Pork, Pineapple and Sweet Potato Soup (More Information)

A few details

Ingredients: Pork in general tends to be dry because of the desire for more lean meat. Pineapple will help counter the pork's dryness. Also, pineapple contains the enzyme bromelain which will tenderize the pork during cooking.

The pineapple will also provide part of the sweetness in this soup. The other part of the sweetness comes from the sweet potato. However, the sweet potato and the pineapple will add different types of sweetness; the sweet potato's sweetness comes from starch that breaks down during cooking into a sugar.

A moister variety of sweet potato will add more starch and thus produce enough sweetness to counter the pineapple. The different types of sweet flavorings will mix nicely and also add more flavors to this soup.

Also, the sweet potato will add the creaminess to this dish and a moister variety will add additional creaminess since it contains more moisture.

While cooking: The sweet potatoes require a longer cooking time than the pork or the pineapple, as a result this recipe suggest frying those for ten minutes before adding the sweet potatoes in with the other ingredients. This additional ten minutes will begin the cooking process but will also aid in starting to break down the starch granules and allow for more starch to mix with the pork and pineapple, making the soup creamier.

Alternatives

Instead of soup, these ingredients can be used in making a terrific breakfast sausage or even a sticky, sweet pork.