**Every Christmas I’m given chutney, and I still have four barely used jars. What to do with them before the next lot arrive? Christine, Oxford **This sounds like a job for Claire Dinhut, author of The Condiment Book, who also goes by the moniker Condiment Claire. She would approach this meal by meal, starting with breakfast. “It might not seem so obvious,” she says, “but I put Branston pickle on my avocado toast. If you think about it, you often add acidity, which is usually lemon, but chutney is punchy and has that same tang, as well as a bit of texture.” Regardless of what jars Christine has hanging around, Dinhut would also consider the breakfast bap: “Whether it’s spicy mango, peach, chilli or tomato chutney, that would be so delicious with an egg yolk.”

Roger Pizey, executive head of pastry at Fortnum & Mason, is no stranger to Christine’s chutney conundrum: “Sometimes we’ve got so much left over that I’m at my wit’s end knowing what to do with it.” And, often, the best solution is the simplest, which is why Pizey often spoons a good dollop of, say, fig and fennel chutney into a golden, gooey toastie. “You can get a lot of chutney in there with a few generous layers of Ogleshield [a raclette-style cheese], which takes the tart, acidic flavour of chutney really well.”

Of course, chutney also plays very well in other sandwiches and wraps (ham, turkey, coronation chicken), or use it as a glaze or marinade for meat. “It’s already balanced,” Dinhut says, “so you don’t necessarily need to add anything else. If you’re putting chicken breasts in the air fryer, for example, smear mango chutney [peach also works well] all over the meat, which will give it a really nice glaze.” Cyrus Todiwala, author of Modern Indian: Small Plates, Big Flavours, Fabulous Feasts, meanwhile, puts his mango chutney in a blender and purees it: “That’s the ideal glaze for brushing on chicken, turkey or pork before roasting.”

Soup is hot right now, so if you’re having a bowl of squash or pumpkin soup, you could do a lot worse than spreading a piece of baguette with soured cream and chutney and using that for dunking, Dinhut says. She also has form for adding chutney (think apple or tomato) to salad dressings instead of honey: “It brings that bit of texture, vinegar and sweetness, which is especially good in a rice or barley salad with roast sweet potato, dried cranberries and goat’s cheese.”

But do remember to keep things clean. “It burns me up when people take a spoon and scrape it around the sides of the jar,” Todiwala says. “That’s the place where fungus will start to grow, so keep the lid and edges of the jar clean by wiping them with a dry cloth or some kitchen paper after use.” That way, no jar will ever be left behind: “When you do finish a jar, use up the last few bits of chutney by cracking in a couple of eggs, sealing the jar and giving it a good shake. Then use the contents to make scrambled eggs,” Dinhut says. And those will happily do you for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.com