Wild Blueberry Chutney

The twisting, uphill road to Molly Sholes’s Spruce Mountain Blueberries farm near West Rockport, Maine, ends abruptly, making way for a dirt road that appears to lead to nowhere. But if you keep going a little farther, you’ll come upon a beautiful old yellow farmhouse perched atop a hill overlooking nearly forty acres of blueberry fields. You’ll also see a curious Calderesque blueberry statue in the front yard and a couple of pickup trucks with “chutney” license plates. These are the unmistakable signs that you’ve arrived.

When I visited the farm on a warm, sunny August morning, Molly and her business partner, Paulette Martin, were busy making Spruce Mountain Blueberries’ signature blueberry chutney in the farm’s kitchen. The chutney is both sweet and tart and deliciously spiced with ginger and garam masala, an Indian blend of ground and toasted spices.

The inspiration for the chutney came from the almost twenty years Molly spent in Pakistan and India, following her husband’s diplomatic career. She fell in love with the local cuisine, learned to distinguish the nuances of each region’s food, and most important, she learned to toast and grind her own garam masala. When she returned to the United States, she was eager to combine her passion for Indian flavors with another long-time passion: Maine blueberries. Making blueberry chutney seemed the obvious solution. She and her husband bought the farm in Maine and the rest came easily.

Molly makes her own garam masala and uses fresh ginger and wild, hand-picked blueberries from the farm. She sells the chutney—which comes plain or with almonds and raisins—to local stores and online and also supplies nearby restaurants with her juicy fresh blueberries. For more information, visit Sprucemtnblueberries.com or call 207-236-3538.