From Our Family’s Smokehouse… To Your Family’s Table!

11 Oct Combinations in the Kitchen

Posted at 15:55h in Tips by

When it comes to food, sometimes a nontraditional pairing can bring out the best of separate flavors. Experimenting in the kitchen, whether it is trying something new and fanciful for date night or letting children blend their favorites can bring fun to the kitchen. We encourage any level of cook to look for ways to use common and familiar foods together to create something different.

The five primary flavors are Sweet, Sour, Bitter, Salty and Savory. If you start by selecting two foods from different categories, you can begin to picture combinations. Think things through though. Mixing milk with anything salty or bitter is unlikely to bring great results. Once you have a combination think of how you would put it together along with other complimentary flavors. Below are two fun and unique blends we found to offer a unique flavor experience.

Nontraditional Pairing Suggestions

The Tupelo Honey Café, a southern style restaurant in the Carolinas offers a great example of unusual pairings. They stack a sandwich high using: pimiento cheese, havarti cheese, caramelized onions, maple-flavored bacon, ham, fried green tomatoes and fresh basil on sourdough wheat bread. While this may seem like a combination that could even be overwhelming each elements brings its own exclusive flavor that is released during each savory bite. Try making your own version using your favorite elements such as Broadbent’s Maple Bacon.

Spicy, cheesy and savory come to mind with this recipe for Cheesy Bacon, Corn and Pepper Bread. This bread not only offers an unusual combination but the texture is then changed from a firmer bread to softer cake style. It can play to individuals who love a spicy kick but savory enough for those who aren’t keen on high heat.

Cheesy Bacon, Corn and Pepper Bread By LoveFoodies

3 eggs
1 T sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 cup Sweetcorn
1/4 Red Bell Pepper, cut small cubes
1/4 Green bell Pepper, cut small cubes
1 cup cooked and drained chopped bacon (cooled)
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
8 Tablespoons of milk (divided)
1 1/2 cups All Purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 T Salt (reduce if your bacon is salty)
1 T Black Pepper

Instructions:

  1. Place the sweetcorn in a blender or bowl, add 2 T of milk, then blend or mash. You can puree until smooth, or just pulse to have a lumpy texture. I pulsed to leave chunks of sweetcorn.
    Chop the peppers and set aside.
  2. In a mixer, add eggs, sugar, oil and mix for 5 minutes. Switch off mixer and using a wooden spoon, add the sweetcorn, bacon, red and green peppers and cheese. Combine well. Then add remaining 6 T of milk.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and baking powder, salt & pepper then add that slowly to the wet mix and combine well.
  4. Pour the batter into the lined bread pan and bake at 325 F for 40 minutes. Test with a toothpick the center is cooked.

Sharing Experiences

Without experiments (sometimes accidental) we wouldn’t have some of the best combinations like chocolate and peanut butter, or the doughnut burger. While some things should be eaten in moderation, we encourage you to try new things bringing fun and flare to your kitchen. What are your favorite flavors?  If you have a great combination please share it below. We’d love to learn more about what our customers like and what we can try in our own kitchens.

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Broadbent B&B Foods
manager@broadbenthams.com

Broadbent B & B Foods, have been producing Old Fashioned Country Hams since 1909. A Truly American Food that has been on this continent since colonial days, it was a staple that sustained many of our first settlers as they moved west. The climate had to be just right to cure hams in the days before electricity, and Kentucky's climate fit the bill! Therefore, the Broadbent family brought those traditions with them and used them to dry cure and preserve their pork. Today, we are still dry curing Country Ham, Bacon, and Sausage like our forefathers did. In modern cuisine, country ham is far from a Staple. It is found on the menus of ritzy restaurants across The United States. While it is still, in fact, Country Ham, it is often cut paper thin, and labelled as Prosciutto; which is used as the center piece for many Charcuterie Boards.