Onion and Thyme Marmalade by The Providore Singapore

This Onion and Thyme Marmalade by The Providore came in a gourmet food hamper and seemed like an unusual spread, so I decided to try it. The Providore makes gourmet European food, so I thought it might go well with a savoury cheese scone from Marks and Spencer's bakery, and it was wonderful indeed!

Tastewise, it was definitely more for pairing with savouries, as you can see from the ingredients list below.

It was like a super thick French onion soup, and souped-up with vinegar so it was sour. I would definitely call it a chutney, relish or pickle rather than a marmalade. There's not even any fruit in it. You can also see there's barely any gel or jelly which marmalades have. (Is it a marketing gimmick or trend to have such pretentious names? And onion and thyme relish doesn't sound too bad does it?) 

The fragrance of the onions came through powerfully, which can be good or bad depending on your preferences and lifestyle (the onion taste stayed in my mouth for a good half a day). And I thought it was well balanced with the dark mellowness of the malt and depth of the brown sugar. 

I didn't really notice any or much thyme taste at all though. Probably drowned out by everything else. 

Anything that pairs well with a French onion soup would go well with this IMO, so you can see why the cheese scone was perfect (think of parmesan cheese and croutons over the soup). So red meats, cheeses and nuts on crackers or canapes might be a good idea. It's also more sweet and sour than salty, so it could balance out some salty cured meats perhaps. Used as a relish, it could also go with gourmet burgers and hotdogs.

Or if you like fusion, I imagine it would go perfectly with bland carbs such as teo chew porridge, or as a chutney replacement in Indian food.