Sweet Sensation
Tease the taste buds with a sweet-and-savory flavour combination
Illustrated best with such popular clashes as honey mustard, cheesecake, and peanut butter with jam – foodies are always on the look out for new combinations of the savory with the sweet. Take a look, for instance, at this salad idea to tingle summer taste buds:
Dressing: balsamic vinegar with maple syrup and dijon mustard
Kebobs: fresh fruit wedges alternating with three types of cheddar cheese
Greens: fresh baby spinach to cradle each kebob, garnished with walnuts
“Fruit with cheese is a classic sweet-and-savory taste treat and this recipe is a favourite from our cheese archives,” says Michael Sobol at Balderson Cheese. “The kebob is created with wedges of crisp Royal Gala apples plus seedless grapes and in between, cheddar. We suggest three distinct cheddar flavours: cubes of milky mild, with marble, plus an old white cheddar to add a bit of sharpness.
“This combination is so good you don’t even need the dressing,” he continued, “but once you’ve placed the kebobs on a bed of baby spinach, or on delicate Boston lettuce leaves—and drizzle them with a blend of balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard and maple syrup—this summer salad becomes tantalizing indeed.”
Cheese is an easy ingredient to serve year round, but it’s worth experimenting to see which ones work best from season to season.
“Summer menus are generally lighter in flavour, texture, and temperature,” Sobol explains, “so with cheese, you can’t go wrong with younger mild cheddar, aged for around three months, and medium cheddar, for around six months. The choices should blend easily with other foods, not compete against them. Mild and medium cheddars have a fresh milky aroma with just a slight nutty flavour.”
Sharpness is directly related to aging where salts and acids intensify. The younger cheddars therefore work really well in summertime salads, sandwiches, wraps, buffet platters – and when improvised in recipes for added flavour and nutrition.
“Old cheddar, used skillfully, adds excitement too,” Sobol continued. “On a kebob, for instance, old cheddar is sensational with fruit. And, by alternating it with cubes of marble you get that special accent with a lively, fresh colour.
“Do be aware that for the best flavour, a true marble cheese is made by pressing fresh white cheddar curds with orange cheddar curds, into a block. Other versions blend brick, farmers, or colby cheese, which don’t have the depth of flavour that a true marble cheddar can deliver.”
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Sweet Sensation – Hooked On You
