Too much sweet and savoury


Too much sweet and savoury
There is a food trend which is creeping in everywhere in France right now: mixing sweet with savoury. In some restaurants, it is becoming difficult to order a classic dish, like “roast veal” for instance, without being served fruits in the garnish or honey/conserves/syrup in the sauce or cooked into the dish, or even both.
24 K 4.5/5 (28 reviews)
Grade this page:
Keywords for this post:RestaurantTasteSweet and sourExcess
Last modified on: November 3rd 2011
For this post: Comment Follow Send to a friend
Too much sweet and savoury
Alright, I admit I'm at a disadvantage here, as I really don't like this sweet-savoury combination: I detest fruit in a main course dish, and I can't stand anything sweet to accompany meat or fish. When I was little, I found rabbit with prunes or black pudding with apple a real ordeal, which I still shudder to remember!

So, of course, with that mind-set, it's almost impossible for me to appreciate the roast veal I mentioned earlier if I find the sauce has been made with honey or that it is garnished with pineapple, however pretty it looks with the accompanying vegetables.

Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not just stubbornly clinging to childhood memories; I do try things again from time to time, but to no avail: it's just not for me.

But it's not really the sweet+savoury combination itself which bothers me, it is more the fact that it has found its way onto every menu and into every sauce – well, almost. This seems to be a relatively recent trend in France, and it is taking over from our straight savoury+savoury tradition. Just where does this fashion come from: is it a foreign idea, a chef-induced madness, or something else?

Allow me to offer my own explanation, beginning with a quotation from Alain Dutournier (the great chef), who once said. “In cooking, everything has already been invented; all we do is adapt.” This is undoubtedly a bit hard, but it is at least partly true and I feel this lies at the root of the problem: as roast veal (yes, that again) is not a very original dish, the chef feel obliged to add a personal touch in attempt to distinguish himself. The easiest way is to add some unusual ingredient, so here we go with all those fruits and sweet things which are (alas!) too much of a contrast with the meat.

And that is how so many perfectly good dishes, which would be delicious even if not at all innovative, end up being “dressed up” in a sweet-savoury version to look like something fresh.

This fashion also gives rise to heresies such as apple and camembert charlotte, something I have seen prepared on television – yuk!

If this is what is going on, then it's somewhat naïve and misses the point on the flavour front. Above all, it's completely idiotic! The aim of a chef should not be to create the most original dish, but rather the best: people should flock to his restaurant because his roast veal is simply the best for miles around, not because he serves it with slices of kiwi fruit.

So, come on, you chefs! Don't be seduced by this silly rend; don't be afraid to put good old well-known dishes on your menus, but use all your skill, all your heart and soul, to make every mouthful a pure delight.

P.S.: for those who do enjoy sweet and savoury combined, I have always wondered why it is that fruit is supposed to go well with meat, but that apple tart with tomato sauce doesn't work. Can anyone explain?

Lasts posts
Add a bay leaf
Add a bay leaf
Bay leaf: small in size, but big in flavor. You'll find it in hundreds of recipes, and it's often added to cooking meat, in a sauce or broth, usually accompanied by other herbs or products. It's a staple of Provençal, Mediterranean and Oriental cuisine, but not the only one. Usually, in a...
July 31th 20255295
Parsley stems
Parsley stems
Parsley, whether curly or flat, is a delicious ingredient in many recipes, where it is used both raw and cooked. When used raw, in a salad for example, where it always provides, alone or with other herbs, a remarkable freshness, only the leaves are kept. And when used cooked?
July 28th 2025785 13
A drizzle of olive oil
A drizzle of olive oil
Often in a recipe, you have to "baste" vegetables, for example, before sending them to the oven. What the author means by this is that you need to put oil on top of the vegetables to cook them in the oven. Typically, we just quickly drizzle oil over the vegetables, hoping not to miss any, but...
July 13th 20251,1635
Always secure your cutting board
Always secure your cutting board
When using a cutting board, it's very important that it's stable and doesn't move while you're cutting, for safety's sake. Boards have a natural tendency to slide on the work surface, but here are 2 ways to block them effectively.
July 1st 20251,1875
Cherry clafoutis, with or without pits?
Cherry clafoutis, with or without pits?
When it comes to cherry clafoutis recipes, there's often a camp of those who argue that you absolutely have to leave the stones in because it tastes better, and the other camp (myself included) who prefer cherries without stones, which makes a much more pleasant clafoutis to eat. But is it true...
June 29th 20251,0735

Other pages you may also like
Maillard reactions
Maillard reactions
This subject cropped up recently in a discussion with my three charming nieces; do you know what Maillard reactions are? With a name like that, they could well be some principle in mechanics, but in fact the term applies to something much closer to all of us: it's what gives food more flavour...
January 28th 201535 K4
Cream and sauces
Cream and sauces
Have you ever wondered why making beautiful tasty sauces is so easy when you use cream? .
October 15th 201220 K4.4
Should I believe my oven?
Should I believe my oven?
Can you really trust your oven? This is an important question as we are always tempted to take the temperature indicated as gospel truth and, unfortunately, this is rarely very precise. .
July 4th 201130 K4.6
Markers in cooking
Markers in cooking
When it comes to cooking, there is only one real rule, and that is that there are no rules! By that I mean that everything is possible, everything can be combined, everything or almost everything can go with everything, but you have to like it, you have to find it good. I have friends who...
July 3rd 20219,4925
The 3 kinds of meringue
The 3 kinds of meringue
Meringue – what could be simpler? Just beaten egg whites with sugar added. This makes a fairly stiff mixture which can then be cooked in a cool oven to create those lovely, light confections. But in the world of professional patisserie, meringue comes in three different kinds. Even if the...
June 14th 201361 K4.5
Post a comment or question
Posted by:
I am not a leaving thing

Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.

Back to top of page