Always there is the counterpoint: sweet and sour, crisp and soft, light and dark.

For a sweet and refreshing counterpoint to the meal, there's orejon, a cold drink made of peaches steeped in boiling water.

Along one side of the rice, six steamed shrimp are added as a garnish, cool, sweet, and unadorned, a nice counterpoint to the soup's spicy heat.

Bitter greens need sweet or fatty counterpoints like fruit, a buttery cheese or the meat of game birds, to keep the salad from tasting dull.

Lobster or shrimp can add a sweet, briny counterpoint; exotic mushrooms, a woodsy note.

Ashanti made her first hits singing the hooks of hip-hop songs; she was the sweet, all-accepting counterpoint to the growls and scuffles of the men.

A lovely balanced dressing merely glossed every fresh leaf, and pecans added texture and sweet counterpoint.

Tiny cubes of Granny Smith apple and dried olives sprinkled over the top create a sweet and salty counterpoint.

The accompanying sauce, a reduction of balsamic vinegar, created a welcome sweet counterpoint to the inherent bitterness of the greens.

It's a sweet counterpoint at a clever restaurant that knows just how far its clientele can roam before it's time to reel them in.