Part of the reason DOP Parma ham tastes good and has a distinct taste, is due to what and how the pigs in Parma are fed. There was quite an uproar when Eastern European pigs were being transported to Italy to make cheaper non DOP hams.
In this economy, I’m glad there are ways to offer different products at different price points. I am also glad that DOP or equivalent certifications exist for special regional foods.
Venerable history for one combination:
So apparently this “perversion” (sic) has been around for a very long time.
If you serve meat with a wine sauce you are combining fruit with meat.
There are a lot of meats from several cuisines I like with fruit, but I really wonder if that author realizes coconut is a fruit. How much Thai, Indonesian/Malayisan, Indian, and Burmese (among others) food does that rule out?
I shall simply and politely disagree with just about every word Ms Guest opines.
I can guarantee that during peak fig season, I’m wrapping those luscious little things in some fine prosciutto. It’s quite possibly my favorite fruit+meat combo.
Someone else mentioned wine sauce, that made me think of the all time classic, Boeuf Bourguignon. I really like Jacques Pepin’s version that doesn’t even use beef stock, just a whole bottle of wine. Voila!
Honestly, no one has EVER called me a pervert in my life.
But I will say that some of my favorite combos are:
turkey with cranberry sauce
pork with apples
prosciutto with melon
sliced apples with brie and turkey
Ms. Guest, you do you. I won’t yuck your yum so please leave mine alone.
That is truly wonderful!
So simple, yet so perfect. The juicy, ideally perfectly ripe melon with the salty, fatty richness of the ham. One of my favorite summer antipasti 
I plan on serving some tomorrow for our NYE gathering, along with assorted charcuterie. Apricots stuffed with goats cheese is another fave of ours.
“Please don’t ever offer me cranberry sauce with my roast turkey – that’s just jam on your Christmas dinner,”
“A burger, on the other hand, should be served with plenty of ketchup.”
I’m still amused that she dislikes jam on turkey but is all in putting pureed fruit syrup on ground beef.
pretty common in north african and middle eastern cuisine.
