It was ironic. I eat mostly plain food because spices and onions don’t agree with me and I have food allergies.
But, I’ve been watching the Food Network. So when I was cooking pork chops, I decided to add pineapple and some raspberry jam sweetened with fruit juice.
As I was preparing them, I was watching the Iron Chef contest. One of the judges, Mychael Symon or Simon Majumdar, was highly critical of one of the contestants who cooked pork with pineapple. He said it never should be done because it makes the pork mushy.
Pineapple has an enzyme, bromelin, which is used to tenderize meat commercially and in the home. Its primary effect is to dissolve or degrade the connective tissues collagen and elastin.
So it’s a contradiction that pineapple is often matched with pork, which is usually tender, in classic dishes such as the pineapple-studded ham served for holidays.
Here’s an example of a pineapple and pork recipe from the U.S. Department of Agriculture website:
Sweet-and-Sour Pork
1 can (1 lb. 13 oz.) USDA Pork
¼ cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
¾ cup pineapple juice
¼ cup vinegar
¼ cup onion, thin slices
1 cup pineapple chunks
1/2 cup celery strips, cut in V pieces
1/2 cup green pepper rings, thinly sliced
Remove all visible fat from pork and drain. Chop into bite-size pieces and set aside. Combine brown sugar and cornstarch. Stir into pineapple juice. Add vinegar and soy sauce.
Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add pork, onion, pineapple, celery and green pepper. Cook 5 minutes. Serve over cooked rice or chow mein noodles. Serves six.
Also interesting, the Food Network website offers these recipes:
- Grilled Pork and Pineapple Skewers with Achiote Sauce
- Pork and Pineapple Skewers, Pork Chop and Pineapple Pie
- Pan Roasted Pork Tenderloin With Tamarind.jpgneapple Barbecue Sauce and Buttermilk and Cascabel Chile Onion Rings
- Grilled Hoisin Marinate Pork With Pineapple-Grilled Green Onion Relish
Do you like the pork.jpgneapple combination? Let me know in the Comment section below.
Sounds yummy!
Yes, I’ll try it again soon.
Rita
I came across this website when I was researching the very same thing after watching the very same show. I think what the show failed to impress is that pork should not be marinated with the pineapple, which is what she did. When cooking with it, especially with the ham dish, I think the enzymes fail to act on the pork because of the heat.