Queen of Oude Sauce is a traditional British recipe (but based on an American version) for a classic Victorian chutney of green tomatoes in a sugar and vinegar base spiced with horseradish. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Queen of Oude Sauce.
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This recipe comes from a recipe insert in the published in the scrapbook of the
Original Recipe
Merganthaler Recipe Scrapbook, c 1920s
One peck of sound green tomatoes, 6 green sweet peppers (big ones), 48 onions (silver skins), 2 cupfuls each of salt, sugar and freshly grated horseradish, 2 tablespoonfuls each of ground cloves, allspice and cinnamon. Chop the tomatoes very fine, sprinkle the salt over them and let them stand all night. In the morning pour off the liquid, chop the onions and peppers very fine, mix into the tomatoes, add the sugar, horseradish and spices, and stir all well together. Then put into a kettle, cover with cider vinegar and let it boil slowly until well cooked, thick and tender. Will take several hours, but the best test is the tenderness of the vegetables—must be “cooked to rags.” Bottle and seal while hot or put in small jars.”
This is miles away from the oude sauce that I've published previously and shows the Westernization of chutney recipes, with green tomatoes and bell peppers as the base, fairly sweet spices used and horseradish rather than chilli providing the heat. The question for me being whether this was named in honour of the real Queen of Oude, Malika Kishwar, shown pictured or was it named in contrast to Oude Sauce, also known as King of Oude sauce, a traditional Victorian spice chutney/condiment that's all but forgotten today.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
600g green tomatoes, very finely chopped
1/2 large green bell pepper, very finely chopped
10 white onions, very finely chopped
3 tbsp salt
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp finely-grated horseradish
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
cider vinegar, as needed
Method:
Place the finely-chopped tomatoes in a non-reactive bowl. Scatter over the salt then set aside to stand over night.
The following morning, pour off the excess liquid from the tomatoes then scrape the pulp into a large pan. Stir in the bell pepper, onions, sugar, horseradish and spices.
Pour in enough cider vinegar to just cover the ingredients then bring to a simmer, stir to combine and cook for about 180 minutes, until the ingredients have fully broken down and the chutney is thick.
Ladle into small jars that have been sterilized and warmed in the oven. Secure with a lid, set aside to cool then label and store in a cool, dry cupboard. Allow to mature for a few weeks before opening and serving.
