The Fusion Confusion

Which do you like more? The sweet or the savoury?


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The Fusion Confusion
by Shabnam_Ghayour
27-Feb-2008
 

Ever since I can remember, I always had a taste for the bizarre.  Food combinations that pregnant women wouldn’t dare crave.  In order to satisfy my bizarre craving, I always need something savoury with a hint of sweet.  I start each morning with 2 slices of granary toast, one with Marmite (You either love it or you hate it!) and the other slice with honey.  Ultra-sweet honey and uber-salty Marmite, an equal presence of sweet and savoury.  Although I don’t have a sweet tooth, I do crave food combinations that contain both sweet and savoury in order to satisfy my cravings.   

For instance, I think red meat just begs for some kind of acidity to cut through it’s intense meaty flavour.  Ladies and Gentleman, please welcome the guest star for this meal…fruit!  Not what immediately sprung to mind?  Well, let’s face it… It’s not exactly an uncommon combination, is it?  Persian food is littered with savoury / sweet combinations. Anything from lentil rice with raisins (Adas polow ba kishmish), to Morello cherry rice (Albaloo polow) with meatballs and of course one of my favourite stews, good old ‘Fesenjan’ laced with lashings of acidic pomegranate syrup.  Fruit + Meat =  Good!!!

I often wonder where my freakish cravings came from, but then again, it’s cultural isn’t it?  It’s imbedded in me.  I remember as a kid, whenever we had ‘Ajeel’ (Nuts, pumpkin seeds, raisins and dried chick peas etc) I would always have to have sweet and savoury in every mouthful. One almond, one pistachio, 2 raisins… That’s how it always went.  Even to this day, if I have chocolate, I usually need something salty along side it.  I don’t get a lot of sugar cravings, but when I do, there is no stopping me.  Rain, sleet, snow… I have to find some sugar from somewhere, because I never keep anything sweet in the house.  Now savoury, on the other hand, there is plenty of.  I don’t keep crisps or salted nuts in the house (because I would just eat them all!) but if I really have a savoury craving, a tasty home-cooked meal is never too much trouble for me!

If you look at foods from different cultures, there are a lot of sweet and sour fusions.  The Chinese have ‘Sweet and Sour’ everything, from shrimp to pork and chicken.  A sickly sweet tomato and vinegar based sauce created to suit western palates, but an instant hit around the world.  What about Indians?  Just like us Iranians, fruit is ever popular in the savoury dishes, and oddly, savoury flavours are also evident in their cheese-based desserts.  The Italians do it too… They call it “Agro Dolce” – which literally means “Sour Sweet”.  They are into subtle hints of sweet and savoury fusion.  They offer delightful concoctions called Mostarda, which despite sounding like ‘Mustard’ it’s actually similar to a relish or chutney, which are sweetened jam-like mixtures, which despite their high sugar content, are usually destined to be paired with robust savoury flavours like red meat or a good selection of cheese. 

Mmm… Another combination I love, cheese and chutney or relish… Especially if the cheese is goats cheese and the chutney is something light and sweet.  Or my obsession for feta cheese with honey or red jam, yummy.  ‘Cheese and pickle’ is England’s favourite sandwich combination… The  “Pickle” (which is actually more of a relish) is a spiced, vinegary brown mixture of onions, carrots, apples and swede all fused together with molasses.  Not everyone’s cup of tea, I must admit.  My Mother shivers at the thought of the stuff, but then again British food never did quite “Tickle her fancy” as the British so eloquently put it.   

But I guess the question you have to ask yourself is which do you like more?  The sweet or the savoury?  Which one really presses your buttons…?  Which one couldn’t you live without?  For me personally, if I had to stop eating savoury food or sweet, the savoury food would be graciously saved and the sweet stuff would have to “Hit the road, Jack…”

I could quite easily give up sugar, but if I was ever asked to give up savoury food, there would be a huge problem, because sugar doesn’t quench any cravings for me whatsoever.  I may still get the odd sweet craving, but usually I still need to have something savoury either with it or after it.  Weird… I know, but my ideal meal would be heavy on the savoury and light on the sweet.   

I will admit that I’m a big believer that everything needs to be counterbalanced in order to create perfection.  Several years ago, I found myself working for an upscale restaurant group that owned 6 Thai restaurants and 2 Chinese restaurants. This was such a great job for me, because I learned so much about fusion of flavours but whilst I knew a lot about Chinese cooking, I knew absolutely nothing about Thai cooking.  I was very lucky to work with top Chef Ken Hom several times during this period, as he was the Group Chef consultant, and I was a huge fan of his ever since I was a kid.  I remember driving my Grandma nuts defying her bedtime curfew, because I wanted to stay up late and watch his show, so naturally meeting with him in the flesh made me very nervous!  But every time I worked with him, I took advantage of our time together and always quizzed him thoroughly about food and cookery and also tried to get his best tips which taught me a lot!   

During my stint there, I spent a lot of time hovering in the kitchens of our Thai restaurants.  I would watch the Chefs and how they prep the food, how they cook, what they cook, how the food is finished and then served. I found it all very fascinating, but the one thing that stuck in my memory the most was an adopted rule of theirs which seemed to apply to most of their dishes.   Basically the Thai have some staple ingredients when they cook a meal and a standard rule which they apply to a lot of their cooking.  The rule is this… “Sweet, Salt, Sour and Spice”… The 4 S’s, you could say.  They use ‘Nam Pla’ which is fish sauce as their salt, palm sugar for sweet, limes for a sour acidic injection and lastly, good old chilli for heat.  The principle here is that these 4 key ingredients not only contribute their own special flavours to the dishes, but when combined, they counter balance each other and create a perfect overall flavour, which is delicious (and very addictive, to people like myself!)

Tamarind is another very interesting ingredient.  Often a chameleon of the culinary world, I have seen it used from everything from curries to ice cream and sauces to smoothies and candy.  It’s so very sour, but yet everything I think of Tamarind, sugar creeps into the picture somehow.  Perhaps because it’s sumptuous sourness is best contrasted when paired with something sweet. I guess I’m trying to say that sweet compliments savoury and vice versa.  Its one of those “Ying and Yang” things… Salt is crossing over into sweet foods and sweets are crossing into salty foods, in everything from savoury sorbets and ice creams to the more bizarre chocolate pizzas.  Globally we are crying out for weird and wonderful combinations to satisfy our bizarre cravings.  We have evolved as people and we continue to evolve in every way, but none so evolved as our taste buds.  As cultures collide and our thirst for knowledge takes us to the far corners of the earth, whether via aeroplane or just via the information-super-highway,  the whole world is fusing in ways that would be incomprehensible less than 100 years ago.  So is it ‘Fusion’ or is it ‘Confusion’? 

I shall have to leave that decision for each of you to make yourselves.  But I encourage you to be a little more adventurous and try something new a few times a year.  Perhaps a combination you wouldn’t have normally tried.  You may unleash a flavour combination that will become a world-wide sensation… or perhaps a combination that will only remain popular within the confines of your own home.  Whatever happens… take risks, trust your instincts and be daring.  Don’t worry about what people think, if you practice at home, you can be your own judge and jury!  Who knows, you may like the sweet and savoury thing more than you think!  Maybe it’s about fusion, maybe it’s about something else.  For me, it’s about greed…. I guess I want the best of both worlds, and why not?


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To: Private Pilot --and Shabnam khanoom

by farz (not verified) on

I read your comment.....only because in your picture (if it indeed is yours) you look GREAT!
How about a date to an Iranian place where they have belly dancing??
Shabnam khanoom, I try to read your articles just because the first 2-3 lines that I actually finish are FULL of joy for life and excitement. I am not really a good writer nor have a lot of patience for reading any article that is not about math or science. But I do read at least half of your articles... Please keep them coming and I promise each time to read more and more of them...who knows maybe some day I even finish reading one to the end.
"Ghazaye Irani Hamta Nadare"


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To: Private Pilot --and Shabnam khanoom

by farz (not verified) on

I read your comment.....only because in your picture (if it indeed is yours) you look GREAT!
How about a date to an Iranian place where they have belly dancing??
Shabnam khanoom, I try to read your articles just because the first 2-3 lines that I actually finish are FULL of joy for life and excitement. I am not really a good writer nor have a lot of patience for reading any article that is not about math or science. But I do read at least half of your articles... Please keep them coming and I promise each time to read more and more of them...who knows maybe some day I even finish reading one to the end.
"Ghazaye Irani Hamta Nadare"


Monda

Great article!

by Monda on

I feel so validated right now, I'm going to make everyone read your article as soon as they get home! I have spent much energy trying to explain why roasted pumpkin chunks appear in my Fessenjun (which I add a little brown sugar to as I like my khoreshts tangy & sweet simultaneously) or why I like to add currants (tiney raisins) to my zereshkpolo (as a kid my daughter used to call it Ajeel polo since I used slivers of almond or pesteh for garnish ) and many more such creations which by the way are not my own ideas as my mother and others tell me come from different regions of Iran. I don't know the specific rationale for each dish but in the near future I will investigate further! I'm thinking of food combinations in terms of availability/economy and the regional climate.

I'm so glad you brought up mix of salty nuts and raisins or dried figs...Every Shab Yalda I think of being under my Grandmother's korsi while it snowed outside, having ajeel or as after school snack, kharbozeh with naan paneer (melons and feta or goat cheese, YUM!)

I love all your articles but this one really hit me at some deep level!

Best,

Monda


Shabnam_Ghayour

Each to their own but it's all good!

by Shabnam_Ghayour on

LOBSTER LOVER - I have to confess, i love honey roasted cashew nuts and strawberries dipped in chocolate!  But i agree that Pineapple on pizza is a culinary SIN!!!

PRIVATE PILOT - Yes, that is me in the picture and i appreciate your comments, thank you!  Feel free to read the backlog of my articles by clicking on my name!

NAZY JOON - Cant believe you dont like Fesenjoon!  I cant cook it, but i do love it!  Hopefully we can try out some recipes together!!!

ANONYMOUSE - I LOVE Caribbean food... Rice and peas, fried plantain and jerk chicken... Ooh... i feel an article coming on!!

PS - Marmite is a british breakfast spread that is made using yeast extract.  Its incredibly salty and the ad campaign for it is "You either love it or you hate it" because its true!


Anonymouse

Pineapple on pizza is great. Cucumber on Pizza, no.

by Anonymouse on

I think sweet and sour food like chinese or fessenjoon is different than crazy and nutty.  Like watermellon and chocolate or ketchup and rice.  I've seen children (babies really) eat some crazy stuff because they are kids and don't know any better.  They just eat everything.  But adults are different, if someone is eating watermelon and chocolate what are we supposed to think?! Even alcohol has sweet and sour in it, like whiskey sour, margaritas and lemon in (Mexican) beer.  I also like Jamaican food like salsa and fried plantations, because they are different.  I think different food is good and should be tried.  Crazy food, uh, uh.  Don't know what is Marmite, perhaps something like Grits in southern US states.  Grits is good.


Nazy Kaviani

Fruit-loving Iranians

by Nazy Kaviani on

Shabnam Jan:

Thank you for another informative and mouth watering article! To answer your question, I really like some sweet or sweet and sour dishes in Iranian cuisine. Though I don't like Fesenjoon very much, I love sweet rice dishes, like Zereshk Polo, Albaloo Polo, and obviously Shirin Polo!

About British food, in my travels to the UK and particularly the Midlands, I waited for it "to grow on me," but it never did! Marmite is hell and liking it is something beyond "an acquired taste!" I think the British feed it to their babies to make them like it!

Everything else you say makes sense to me. Iranians make a dish called "Tas Kabab," which consists of layers of red meat interspersed with fruits such as quince, apples, dried plums and apricots, and vegetables such as carrots and onions. It is savory and tasty. I have seen some people use tamarind or even lavashak to flavor this stew!

As for trying strange things, Kinsey Milhone, my favorite mystery book character in Sue Grafton's ABC mysteries, always eats peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. With your encouragement, I will try that one as something which has always sounded simultaneously interesting and sick to me! I'll let you know how it goes.

The last thing I wanted to say is that Iranians have a love affair with fruits, where they eat them fresh, cooked, turned into juices, pastes and sauces, dried, pickled, and canned, not to mention using them to decorate their homes! We even eat unripened grapes, ghooreh, almonds, chaghaleh badoom, and plums, gojeh sabz, and make snacks out of fruits in lavashak and dried sour cherries.

Thanks again for your wonderful writings. Keep'em coming!


Private Pilot

I have started liking your stuff

by Private Pilot on

Well, as you know I just started reading your peices recently, only because in your picture (if it indeed is yours) you look GREAT! But now I have started actually liking your topics and your writing style. Go figure! It's like being attracted to Obama for his looks (not my type of course, but for those who have an Obamania fever) and then after reading his books and listening to him, actually like what he says. Anyhooooooo, keep on writing! Me likeeee likeee :):):) Private Pilot


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food combinations that I hate!

by lobster lover (not verified) on

1. One of the worst food combination that I have ever seen is the ham and pineapple combo in pizza or other dishes! I believe it is a carribean concoction.

2. honey roasted nuts??? no way!

3. caramel popcorn? get me away! it has to be salty

4. strawberry dipped chocolate. They're both sweet, and I love them both separately, but the combination seems to detract the freshness of strawberry, and at the same time diminishes the smooth, chocolaty experience for me. NO NO!

5. khoreshteh aloo-esfenaj....