Poll
Question:
is fruit in salad bad and wrong?
Option 1: Orange and avocado is awesome
votes: 1
Option 2: Stawberries and balsamic make me cream my pants
votes: 1
Option 3: i'll give both a try
votes: 8
Option 4: eeew, thats wrong
votes: 1
me and badge are mid culinary argument about putting sweet fruit in salad, i especially would like to get LMNO and ECH opinion on this.
My step mother occasionally puts apples or pears into a salad.
not only OK, but pretty much essential if you want the salad to be anything other than boring rabbit food. My favorite is baby spinach and spring greens with pears, candied walnuts, and either goat cheese or stilton. Almost any vinaigrette will work for it but a blueberry or raspberry vinaigrette works really well.
ETA: I had versions of that salad at both my pizzeria and the restaurant I was cheffing at before I took my current job an it was by far the best-selling salad at both places.
basically, if the salad is composed of any sort of interesting greens (IOW, not iceberg lettuce or romaine), it needs a sweet component to balance out the light bitterness of the greens, and fruit works really well for that in addition to providing some color and texture.
Fruit goes really well with savory salads.
I also agree with pears/apples and stilton with walnuts. We put that crap in our salads often. Oranges go good with ginger dressing, strawberries with vinaigrette, dried cranberries and walnuts, apricot bleu..
how can you not.. it's good
Roasted sweet cherries
+
A creamy cheese
The only fruit in salads I loathe is those canned mandarin oranges. To me, everything about them is offensive.
Fruits are good with everything. :)
Quote from: Phox on October 14, 2010, 05:43:47 AM
Fruits are good with everything. :)
Especially penises.
Oops did I say that?
Quote from: Nast on October 14, 2010, 05:45:31 AM
Quote from: Phox on October 14, 2010, 05:43:47 AM
Fruits are good with everything. :)
Especially penises.
Oops did I say that?
No argument here. Strawberries are particularly good with penis.
Quote from: First City Hustle on October 14, 2010, 12:53:05 AM
basically, if the salad is composed of any sort of interesting greens (IOW, not iceberg lettuce or romaine), it needs a sweet component to balance out the light bitterness of the greens, and fruit works really well for that in addition to providing some color and texture.
For one, I like the taste of interesting greens and don't think they need balancing out. For two, I prefer non-sweet fruits like tomatoes or bell peppers or avocado to add interest. *shrug*
I've had apples, strawberries, dried cranberries and watermelon in salad before. It's remarkably refreshing during the summer.
I had an arugula and micro green salad with pieces of plum and pumkin seeds with this plummy vinigerette (was really rather sweet) that was absolutely awesome at this lunch thing my company had me go to. I've had the fruits mentioned here in a lot of different salads, but this was the first time I've ever had plum and mixed with the peppery arugula it was an amazing mix of flavors.
Black pepper on watermelon is better than it sounds.
Quote from: Doktor Princess on October 15, 2010, 03:06:58 PM
Black pepper on watermelon is better than it sounds.
This is true. Have you ever had chilli salt on pineapple? OMG YUM!
Quote from: BADGE OF HONOR on October 15, 2010, 05:11:27 AM
Quote from: First City Hustle on October 14, 2010, 12:53:05 AM
basically, if the salad is composed of any sort of interesting greens (IOW, not iceberg lettuce or romaine), it needs a sweet component to balance out the light bitterness of the greens, and fruit works really well for that in addition to providing some color and texture.
For one, I like the taste of interesting greens and don't think they need balancing out. For two, I prefer non-sweet fruits like tomatoes or bell peppers or avocado to add interest. *shrug*
fair enough, except that:
1) all three fruits you mentioned are still sweet
and
2) unless you eat your salad without any dressing, you're still balancing out the bitter flavor of the greens one way or another. The human palate, varied as it may be among people, still tends to adhere to some very basic rules. Pairing a sweet flavor and/or a briny flavor with a bitter flavor is one of those rules.
FRUIT AND SALAD ARE A TOTAL YES.
And I've had a plummy salad like that, Khara--it was sooooo good.
yellow cantaloupe, raw ham and blue cheese salad.
I like mine with shaved reggiano parmesan but bleu cheese sounds really good too, I'll have to try that.
oh man.
that reminds me- watermelon and prosciutto
that's like the oldest savory/fruit mix in the book
I just put golden raisins in my wilted-spinach-and-field-greens salad with a warm balsamic, olive oil, raw sugar, fried onion and chopped mushroom dressing. Sprinkled with asiago cheese shavings.
FCH, do you know whose idea it was first to combine pears, candied almonds, and gorgonzola in salads? I've been doing that for years, learned it at a bistro on Vashon.
Ever tried it with a champagne vinegar/walnut oil vinaigrette?
Quote from: First City Hustle on October 15, 2010, 04:28:12 PM
Quote from: BADGE OF HONOR on October 15, 2010, 05:11:27 AM
Quote from: First City Hustle on October 14, 2010, 12:53:05 AM
basically, if the salad is composed of any sort of interesting greens (IOW, not iceberg lettuce or romaine), it needs a sweet component to balance out the light bitterness of the greens, and fruit works really well for that in addition to providing some color and texture.
For one, I like the taste of interesting greens and don't think they need balancing out. For two, I prefer non-sweet fruits like tomatoes or bell peppers or avocado to add interest. *shrug*
fair enough, except that:
1) all three fruits you mentioned are still sweet
and
2) unless you eat your salad without any dressing, you're still balancing out the bitter flavor of the greens one way or another. The human palate, varied as it may be among people, still tends to adhere to some very basic rules. Pairing a sweet flavor and/or a briny flavor with a bitter flavor is one of those rules.
There's sweet and then there's sweet. And I'm a total freak and don't really like dressing. And nooooooo cheese! Basically I like eating like a rabbit :\
So, you eat the food that my food eats.
Quote from: BADGE OF HONOR on October 22, 2010, 01:54:43 AM
Quote from: First City Hustle on October 15, 2010, 04:28:12 PM
Quote from: BADGE OF HONOR on October 15, 2010, 05:11:27 AM
Quote from: First City Hustle on October 14, 2010, 12:53:05 AM
basically, if the salad is composed of any sort of interesting greens (IOW, not iceberg lettuce or romaine), it needs a sweet component to balance out the light bitterness of the greens, and fruit works really well for that in addition to providing some color and texture.
For one, I like the taste of interesting greens and don't think they need balancing out. For two, I prefer non-sweet fruits like tomatoes or bell peppers or avocado to add interest. *shrug*
fair enough, except that:
1) all three fruits you mentioned are still sweet
and
2) unless you eat your salad without any dressing, you're still balancing out the bitter flavor of the greens one way or another. The human palate, varied as it may be among people, still tends to adhere to some very basic rules. Pairing a sweet flavor and/or a briny flavor with a bitter flavor is one of those rules.
There's sweet and then there's sweet. And I'm a total freak and don't really like dressing. And nooooooo cheese! Basically I like eating like a rabbit :\
well it's probably a good thing that we can't finish you on acorns and parmesan, because aside from that it sounds like you'd make a hell of a roast.