Relishes, chutneys and salsas, are all related, but they have different taste and textural characteristics. They are made from basically the same ingredients and differ from each other primarily in the relative proportions of these ingredients. By changing the proportions, each side dish gets its distinctive qualities. For example, salsas are usually the hottest of the three, i.e., there is more emphasis on the hot peppers. Chutneys are usually the fruitiest and relishes generally emphasize vegetables more than chutneys do. Chutneys tend to be a tad thicker than relishes and significantly less south of the USA border than salsas.
A red or green hot chili pepper is more appropriate than a jalapeno. “In addition to regular flavors like mango and cranberry, think outside the box for interesting chutneys, made with ginger or peanuts, lemon or gourd, green chili peppers or tamarind, cilantro or carrots, prawns or mussels. Mathematically speaking, a chutney formula runs something like this:
Main ingredient: fruit, vegetable, seafood or herb
+ Spices
+ Sweetening Ingredient
+ Preserving Element (sometimes just as simple as salt)
= One Delicious Chutney Preparation