I always think of white people as the ones complaining about raisins in food. So many delicious savory dishes with raisins from the Middle East or India provoke strong reactions from western pallets used to food that only does 1 thing, rather than combining multiple flavours.
You can find isolated examples from western cuisines (often rich people food) but mixing savoury and sweet is still an exception. You don’t get things like how palm sugar is used in so many savory staples from SE Asian. Applesauce or quince paste aren’t as ubiquitous in western food as chutney is in Indian.
I’ve also just met way more westerners who talk about salty/sweet mixes being gross. Raisins in rice, pineapple on pizza and fruit in salad are all things I’ve heard (mostly americans or australians) react strongly to.
I can not agree. As I said, potato and apple meet in half of my regional dishes. And those are farmer’s food, not rich.
Scandinavian and Alpine dishes love lingonberry sauce on dark meat or schnitzel.
I think the best way, is to not think of “western cuisine” as a thing that exists uniformly.
PS: obviously we cook differently than SE Asia, but red cabbage is sweet, carrots are sweet and caramelised onions are sweet. And they are really often used with savory dishes.
Lingonberry sauce on meat, ham on melon, apple in coleslaw… Apple sauce on hash browns! I think every cuisine has combinations like that, but the specific ingredients are location specific.
I’m not very familiar with German cooking though (if that’s what you meant by Rhineland) so if you got some tips and/or must tries please enlighten me :3
edit: I removed most of my message since it added nothing to the discussion.
White person (UK) here. Honestly, you’re overestimating a lot of us.
My own mother will just add curry powder, veg, and chicken chunks to a pot of chicken stock and call that curry. It is an abomination. I haven’t eaten it in years and it haunts my nightmares still.
I love raisins in my curries because they actually add depth of flavour but when they’re in something like granola, you just know it’s filler. Also it ruins the texture if it’s in something crunchy because of the sudden squidge and I hate how these little fuckers get stuck in my teeth when they’re dry.
Sorry, I think this post unleashed years of raisin resentment. But yeah I completely agree that people who don’t like them in curries or other savoury dishes are missing out because that slight sweetness is wonderful.
I always think of white people as the ones complaining about raisins in food. So many delicious savory dishes with raisins from the Middle East or India provoke strong reactions from western pallets used to food that only does 1 thing, rather than combining multiple flavours.
Yeah that’s strange, I always associated raisins in food as something ranging from Morocco to Bangladesh. Not the whitest countries ever.
Imho in general European food isn’t very keen on sweet and salty mixes. Except for the USA who does it all wrong smh.
We have a few potato and apple combinations in the Rhineland.
Also goose with quince or pear are present in french cuisine.
I think traditional European cooking has many similarities with south med/ near east cooking. Don’t lob us in with modern American randomness.
You can find isolated examples from western cuisines (often rich people food) but mixing savoury and sweet is still an exception. You don’t get things like how palm sugar is used in so many savory staples from SE Asian. Applesauce or quince paste aren’t as ubiquitous in western food as chutney is in Indian.
I’ve also just met way more westerners who talk about salty/sweet mixes being gross. Raisins in rice, pineapple on pizza and fruit in salad are all things I’ve heard (mostly americans or australians) react strongly to.
I can not agree. As I said, potato and apple meet in half of my regional dishes. And those are farmer’s food, not rich.
Scandinavian and Alpine dishes love lingonberry sauce on dark meat or schnitzel.
I think the best way, is to not think of “western cuisine” as a thing that exists uniformly.
PS: obviously we cook differently than SE Asia, but red cabbage is sweet, carrots are sweet and caramelised onions are sweet. And they are really often used with savory dishes.
Lingonberry sauce on meat, ham on melon, apple in coleslaw… Apple sauce on hash browns! I think every cuisine has combinations like that, but the specific ingredients are location specific.
I’m not very familiar with German cooking though (if that’s what you meant by Rhineland) so if you got some tips and/or must tries please enlighten me :3
edit: I removed most of my message since it added nothing to the discussion.
Kartoffelpuffer (which can be described as potato pancake) with apple sauce.
Or Rhenish Sour Roast a beef roast with sweet and sour aromas. But an involved process.
If you’re feeling risky: Himmel un Ääd/ Sky and Earth . I have never eaten it myself (so far).
Nothing risky about it, it all comes down to if you like the fried blood sausage. Try it, it’s awesome.
The one in the picture doesn’t look good though. Slices are too thin and it’s been in the pan too long.
I was thinking “have these guys never had an empanada?”
Raisins inside empanadas should be a sin- I don’t like having a sweet surprise in what should be a mouthwatering savoury meal
Raisins in empanadas aren’t universal. Here in colombia they don’t usually include them.
I learned how to make empanadas so that I could make them without the raisins my mom would add.
Yeah, those are the cuisines I associate with raisins
I think white people just try to make their food as hot as possible and don’t pay any mind to other flavours
White person (UK) here. Honestly, you’re overestimating a lot of us.
My own mother will just add curry powder, veg, and chicken chunks to a pot of chicken stock and call that curry. It is an abomination. I haven’t eaten it in years and it haunts my nightmares still.
its not the flavor that’s the problem, its textural. Raisins are often chewy little rocks getting in the way of an otherwise pleasant texture.
I love raisins in my curries because they actually add depth of flavour but when they’re in something like granola, you just know it’s filler. Also it ruins the texture if it’s in something crunchy because of the sudden squidge and I hate how these little fuckers get stuck in my teeth when they’re dry.
Sorry, I think this post unleashed years of raisin resentment. But yeah I completely agree that people who don’t like them in curries or other savoury dishes are missing out because that slight sweetness is wonderful.