大象传媒

Sheila Dillon explores one of the most enduring flavour combinations - sweet and sour. From exotic Thai recipes through to the Italian version called "agro-dolce", Sheila finds out why we're drawn to food in which two extreme tastes are brought together in one mouthful.

Sicilian food writer Eleonara Consoli describes three Sicilian examples of agro-dolce including Caponata.

Sheila Dillon is joined by food critic, author, publisher and editor of The Oxford Companion to Food, Tom Jaine, who explains how versions of sweet and sour cooking can be traced back to the ancient Romans.

Chef and author, David Thompson, who runs London鈥檚 Nahm Restaurant, Europe鈥檚 only Michelin-starred Thai restaurant, describes how sweet and sour is used in the central plains of Thailand by preparing a red chicken curry with madan leaves.

Dr David Kilcast from Leatherhead Food International and Professor Peter Barham a physicist and author of The Science of Cooking explain some of the science behind sweet and sour.

Simon Parkes visits Skye Gingell at the kitchens of the Petersham Nurseries restaurant in Richmond, Surrey where she demonstrates her modern take on sweet and sour cooking.

Sheila Dillon is then joined in the studio by author Fuchsia Dunlop who prepares an authentic Chinese sweet and sour pork dish and compares it with a supermarket ready meal version.