image courtesy D. Van Nostrand Co.
In addition to being an unusual color for food, blueberries are one of the rare foods that are indigenous to North America. Blackberries could be too, although they more likely hail from Asia, Europe, Africa or South America – being of the Rubus genus.
I have always been fascinated by flavor affinities across the color wheel. I really don’t know what makes me think of these things, but I do.
Last weekend, I was sitting at our kitchen table and dreaming of having a piece of perfect whole grain toast (not the kind you buy in the supermarket with corn syrup and all kinds of other bazaar ingredients in it – BTW – please, if you buy bread in the supermarket, read the labels) with wild blueberry jam on it. It is one of my favorite and most simple indulgences of all time. The jam should most preferably be made with those tiny wild blueberries, usually from Maine – although I have foraged for them in Wellfleet and Truro, MA, and there can not be too much sugar, there should be no butter on the toast and the toast has to be perfectly toasted and left untethered as it cools so as to not become soggy. If you put your hot toast on a plate, the bottom will accumulate moisture – hence, those wonderful silver toast racks the English use. Of course, the English figured this out a long time ago!
I love to go searching for these beautiful artifacts whenever I’m in a good antique shop or on the home floor at Bergdorf’s. The really nice ones are usually too expensive to indulge in – and, so, I’ll admire and pass them by, except on the Portobello Rd. – where you might find a reasonable one – or in London’s silver shops in the arcades around Picadilly. These days, they don’t get used all that very much, expect in really wonderful restaurants, mostly in Europe. I think I remember them at Le Bristol in Paris and at Le Sirenuse in Positano. They’re also great for assembling your letters for the post – does anyone still have letters for the post? I also collect antique silver tea strainers, but I digress……
photo courtesy tarvier.co.uk
For some odd reason, my mind jumped to thinking about making blueberry jam with orange peel. I just thought that sounded quite luscious, and in my mind’s eye, looked luscious as well. Of course, others have thought about this and there are recipes on the internet, but I am bound and determined to make a batch as soon as we are inundated with local blueberries here – usually in July. I think this would work equally as well with blackberries, or both!
keep these flavor affinities in mind when mixing up your fruit salads this Summer, too!
In this vein, I also think this combination can be used to make a great barbecue sauce and some great compotes to top many grilling options. These seem best as the basis for a great sauce for the darker, meatier fish, such as tuna, bluefish and maybe salmon. In the meat department, the obvious top choices are duck, lamb and pork, although chicken and beef can be ok too. Certain cheeses can be brought into the equation here – like Goat Cheese and the Blues, my favorite always being a good mountain gorgonzola – but tread lightly here as to not get too many flavors going – the objective is to highlight these gorgeous berries and their somewhat delicate flavor. I’m going to work on this. (BTW, sent note to Eric Ripert) There could not be a better time to begin experimenting with these ideas, could it? Berries are coming into market quickly and in great quantity. I got some organic cherries yesterday at Whole Foods for $5.99 a pound!
I was watching something the other evening on tv and someone was making a blueberry-based barbecue sauce. And darn it, I can’t remember who it was. I will go searching.
In the meantime, there are some good blueberries in the markets already from North Carolina. In keeping with my obsession with blues and purples this season – in the flower department, that is, I guess this is carrying over to my fruit selections. Don’t get me wrong, I have already thoroughly enjoyed many a lovely white peach this Spring, courtesy of our generous and water-sharing California friends. Don’t get me wrong, I do like local, east coast peaches, but they are so darned late – and honestly, I think the California peaches are better. There are several interesting articles around suggesting that the drought in California is helping the stone fruit crops to be better this year, particularly the peaches. So far, I’m in agreement.
I went off to Whole Foods to do a survey of offerings and to get some inspiration for these ideas I’ve got going. In the meantime, here are a couple of options to take a look at:
http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/blackberry-bbq-sauce/6bbd1d64-6e92-4031-ad04-07ffeb098adc
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303665904577452782191791096
http://www.thegardengrazer.com/2014/07/blueberry-basil-dressing-on-spinach.html
On the savory side, I think that this combo would fit well with some nice shallots and perhaps some fresh fennel. A good balsamic is always an option, white or dark. The key here would be to offer a good offset to the depth, which of course you’d get from the orange, but other notes are needed. An herb (yes,Basil) or two? Honey?
The conceiving of these kettle cooked concoctions is always intriguing. So, get out a bowl, a nice jam pot, and experiment. If you’re not into the cooking on the stove part today, use any of these combos in baking, too!
I’d say, these flavor affinities fit into every single food and beverage group you can imagine! Think appetizer, salad, entrée, all manner of desserts and breakfast pastries, teas, spritzers, bellinis, sangrias, gimlets, agua frescas and on and on……. Of course, you don’t have to limit your color wheel-opposite experimentations to these! Go ahead, pick some others. It’s a happy thing!
blue/orange! Jeepers, where’s this recipe – I have to find it!
It should be a good day!
Today’s beauty from across the color wheel:
