Feb 17

Feb 17 Never the Twain

I have discovered the world is divided into two types of people. Those who like fruit with their meat, and those who don’t.

I was brought up on chicken with apple sauce, pork with pineapple, and lamb with mint sauce and red currant jelly, although curiously beef was a fruit free zone - unless you count Horseradish Sauce. And who these days would consider Christmas dinner fully ‘trimmed’ without cranberry sauce?

But, there are those, including my very dear friend who shall remain nameless (AMM), who will throw their hands in the air at the very mention of pairing meat and fruit.

‘It’s just not natural,’ she often says. ‘T’aint right, t’aint firt, t’aint proper,’ as they say here in Cornwall.

My friend (AMM) is also a great fan of Nigel Slater, so I was enormously pleased to find him extolling the virtues of serving apple sauce with beef on one of his festive shows over Christmas. Needless to say I texted my friend almost immediately to get her opinion. (i.e. To rub salt into the wound.)

I have to confess that cranberry sauce was alien in our household when I was growing up. It was regarded as an American interloper, along with egg plant, pumpkins and pecan pie.

Plus, I am extremely ambivalent when it comes to putting pineapple on a pizza. I think this may come down to the memories of seventies soirees where pineapple and cheese on cocktail sticks were considered de rigeur.

But a meat-fruit combo is certainly not a modern concept. 15th century Italian culinary expert, Martino de Rossi, was considered the Jamie Oliver of his day. In what’s regarded as the first modern day cookbook, ‘The Art of Cooking,’ he’s riffing fruit off against meat from the get go, pairing chicken or goat with roast prunes or bitter cherries. And even today the Italians observe an unwritten code: Fatty meats like mortadella, salami and cooked ham go well with sourer and acidic fruits like apples, peaches, citrus and even kiwi. Salty cured meats are matched with fruits rich in water such as figs, apples, apricots, watermelon, and strawberries.

Cookbook reviewer for the Boston Globe, T. Susan Chang has made her own observations. Cold climate fruits like apples and pears offer softness and sweetness. Dried and fruits of the summer, such as prunes and raisins add a pulpy sweetness. However, she’s far less certain about the wisdom of pairing fruits such as banana, kiwi and cantaloupe with anything at all. Discretion is advised, she advises.

Whereas the practice of pairing fruit and meat seems to be quite widespread, it appears that the science is less well developed. Its use in marinading is fairly well understood. Fruit is very commonly used to tenderise meat before cooking as the fruits contain enzymes that break down the proteins. Plus, they add flavour and aid in caramelising the meat during cooking.

However, what happens after we consume it seems to be a less than certain area of expertise and is often the subject of old wives’ tales. It’s generally accepted that there’s a long way to go before ‘food pairing’ is fully understood and that oversimplifying just isn’t an option.

In the end, it clearly comes down to personal taste. I’m a fan. I’ll happily pair chicken with apple, apricots, peaches, and pomegranates without turning a hair. Similarly, it’s orange, blueberries, cherries, prunes, oranges with duck, and figs, plums, quince and strawberries with pork. The jar of cranberry sauce only comes out at Christmas. Pineapple chunks are banned from pizzas.

And beef? Awkward. Clearly further research is needed.