What flavors work well within a splenda-sweetened strawberry-rhubarb cobbler?

Question

Cobbler filling is simple - strawberries, rhubarb, splenda (sucralose) and some orange zest. Are there any other spices or ingredients that would work well with the artificial sweetener and amplify or compliment the flavors?

Asked by RI Swamp Yankee

Answer

The classic flavour pairing with rhubarb is vanilla: rhubarb and vanilla custard is a British staple. Fresh custard (Creme Anglaise, as the French call it) is easy to make and delicious.

Almond also pairs well with rhubarb. You could incorporate ground almonds into the cobbler mix, or perhaps fold some amaretto liqueur into lightly whipped cream to serve with the cobbler.

As Splenda has no real flavour, just a sweet taste, both of these will work with it easily.

Answered by ElendilTheTall

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Flavor combination for yogurt smoothie. Raspberry and what?

Question

I am making a raspberry smoothie using raspberry yogurt. I am at somewhat of a loss as to what other fruit to add for a nice combination.

For example, coconut and pineapple go excellent together.

What fruits would be best to pair with raspberry?

I know this ventures into the subjective realm a bit, but I think there are some definitive pairings and some obvious wrong answers.

Asked by JYelton

Answer

Bananas are a good combination with many berries, including raspberry since they don't compete, but add a mild/sweet flavour for contrast.

Apples and berries are also a good combination, though for a smoothie, you'd probably want to use (unsweetened) applesauce, rather than raw apple.

I've seen commercial drinks that pair raspberry with orange and mango.

If you want to taste the raspberry individually, I'd avoid pairing it with other berries as the berry flavours will tend to muddle (it will be yummy, just no distinct raspberry flavour).

Answered by Allison

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How to determine ideal food pairings for an Imperial Stout?

Question

One of my Christmas gifts I received was a 4-pack of Old Rasputin Imperial Stout. What should I consider in picking food pairings for a stout like this?

Asked by n/a

Answer

Allow me to step in as the residential "semi" expert at food & beer pairings.

This is how I break down ideal pairings:

1. BODY: Pair like with like -- as with food & wine. THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS, naturally. But for the most part, this is a solid rule. What does this mean? Lighter dishes (such as salads, fresh seafood, fruits & veggies, light broth soups, etc...) pair best with beers of lighter body, mouthfeel and ABV. Bolder, heavier and more viscous beers can overwhelm light foods. And then visa versa. Heavier malty beers with higher original gravity tend to hold up next to fatty dishes, fried foods & creamy sauces -- where lighter beers become weak in comparison.

   THE MAJOR EXCEPTION with this rule is: HOT & HOT. AVOID pairing "hot" foods (aka spicy foods) with "hot" beers (aka high alcohol/wood aged beers) ... heat only intensifies heat.

2. TASTE: This is where things get a bit tricky. There are four basic tastes: sweet, salt, sour, bitter. When it comes to food, researchers argue the existence of a 5th taste: umami -- aka savoriness. But for the sake of this posting, we will ignore umami.

Pair according taste AFTER you decide upon the body of either the food or beer on which you will make the pairing based. Then pair according to taste.

Pairing according to taste happens in one of two ways:

1. Complementary pairing. Both the beer and the food have the same taste, which increases the experience of both tastes. Example: Raspberry lambic fruit beer paired with a berry dessert. Both are light in body and have sweet fruit flavors with hints of acidity and tartness.

2. Contrasting pairing. The beer and the food have posses different tastes, which increases the experience of both tastes--one either "cuts" the other and helps balance it out OR one helps to heighten the flavor of the other.

Not all tastes can be contrasted against each other, mind you. Salty-sweet = good. Sweet-bitter = good. Sweet-sour = good. Salty-bitter = depends on pairing, but usually not ideal. Bitter-sour = not ideal.

Okay, let us elaborate a tad on contrasting flavors.

Sweet and bitter is a great example. Think about the use of coffee in desserts such as tiramisu. The bitterness of the coffee helps to "cut" the sweetness of the dessert. Without the coffee, the dessert would be extremely sweet. The espresso lightens the sweetness and gives the dessert more dimension by adding another layer of taste.

The Next Level

The next level of pairing (diving in deeper) is flavor matching. For this sake of this post, I will save that "lesson" for another time.

Now having said all this, let us take a look at your question:

One of my Christmas gifts I received was a 4-pack of Old Rasputin Imperial Stout. What are the ideal food pairings for a stout like this?

Old Rasputin = Russian Imperial Stout -- High abv (9%), thick, rich, viscous body. Taste is bitter and sweet. (Flavors: roasted malt, dark malts, coffee, molasses)

1. Body. The body of OR is intense and needs something of equal body to stand up to it. Bigger bodied beers pair nicely with a steak with a cream sauce, chicken marsala, creamy cheese dishes such as macaroni and cheese, cream based desserts, custards.

2. Taste. In OR we get two major tastes: sweet & bitter. The question here is, do we contrast or complement tastes? In my opinion, the easiest pairing is to complement. Sweet & bitter with sweet & bitter.

Suggestions

Dessert

• Tiramisu -- complements the beer because it is a "heavier" dessert (creamy custard) and has a similar taste profile (bitter & sweet)
• Coffee Ice Cream Float with Old Rasputin -- this is an excellent example of how to turn beer into a dessert. Both are creamy, sweet & bitter. Excellent match for eachother.
• Cheesecake -- Cheesecake is a great example of a dessert worthy of an Imperial Stout. It is rich, thick and sweet.

Cheese

Beer and cheese are a fantastic pairing -- across the board. Yet, making the perfect pairing takes a little practice and focus. Not every beer can pair with every cheese.

Imperial Stouts tend to pair very well with crumbly/blue-veined cheeses such as feta, stilton, gorgonzola.

Dinner

Sorry to all the vegetarians, but I have to go straight to beef. We have two options here: 1. poor man's meal or 2. more "upscale" meal.

Let us start with the high-end option. I would cut straight to a steak -- whatever cut you prefer most, with nice marbling. I would grill or pan-sear the steak. Nothing more than med-rare. Top with a creamy blue cheese sauce -- or just blue cheese crumbles. NOW. I don't want to stop here. In order to really give POW to the dish and help bring out the sweetness of the beer -- I want to add a "sweet" component to the dish. In my head, I envision a port-cherry reduction sauce. Pair the dish with some rosemary roasted potatoes and sauteed spinach.

As for the "poor man's" version, I would go straight for a burger. Same idea, fatty meat grilled no more than med-rare. Top with either blue cheese crumbles or cream sauce. In this situation, I would incorporate sweetness into the dish by adding balsamic caramelized onions to the burger. As for a "sauce" -- I would steer far away from mustard & ketchup. A butter grilled bun would suffice, but if a sauce is needed -- I would make a 50-50 BBQ-mayo blend. Adds just a tinge of sweetness and creaminess without being overbearing.

Answered by n/a

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Best cut of meat to pair with Gorgonzola?

Question

I've often enjoyed lightly seasoned beef or venison steaks paired with Gorgonzola cheese. Is there any cut of meat that goes particularly well with that particular cheese, or does it not particularly matter?

Answer

I think this depends on the type of Gorgonzola. A Gorgonzola Dolcé has a milder, sweeter, less-blue flavor, so it should probably be served with a milder steak, like a Filet Mignon. A stronger, more traditional Gorgonzola should probably be served with a stronger flavored steak like a Skirt Steak or a Ribeye. If you flip the combinations around, one of the flavors is going to be lost.

I'm not familiar enough with Venison or other game to comment on their compatibility with Gorgonzola.

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What types of sauces would pair well with boiled pork knuckles?

Question

I'm going to be boiling some pork knuckles. What type of sauce would be a good pairing?

I am guessing that because pork knuckles are fatty, the sauce should tend to be sour or pepper-ish to balance out the fatty taste?

Answer

One traditional accompaniment for pork is apple sauce. This follows the convention that a fruity sauce cuts through the fattiness of meat - duck a l'orange is another example.

Apple sauce is easy to make - just taking a cooking apple, chop it up, stew it down with a little water, then stir in some sugar and butter to taste.

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What fruit pair well with spinach?

Question

What fruit pair well with spinach? This is for a cold spinach-based salad rather than cooked spinach, but I'd be interested in warm spinach too.

Answer

You might consider citrus or other tart fruit with citrus -- mandarin oranges segments are fairly common to pair with spinich; even if you didn't use whole fruit, consider making a vinagrette using orange juice.

I've also seen recipes for spinich salads with strawberries or cranberries; I've also had a pineappe and avocado salad before that might work well with spinish instead of romaine.

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What is the ideal food pairing for an Imperial Stout?

Question

One of my Christmas gifts I received was a 4-pack of Old Rasputin Imperial Stout. What are the ideal food pairings for a stout like this?

Answer

Allow me to step in as the residential "semi" expert at food & beer pairings.

This is how I break down ideal pairings:

1. BODY: Pair like with like -- as with food & wine. THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS, naturally. But for the most part, this is a solid rule. What does this mean? Lighter dishes (such as salads, fresh seafood, fruits & veggies, light broth soups, etc...) pair best with beers of lighter body, mouthfeel and ABV. Bolder, heavier and more viscous beers can overwhelm light foods. And then visa versa. Heavier malty beers with higher original gravity tend to hold up next to fatty dishes, fried foods & creamy sauces -- where lighter beers become weak in comparison.

THE MAJOR EXCEPTION with this rule is: HOT & HOT. AVOID pairing "hot" foods (aka spicy foods) with "hot" beers (aka high alcohol/wood aged beers) ... heat only intensifies heat.

1. TASTE: This is where things get a bit tricky. Essentially, when it comes to beer, there are four "main" tastes: sweet, salt, sour, bitter. When it comes to food, researchers argue the existence of a 4th taste: umami -- aka savoriness. But for the sake of this posting, we will ignore umami.

Pair according taste AFTER you decide upon the body of either the food or beer on which you will make the pairing based. Then pair according to taste.

Pairing according to taste happens in one of two ways: 1. complementary pairing 2. contrasting pairing.

What does this mean? 1. Complimentary pairing = both the beer and the food have the same taste, which increases the experience of both tastes. Example: Raspberry lambic fruit beer paired with a berry dessert. Both are light in body and have sweet fruit flavors with hints of acidity and tartness. 2. Contrasting pairing = the beer and the food have posses different tastes, which increases the experience of both tastes -- one either "cuts" the other and helps balance it out OR one helps to heighten the flavor of the other.

Not all tastes can be contrasted against each other, mind you. Salty-sweet = good. Sweet-bitter = good. Sweet-sour = good. Salty-bitter = depends on pairing, but usually not ideal. Bitter-sour = not ideal.

Okay, let us elaborate a tad on contrasting flavors.

Sweet and bitter is a great example. Think about the use of coffee in desserts such as tiramasu. The bitterness of the coffee helps to "cut" the sweetness of the dessert. Without the coffee, the dessert would be extremely sweet. The espresso lightens the sweetness and gives the dessert more dimension by adding another layer of taste.

THE NEXT LEVEL OF PAIRING (diving in deeper) IS FLAVOR MATCHING. FOR THE SAKE OF THIS POST, I WILL SAVE THAT "LESSON" FOR ANOTHER TIME.

Now having said all this, let us take a look at your question: "One of my Christmas gifts I received was a 4-pack of Old Rasputin Imperial Stout. What are the ideal food pairings for a stout like this?"

Old Rasputin = Russian Imperial Stout -- High abv% (9), thick, rich, viscous body. Taste is bitter and sweet. (Flavors: roasted malt, dark malts, coffee, molasses)

1. Body. The body of OR is intense and needs something of equal body to stand up to it. Bigger bodied beers pair nicely with a steak with a cream sauce, chicken marsala, creamy cheese dishes such as macaroni and cheese, cream based desserts, custards.
2. Taste. In OR we get two major tastes: sweet & bitter. The question here is, do we contrast or compliment tastes? In my opinion, the easiest pairing is to compliment. Sweet & bitter with sweet & bitter.

Suggestions?

*Tiramasu -- compliments the beer because it is a "heavier" dessert (creamy custard) and has a similar taste profile (bitter & sweet) *Coffee Ice Cream Float with Old Rasputin -- this is an excellent example of how to turn beer into a dessert. Both are creamy, sweet & bitter. Excellent match for eachother. *Cheesecake -- Cheesecake is a great example of a dessert worthy of an Imperial Stout. It is rich, thick and sweet.

Say you are not into pairing your beer with a dessert. You can to bring it to the dinner table?

Beer and cheese are a fantastic pairing -- across the board. Yet, making the perfect pairing takes a little practice and focus. Not every beer can pair with every cheese.

Imperial Stouts tend to pair very well with crumbly/blue-veined cheeses such as feta, stilton, gorgonzola.

Okay, now that we have that piece of information we can try to create a dish around this pairing.

Sorry to all the vegetarians, but I have to go straight to beef. We have two options here: 1. poor man's meal or 2. more "upscale" meal.

Let us start with the high-end option. I would cut straight to a steak -- whatever cut you prefer most, with nice marbling. I would grill or pan-sear the steak. Nothing more than med-rare. Top with a creamy blue cheese sauce -- or just blue cheese crumbles. NOW. I don't want to stop here. In order to really give POW to the dish and help bring out the sweetness of the beer -- I want to add a "sweet" component to the dish. In my head, I envision a port-cherry reduction sauce. Pair the dish with some rosemary roasted potatoes and sauteed spinach.

As for the "poor man's" version, I would go straight for a burger. Same idea, fatty meat grilled no more than med-rare. Top with either blue cheese crumbles or cream sauce. In this situation, I would incorporate sweetness into the dish by adding balsamic caramelized onions to the burger. As for a "sauce" -- I would steer far away from mustard & ketchup. A butter grilled bun would suffice, but if a sauce is needed -- I would make a 1/2 and BBQ- 1/2 mayo blend. Adds just a tinge of sweetness and creaminess without being to over-bearing.

Okay. That is all I have for now. More food & beer pairing lessons to come!

THE BEER WENCH

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What kind of cooling garnish is like ice cream but doesn't melt?

Question

In a related question, I asked about plating with bread for sampling chili. Here I need to find a cooling, as in take the heat off the capsaicin with fats, garnish.

For this question I would like to know how to garnish. I am making a bacon and pulled pork chili, and need a smooth, subtle garnish to take the edge off the peppers. First off, I will be dusting the top with a mixture of nutritional yeast and a smidge of dround coffee and ground, dried orange rind.

Initially I was inspired by the idea of a bacon flavored ice cream, served to the side of the bread with a hal strip of maple-smoked bacon candied in the oven with light brown sugar. The idea of being able to have a whole spoon of chili and then a nibble of the garnish is very appealing.

I pitched the idea at a friend and added, "but I don't want it to be frozen, or to melt." The cold would be impossible with the heavy texture of the chili, and melting would disturb the dusted topping.

We came up with a mixture of sour cream and cream cheese, with a bit of arrow root as a coagulant (since it will be semi-cold, I want it to retain some stiffness on the surface of the chili). Basically, blend it all up with some of the bits of candied bacon and some spices, then chill it over night in the fridge to marry the flavors until competition time.

• What ratio would the above mixture need to be relative to arrow root (I haven't used it before)? By the teaspoon, tablespoon, fraction of a cup per cup of dairy?
  • Is there a better coagulant for the purpose
  • Are there any flavor/textural issues with arrow root that I should be aware of to begin with, and specifically in the context of sour cream / cream cheese?
• Is there a better solution to fit the problem; that is, what other kind of ice cream like garnish could I use that would resist melting for a bit of time and would have a smooth texture and be able to nibble on with little scoops from the spoon?

Answer

I'd avoid a coagulant if you can, it will likely keep this dense on whats already a rather dense sounding dish.

Personally, I'd beat loads of air into your sour cream/cream cheese mixture and serve a small whipped dollop of it. It will keep it light and still offset your spiciness a little. If the pork chili is the star, keep it complimented but not complicated.

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What Sampling Bread to use for Pulled Pork, open faced?

Question

I'm making a bacon based chili with smoked pulled pork (orange juice marinade by injection, smoked dried pusilla/ancho/guajillo rub) where I reserve all the liquid at the end of the process, roux it up into a gravy and fold it back in.

I am entering this stuff into a bacon recipe comp and am looking for a good bread suggestion. I am considering a monterey sourdough loaf wedge for each of the six judges bowl-plates (i.e. heel up and out for effective scooping).

• The texture and fit of the bread is great and it is very available, I am somewhat concerned about the flavor though. For my palette it is great, but I am looking for additional suggestions on what style of bread might have that bite of sourdough but maybe match the other dominant flavors more effectively.
• Also, should I back off of the sour, or push it even further?

Additional dominant flavors will include mustard, honey, brown sugar, jalapeno, tien tsin pepper, chocolate, coffee, malty beer, carrot puree and shreds.

Answer

It may be a little soft for that compared to most sourdough (but I like a softer bread for something like pulled pork, it competes less for texture), but I'd try a potato based bread. It's a classic flavor pairing with many of those other flavors (especially bacon!).

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What are some appropriate accompaniments for satay?

Question

I have an excellent recipe for satay chicken, which I usually accompany with coconut rice. Last time, I also attempted a kind of Asian coleslaw of white cabbage, chilli, carrot and lime juice, but it didn't turn out all that well.

Can anyone suggest a suitable accompaniment, preferably something vegetable and fresh to counter the peanut butter in the sauce, for this? The only caveat is that I am cooking it soon for guests who don't like salad of any kind (lettuce, cucumber etc).

Answer

I have made Asian coleslaws multiple times, and they work very well. My main suggestion would be to heat the dressing before adding it to the slaw. Particularly if you're using scallions, the heated dressing wilts it just enough to cut some of the sharpness of the raw veggies. I'd probably make my own dressing from rice vinegar, neutral oil (such as canola) and a touch of sesame oil. Add in spices such as garlic, ginger, etc. You can also vary recipes such as this.

You could also try using unexpected ingredients. I make a salad from cubed jicama, apple, and ripe avocado, topped with lemon juice, olive oil, and a touch of chili powder or cayenne. You get the crisp sweetness and some creaminess from the avocado.

If they're not fans of cucumbers, how do they feel about pickles? Those could also be a nice addition to a coleslaw. Or you could try marinated mushrooms. Either of those would add a vinegary sharpness that would cut nicely through the creaminess of the rice and the satay.

This also brings to mind a preparation I've seen for vegetables in a prepared salad. Blanch your veggies and shock them in an ice bath. Then give them a vinegary dressing and lay them on the plate in attractive ways. This could include green beans, carrots, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, potatoes, etc. You could achieve similar effects by serving roasted vegetables. (Either from the grill or oven-roasted.) These are quite good cold or warm.

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What would be a good accompaniment for Ostrich fillet with Port and Blue Cheese glaze?

Question

On the heel of @ElendilThetall's question: Accompiniments for satay, I'd like to know the following.

About a year ago I found this great recipe for Ostrich Fillet, which is basically flash fried in the pan and then the leftover juices is cooked along with port and blue cheese to create a great-tasting glaze.

I haven't had the chance to make this very often, but it's an amazingly tasty, quick and easy thing to make. The problem I have is figuring out what would go well with this.

At the moment my favourite is a baked potato and roast vegetables, however I'm not so good with the roast veggies. I've also worked under the assumption that anything that goes with regular red meat, like chips, works well, but this is such a unique tasting dish that I'd really like to do something different along with it.

Unfortunately I don't really have a knack for pairing side-dishes with recipes like these, so any help would be appreciated.

Answer

I've had french fries with (beef) gravy and blue cheese, and it's delicious. However, if you want to get away from potatoes and aren't comfortable with roasting, what about doing some other sort of root vegetable mash? Like mash potatoes, but using turnips, parsnips, rutabaga, or sweet potato instead. I've tried them all and I think they're great.

As for a side veg, I'd almost want a really vinegary salad. Something astringent to cut the richness of the dish. To carry the theme, you may like a green salad with apples, walnuts, and a little blue cheese, with a vinegary italian dressing. I imagine that any kind of pickled veg would be nice, too.

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