We have received this post from Helena Grayston, who is behind syltedronningen.dk.
Preserves for Meals
Preserving is a small corner of the kitchen that can be used for all meals. With Syltedronningen, I would like to talk about modern preserving, which, among other things, involves preserving in all 5 basic tastes: sour, sweet, salty, bitter, and umami. This way, we can always match a meal with the right accompaniment. The accompaniments can provide taste, color, scent, and texture to the meal, and there is always the cozy factor of putting something on the table that you have made yourself.
The Sweet Corner
The word preserving makes most people think of jam and marmalade, and it’s also a good place to start. It’s easy and something we know. If you are in the sweet corner, then try a marmalade recipe here on the site, for example, raspberry, blackberry, apple-squash, or strawberry-raspberry.
1 Preserve, 3 Meals
Based on the recipes on gastrofun.dk, I have selected some that match one of mine. The site is brimming with recipes, but I have selected 3 that would taste exceptionally good with one of my best recipes, namely: apple-date chutney.
First, there is the vegetarian Bolognese sauce. Apple-date chutney has many flavor nuances, and most people think “umami” when they taste it. Therefore, it is particularly suitable for vegetarian and vegan dishes that don’t get the umami taste from meat and fish.
Next, cauliflower fritters: I got the urge to make them myself and served them with a leftover fried rice and apple-date chutney. The sweetness and spicy flavor of the chutney were really delicious as a contrast to the fritters.
And last but not least; meatballs in paprika sauce. The chutney tastes great with meatballs in curry, so it should taste good with meatballs in paprika sauce too!
Accompaniments in All 5 Basic Tastes
A dish can certainly be brilliant on its own, but preserved accompaniments can almost always enhance the meal’s flavor or otherwise elevate the experience. Especially on weekdays if the food preparation was a bit rushed and there wasn’t much attention to detail.
Therefore, it’s a really good idea to have a palette of homemade preserves on the shelf and in the refrigerator, for example, one of each basic taste. It could be jam (sweet), citrus marmalade (sweet-bitter), pickled red onions (sour-sweet), apple-date chutney (umami), and fermented cabbage, which is salty in flavor.