stops it freezing hard. The texture may turn slightly looser after thawing, so stir it before serving.
How to choose
Read the ingredient list. Onion should come first, and better jars give the onion percentage. Jars that list sugar or glucose syrup first will taste more like sweet jam than onion. Red onion gives the classic deep colour. Look at the vinegar (wine vinegar or balsamic) and at any extras such as cranberries, chilli or wine, and pick by what you will serve it with: mild jars suit fresh and soft cheeses, and spicier ones suit aged cheese and grilled meat. Czech small producers and farm shops often sell it next to their cheeses. Check that the lid is intact and not bulging, and that the jar is within its best-before date (minimální trvanlivost).
What to swap in
Best swap
Home-made caramelised onions cooked down with a spoonful of sugar and a splash of balsamic or red wine vinegar
In a pinch
Another jarred savoury-sweet preserve, such as cranberry sauce (brusinky), fig jam or a pepper or tomato chutney, though none of these taste of onion
Preparation
Shop-bought chutney is ready to eat. Take it out of the fridge 15–20 minutes before serving so the flavour opens up, and stir it if some syrup has separated. To make it at home, which many Czech households do, slice red onions thinly and soften them slowly in a little oil. Add sugar, vinegar and seasoning (some cooks also add red wine), then cook uncovered, stirring often, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the mixture is thick and glossy. Pour it hot into clean, sterilised jars and close them at once. Home-made chutney that has not been heat-treated in the jars belongs in the fridge.
Don't toss it
Use the last spoonfuls in the jar to deglaze a pan after frying pork or chicken, or whisk them with oil and vinegar into a salad dressing. Swirl a little water into the nearly empty jar, shake, and add it to a gravy or a lentil or bean soup.
In the kitchen
Cooking
In Czech kitchens it is usually served cold, straight from the jar, on a cheese or cold-cut board, next to baked or grilled Hermelín, or with pâté (paštika) on bread. It also works as a topping for burgers, steaks and roast pork, as a spread on toasted sandwiches (toasty), and as a filling for savoury puff-pastry bakes with cheese. You can add a spoonful to gravies, glazes for roast meat, or vegetable and legume soups for sweetness and depth. Because of its high sugar content it burns easily, so add it at the end of grilling or baking.
Goes well with
- Hermelín
- Nakládaný Hermelín
- Aged Hard Cheese
- Goat's Cheese
- Paštika
- Cold Roast Pork
- Ham
- Grilled Steak
- Burgers
- Toast
- Sourdough Bread
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Thyme
What it is
Cibulové čatní is a thick, sweet-sour preserve of red onions cooked down slowly with sugar and vinegar. Czech shops and delicatessens sell it in small glass jars, and it is eaten mainly as a relish with cheese, pâté and cold meats. In Czech the word čatní is the local spelling of the English "chutney". On labels you will also see "cibulové chutney" or "cibuláda", which is a play on the Czech word for jam (marmeláda). The product follows the British onion chutney or onion marmalade. It is not the spicy, fresh-ground onion chutney of South Indian cooking. Typical Czech jars contain red onion as the main ingredient (one producer states at least 59 %). The rest is cane or brown sugar, red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar, salt and spices. Some recipes add red wine, cranberries, ginger, thyme or a little chilli.
How it tastes
It tastes deeply sweet and jammy at first, then sharp from the vinegar, with a mellow, roasted onion flavour behind both. Long cooking takes away the onion's raw bite and leaves a soft, caramel-like richness. Balsamic versions are darker and fruitier. Jars labelled "jemně pikantní" (mildly spicy) have a gentle chilli warmth, and the texture ranges from soft, glossy strands of onion to a spreadable jam.
Common questions
Is cibulové čatní the same as Indian onion chutney?
What do you eat onion chutney with?
How long does an opened jar last?
Is onion chutney vegan and gluten-free?
What is cibuláda?
Deep dive
2 min read
Varieties
Classic red onion chutney
is the most common type in Czech shops. It is made with red onion, sugar and wine vinegar and has a mild, rounded taste.
Balsamic onion chutney
is darker and fruitier, and some versions are cooked with red wine.
Mildly spicy (jemně pikantní) chutney
has chilli added, sometimes habanero, for a warm finish.
Onion chutney with cranberries or other fruit
is sharper and fruitier and is often sold for the cheese board.
Cibuláda
is a Czech producers' name for a smoother, more jam-like onion preserve. Cheesemakers and farm shops often sell it next to their cheeses.
Related but different products
British onion marmalade is essentially the same style. The fresh, savoury South Asian onion chutneys, made with ingredients such as tamarind, lentils, chillies and mustard-seed tempering, are a different preparation and are not what Czech shoppers mean by cibulové čatní.
History
The word chutney comes from South Asian languages and reached Europe through British cookery. In Britain, chutney came to mean a cooked, sweet-sour preserve of fruit or vegetables with vinegar and sugar. In Czechia, "čatní" became a common word on delicatessen shelves and in home preserving recipes in recent decades. Onion chutney is one of the most popular kinds and is now made both by small Czech producers and in home kitchens.
Science
Slow cooking breaks down the onion's cell walls and turns its pungent sulphur compounds into milder ones. The sugars in the onion and the added sugar caramelise, and Maillard reactions also take place, which together create the brown colour and roasted, toffee-like flavour. The preserve thickens mainly because the liquid evaporates and the sugar concentrates, not from added pectin. The high sugar content and the acidity from the vinegar, together with hot filling into sealed jars, are what make the unopened product shelf-stable. Once a jar is open, it needs refrigeration.
Sourcing and ethics
Onions are a major Czech and Central European crop, and many small Czech producers make onion chutney in small batches, often using local onions. Labels must list ingredients in descending order by weight, state the minimum shelf life, and highlight allergens. Look out for sulphites (from wine and wine or balsamic vinegar) and occasionally mustard or celery in spice mixes. Jars are glass and recyclable. Rinse them and put them in the glass bin, or reuse them for home preserving with new lids.