Melba sauce is often associated with this fancy desert called Peach Melba, but in my neck of the woods (Upstate, NY), it’s associated with the far more common mozzarella stick. This is about a combination of sweet, salty, and gooey that creates the most amazing flavor burst.
The origins of this combination seem to be up for much debate, but the fact of the matter is that it’s a local favorite that really shows our native tastes. I have always believed that upstate New York was one of the biggest melting pots in the US. Having had so many people come to the US through Ellis Island, not to mention a long history of Native America, Dutch, French, English, Irish, Italian, and German influences (I’m sure there’s a few missing also).
The food here has always been a wild card, I didn’t realize until later in life that most people that grew up in semi-rural towns like mine didn’t also grow up with their choice of Italian, Asian, German, Indian, and French food at a minimum. It makes sense that we have some unique local favorites with all of these influences hanging around.
So back to this Melba sauce and mozzarella stick thing. I know it sounds totally gross and weird, but I’m promising you that it’s not at all. In fact, it’s incredibly delicious and once you’ve tried it you probably won’t go back to the standard marinara sauce. You’ll be forever changed.
The sauce while similar to raspberry preserves there is a few noticeable differences. For starters it is not cooked down the way preserves are, all the ingredients are placed in a blender and blended to the desired thickness. A few pulses produce a thicker sauce than a longer puree. I prefer something in between for maximum mozzarella stick coating (my own word, obviously).
I think it’s also important to note that this sauce is also great on ice-cream, waffles, and pancakes (much like Chuck’s Strawberry sauce), and on toast, like jam. Just a few ideas to try out.
Once made the sauce will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks or frozen for a few months. I chose to can mine because despite having 3 freezers we lack a lot of freezer space right now.
Here is my favorite recipe for Mozzarella sticks.
Melba Sauce
- 2 cups fresh raspberries
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
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Combine all ingredients in a blender and pulse until combined. (this is optional but makes for a smoother sauce)
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Place all ingredients in a small thick bottomed sauce pan and warm over medium heat. Bring to a rolling boil for 10-15 minutes or until thickened.
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Serve warm.
- To can simply follow raspberry jam instructions
- Un-canned, the sauce will last 1-2 weeks in the fridge.
Similar Recipes:
Veggie Egg Rolls with Duck Sauce
Garlic Scape Pesto
Baked Veggie Samosas
This looks like just a recipe for melba sauce, not “MELBA SAUCE AND MOZZARELLA STICKS” as your title implies. Any suggestions or recipes for mozzarella sticks too? Thanks!
Sorry for that. Try this recipe! https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/mozzarella-sticks
I can’t help but wonder, Jessica, where in central NY you are – having spent 5 years in the Rome area I recognize some of your recipes as true to central NY, although I am surprised that a search didn’t turn up good old Salt Potatoes! Anyhow – this recipe caught my eye because I now live in Wisconsin – land of cheese and all things dairy (except farms now, sadly) and yet no one here has discovered the magic of melba sauce with cheese sticks (or deep fried cheese curds). We had it last summer at a hole-in-the-wall pizza place outside of Albany and found the combination to be AMAZING. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I’ll be introducing it to the deprived people of Milwaukee.
Sherri, thank you so much for sharing my recipe! I’m actually from the Saratoga Area, so more capital region than central, NY, I think we share a lot of the same foods with central, NY though. Salt potatoes and Chicken riggies have been on my to-do list for a long time. I swear I’ll get it done eventually!
I’m originally from Rome NY but moved away 16 years ago. I miss upstate so much and will be moving to Rochester in May. I can’t wait. It seems like western New York has foods that I never knew about. I’ve never heard of Melba sauce being from central New York. What part of upstate is it from?
From what I’ve read it started in the Albany area and expanded from there. Glad to have another up-stater around!