A sweet-and-tangy tomato relish thick with onion, sultanas and warm spice, cooked down with vinegar and sugar to a glossy, chunky preserve. An Irish kitchen staple slathered on cheese, cold meats, burgers and the side of a fry-up.
A branded commercial condiment, not a generic dish. The recipe began at Ballymaloe House in Shanagarry, Co. Cork, where Myrtle Allen cooked down the glut of home-grown garden tomatoes — grown from the late 1930s/40s by her husband Ivan, among the first to grow tomatoes in Ireland — into a tomato relish (long called 'chutney' in the family, renamed 'relish' as more marketable). In 1990 her daughter Yasmin Hyde scaled the family recipe into commercial production, first in her own kitchen for local shops, then at purpose-built kitchens in Little Island, Co. Cork — turning it into a jarred staple found in households across Ireland and exported worldwide (Ballymaloe Foods).
Sweet and sharp in equal measure, the relish hits with ripe tomato and caramelised onion, then a fruity hum from the sultanas and a gentle warmth of spice. The vinegar keeps it lively rather than jammy-sweet. A spoonful transforms a plate of cheese or cold ham instantly.
Long, gentle cooking evaporates water and concentrates the tomato while the sugar and vinegar act as preservatives that also balance sweet against sharp. Caramelising the onions and reducing the mixture builds the deep, glossy body of a true relish.
Variations
Spiced up with chilli, made with red peppers, or sweetened with extra sugar for a jammier set
On the Palate
Where Ballymaloe Relish sits in the Irish flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 12How it's made
8 steps · 15 min
- 110 min
Roughly chop the ripe tomatoes and finely dice the onions.
- 23 min
Combine them in a heavy pot with vinegar, sugar and sultanas.
- 32 min
Add mustard seed, a little salt and a pinch of warming spice.
- 45 min
Bring slowly to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
- 530 min
Cook gently, stirring often, until thick and jammy.
Watch outCook it down slowly until it's thick and jammy and glossy — rush it on high heat and the sugar scorches before the water cooks off.
- 62 min
Check it is reduced enough that a spoon leaves a clear trail.
Watch outDrag a spoon across the bottom — it's reduced enough when the trail holds open for a moment instead of flooding back.
- 73 min
Spoon the hot relish into sterilised jars and seal.
- 82 min
Cool, then store and let the flavour mellow for a few days before using.
