The Liege syrup is made by cooking apples and pears down to a thick concentration. The end result is dark brown paste. I would also add pureed raisins/dates/figs to the prune paste. Will get the Belgian paste and make the meatballs next week.
Sour tends to go well with fatty or rich meats. In Germany you eat blood sausage with apple sauce. Apple sauce is versatile, it is to cut the stodginess (and to me, also enhances other ingredients). You even eat it alongside alpine mac and cheese in Switzerland. Roasted pork with apple sauce is a given.
Pomegranate molasses or juice is great with duck and goose. I have braised ducks in it. Remember to check the content of pomegranate concentration. Iranian has the most.
I have seen 2 recipes using grapes. The French one is a braising dish and the Austrian one is with Sauerkraut. I thought Sauerkraut with grapes were too much sour… but maybe it has something to do with grape harvest time in a wine producing region in Austria
None. I love the combination of fruits and meat. There’s a vegetable sauce I make once in a while and it is so good.
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
23
I’ve had that somewhere, although not Switzerland (a country I’ve only driven through, spending one night, many years back). I recall it tasted a bit weird at first but it grew on me.
I like fruit and meat together - apricots and/or raisins in a lamb tagine, blackberry sauce on roast duck, orange-based marinades for chicken, pork or steak, mango salsa with fish, grapes with chicken; apples with pork.
But I’m a BIG NO! when it comes to pineapple on pizza.
“Southern Fried Chicken and Waffles” with maple syrup and honey drizzled all over.
I make a brisket that I braise on top of the stove with Liptons’ onion soup and apricot nectar.
I do recall my mom making (1960’s) Swedish meatballs with caned cranberry sauce…
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meatn3
(equal opportunity eater in the NC Triangle)
26
I forgot about those! My Mother made a baked chicken dish with the Liptons’ onion soup mix and apricot jam.
There used to be a popular crockpot party dish. It was usually made with mini meat balls but I also saw it with Vienna sausages. The sauce was grape jelly and bottled chili sauce ( the red ketchupy sort). Those who brought it to office potlucks always went home with an empty crockpot!
M…I have actually had the crock meat balls with the jelly and chili sauce (Heinz) not too long ago…and really if you don’t ask they do taste pretty good.
In our early years Mrs. making perhaps a baked cod or flounder dish with the Lipton’s and apricot jam…again a sweet and savory. I must say that was probably in the late 70’s… and I do not recall it being anything but good, and I guess as your mom did, would work real well with chicken.
My favorites are pretty much anything with apricot and or peach, Kabobs anything goes, chicken or pork with roasted grapes, chicken salad with major greys chutney, grapes , roast duck stuffed with apple and prune, a recipe handed down from Scandinavian step mother, blackberry sauce w/ venison, melon, orange, apple, kiwi, berries, mango with salads that incorporate poultry, meat, cheese, nuts and a couple of years ago I made a pork roast with either Lipton onion soup or Knorr’s that called for cranberries and maybe raisins that people went insane over. If anyone comes across that recipe, it was printed on the box or packet, please post here.
I’m a go on fruit with meat, or fruit with a cheese plate. I don’t really like pineapple on pizza either and until this thread I think I would have said that I didn’t like it with the tomato sauce. But now having given it some thought, I feel like the problem with pineapple on pizza is pineapple and cheese - melted mozzarella and parmesan. And it’s not just the cooked cheese part - I definitely wouldn’t go for pineapple with parmesan on a cheese plate, and I don’t think I’d go for it with fresh mozzarella either. Too acidic. I don’t think I’d pair it with any cheese - maybe if it were grilled?
In fact I can’t think off the top of my head of any dishes that pair meat with fruit, and a cheese sauce.
I have always loved the sweet fruit, savory meat combinations. In reality my first experiences of it were probably sweet fruity ketchup on a burger, or maybe a piece of barbecue pork with a fruity bbq sauce.
I can eat a piece of pineapple pizza if there’s lots of Canadian bacon or ham on it, but it would be because all the other types were gone.
The very best venison roast I’ve ever made was marinated with dark wine, (maybe Zinfandel) a few juniper berries and other spices/herbs, along with dried plums. It was then cooked in and served with the marinade. It was truly sublime and I hope to make it again.
Now would I want a roasted banana sauce on my rack of lamb? NO, but it might be perfectly lovely with tropical fish.
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meatn3
(equal opportunity eater in the NC Triangle)
34
The idea of pineapple on pizza had not appealed to me. Then I tried this combo from a local place:
Tomato sauce with jalapenos, mozzarella, Canadian bacon, pineapple and green peppers.
Now I really like it once in a while! I think the jalapenos make it work for me.
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
35
Rhubarb or gooseberry with mackerel are British classics. It’s another of those combos where a sharp fruit cuts through the oiliness/fattiness of the protein.
Also, a classic way with cheese in my part of the world (northern England) is to have a rich fruit cake with it. One of my favourite local bistros serves their cheese with prunes soaked in Armagnac. Another with both grapes and fruit chutney.
Too many thoughts of yes, go for it–except the pineapple pizza. There I have a story I’ll keep brief as possible. I worked as a teen as a hotel desk clerk in North Dakota. We were having one of our epic blizzards, and this sorry pizza guy came in, couldn’t get to where he was headed. Meanwhile I’m starved, trapped in snow and jobsite, and I briefly felt that his offer to just leave the pizza with me was a Godsend. He did. But, it was Hawaiian pineapple. I don’t think I touched it.
I do find diced tart apples and rehydrated currants or raisins go well into a couscous with sweet peppers and onions.
I usually use chicken broth and whatever aromatics, spices, herbs and oils are on hand, but I don’t generally feel a need for meat in this dish (although I’m much the carnivore). This dish is about balancing sweet and savory and spicy. A few people have called it the best thing they’ve ever eaten.
It is my most tweak-necessary dish, because the ongoing balance of the elements is always an issue (how sweet are the bell peppers? how hot is the chili powder? etc.). I sometimes add a sugar, but not often.
