Can I Use Sherry Vinegar For The Fig and Olive Chutney?

Our answer

Nigella's Fig And Olive Chutney (from NIGELLISSIMA) is much quicker to make than many chutneys, requiring only about 15 minutes of cooking. The chutney is spiced with fennel seeds, cinnamon and cloves and red wine vinegar provides some acidity and balance to the sweet fruit and sugar.

If you wanted to switch to sherry vinegar then it really depends on the type of vinegar that you have. Some sherry vinegars are cask- or barrel-aged, and are quite rich and mellow and have a slightly nutty flavour. It would be rather a waste to use one of these in a chutney as the complexities of their flavour would be lost and they tend to be on the expensive side. If you have a cheaper, more acidic day-to-day sherry vinegar then you probably could use it in the chutney, though our preference would be to use a more ordinary red wine vinegar.