Can I Use Green Olives For The Fig And Olive Chutney?

Our answer

Nigella's Fig And Olive Chutney (from NIGELLISSIMA) is much quicker and easier to make than more traditional chutneys and is an excellent last-minute Christmas gift. The recipe uses dried figs and dry (or dry-packed) black olives, as well as marsala, vinegar and sugar.

Dry black olives are the type that are not in brine and are mostly sold in sealed bags or vacuum-packed in jars. They are sometimes labelled as "salt-cured" or "oil-cured" olives. The olives are much more wrinkled and dry than other types of olive and have an intense, salty flavour. Unfortunately, if you use green olives then it will affect the taste of the chutney as green olives tend to be less salty and more acidic in flavour. In addition, they contain more water than the dry black olives and the chutney will take longer to cook. So we would suggest trying to find dry black olives for the chutney. These are sold in many supermarkets in the UK and US and usually available online in other areas.