Sweet Or Salty?
May 21st, 2009
The first question we ask in our weekly Cookthink Questionnaire is “Sweet or salty?”
And while there are certain unequivocal adherents to one or the other camp, the answer we most hear is “both,” usually followed by “at the same time.”
I do think that most people are born with a predominantly sweet or salty tooth, but it’s the combination of the two qualities that often seduces us in the end. Oatmeal cookies sprinkled with sea salt, pineapple fried rice, a watermelon and feta salad, chicken pot pie with apples — these dishes sing to us because they hit sweet and the salty (or savory) notes at once.
How about you? Are you sweet or salty? Or both at the same time?
May 21st, 2009 at 10:22 am
As the pineapple fried rice recipe author, clearly I enjoy it when the two tastes unite. But I’m definitely much more in the salty camp overall. There are very few things I really enjoy that are predominantly sweet, the exception usually being beverages.
May 21st, 2009 at 10:28 am
Both–chocolate covered pretzels are my downfall! Well-placed salt just makes the sweet part sing!
May 21st, 2009 at 11:57 am
Definitely both! And yes, often together. There’s always sugar in my tomato sauce and melon with prociutto is a classic, but I also like cheese with quince jam (or even better, Italian candied fruit with mustard: then you have sweet, salty and hot!). And I always put in a handful of raisins into my picadillo/ground beef empanada filling.
May 21st, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Hands down- my prefernce is definitely salty.
I do like sweet, but not too sweet, thus the combo of both works for me too.
May 22nd, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Some of my favorite sweet/salty combos:
- thai peanut sauce
- honey-roasted peanuts
- kettle corn
- carmelized onions
May 26th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
I am - without a doubt - a sweet-tooth. But my mother (and co-blogger) is a salty gal so it makes for an interesting tug of war in the kitchen!