Food pairing
Beer with pulled jackfruit
Unripe jackfruit stewed into a fibrous texture that resembles pulled pork, almost always in a sweet barbecue sauce.
The fruit itself contributes texture and very little flavour, so what is actually on the plate is the sauce — usually sweet, tangy and mildly smoky. That is where the pairing lives.
The difference from pulled pork is the absence of fat, and it changes the answer. Pulled pork can take a very bitter beer because there is richness to cut; this cannot, and a hard bitterness against the sauce sugar reads as a clash rather than a balance.
Pulled jackfruit rules a lot of beer out, but several beers do the job it needs equally well. Pick between them on preference — the reasons matter more than the order. The attribute doing most of the work is sweetness.
What to drink
Pastry stout — strong
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dish rather than being flattened by it.
Sweet stout — strong
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dish rather than being flattened by it.
Rauchbier — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Czech dark lager — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
London brown ale — strong
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dish rather than being flattened by it.
Dark mild — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
English barley wine — strong
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dish rather than being flattened by it.
Wee heavy — strong
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dish rather than being flattened by it.
What not to drink
- Altbier — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.
- American wild ale — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.
- California Common — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.