agrodolce
adjective·/ˌæɡ.roʊˈdoʊl.tʃeɪ/
Having the sweet-and-sour balance prized in Italian cookery: vinegar's bite tempered by sugar, honey, fruit, or reduced must. Where generic sweet-and-sour can be clumsy, agrodolce is deliberately tuned, sharpness and sweetness held in the same mouthful.
The onions came glossy with agrodolce—sugar just singing, vinegar keeping the note honest.
noun
A preparation or sauce built on that balance, often served with vegetables, fish, or meat (culinary).
She spooned a little agrodolce over the sardines, and the whole plate brightened into summer.
Etymology
A borrowing from Italian agrodolce, literally "sour-sweet," from agro "sour, sharp" + dolce "sweet." The word holds its own recipe in its syllables: abrasion and comfort, married.
Related Words
gastriqueFrench sweet-sour reduction, often vinegar-based
oxymelhoney and vinegar mixture; ancient kin
chutneysweet-sharp preserve with overlapping effects
sapidtasteful; invoking the mouth’s intelligence