Sweet and sour in Italian cooking, or agrodolce, has roots that predate the Romans, but credit Sicily— and the North African influence on their cuisine — with keeping it alive.
Sicilians slather a basic mixture of vinegar and honey on grilled meat and fish. They turn roasted eggplant into caponata with a version of it dressed up with alliums, raisins and herbs. And sometimes they add nuts and chilies for a textured condiment that hits most, if not all, of the notes on the flavor spectrum.
