Unusual Food Flavor Combinations

I’m addicted to food.  I eat every day and more than 3 times a day on most days.  So, I think about food all the time and I get a hunger for it.  Of course, like any other person, I like to eat things that taste good (to me).  I’ve grown to like a variety of things and will eat almost anything that’s vegetarian with few restrictions.  I also like to try new things in food whether it’s a new restaurant, new ethnicity of food, or just a new menu item.  It’s a way of getting a minor sense of adventure out of daily life.  It’s funny when people like to eat only what they know they already like.  At some point, they had to try what they like for the first time.  My mom always says, “how do you know you don’t like it until you try.”  But then she attempts to get me to “try” the same dish multiple times over the years even if I didn’t like it the first few times.  I stopped falling for that.

What I have noticed about food is that some of the true food pioneers and chefs have created great-tasting flavor combinations from seemingly incompatible flavors that make no sense.  I wonder why somebody tried putting ingredients such as these together in the first place…

- lemon/poppy seed
- chocolate/habanero
- cranberries/gorgonzola cheese
- pineapple/pizza
- chocolate/peanutbutter
- mango/tomatoes (in salsa)
- fruit/balsamic vinegar
- cookie dough/ice cream
- chocolate/mint
- peanut butter/banana

The people ran the risk of wasting food if the new combo tasted horrible.  And the really bold ones tried out these crazy food combinations on their friends and family.  They must have really valued experimentation over their relationships.  But if the experiments turned out well, they may have gained more friends or more business in the case of restaurants or food producers.  Perhaps in times of scarcity, people combined random ingredients for variety.  Who wants to eat the same three things every week?  But if you combine two ingredients at a time in a unique way, you get many possibilities.

We take these combinations of food for granted, but we should thank the crazy food pioneers who tried them out in the first place.  I regularly enjoy lemon/poppyseed muffins and cranberry/almond/gorgonzola on my salad with raspberry vinaigrette dressing, (thanks to Zoup! where I got the idea).  Once, I had an avocado/mint/rosewater dessert which was absolutely amazing.  A traditional Gujarati Indian recipe that I like combines pomegranate seeds, fried lentil seeds, onions, cilantro, and cayenne pepper powder.  Who would have thought to combine lentil seeds with pomegranate?  They’re both seeds but they are strange bowlfellows indeed. 

What are some of your favorite seemingly weird food flavor combinations?  Are there any that you’ve created? 

+ Atul

Comments

[Chelsea Chisholm]

As the household chef I have tried many strange combos that turned out delicious. I tried Chicken with Swiss cheese, Salmon and Teriyaki, and saltine crackers and tomatoes (baked). I love to experiment with different foods. My parents used to say "how do you know you don't like it unless you try it". My dad wanted me to try a bite of kiwi, I was disgusted of the way it looked and didn't want to try, he pulled that infamous line on me and I finally tried, kiwi is now my favorite fruit! So now I like to try new things at least once because you simply never know until you try.

[Dave P]

Hi Chelsea
Salmon and Teriyaki are a great example of an unlikely food combination which taste great together. I also agree with you about kiwi, but it tastes good and is good for you too. I think foods eaten at different temperatures can have value also. Cold pizza and chicken or fried ice cream are foods prepared at different temperatures that are a tasty variation of the same food.

[Sue Modic]

I absolutely love the taste of sour cream on pizza! Slather some on a slice and mmmm... yummy!! I've been told I'm crazy, but I say, "Don't knock it until you've tried it!"

[Dave P]

Yesterday I ate coconut shrimp.

[Atul]

Chelsea,
I think you may like kiwi now because our tastes change as we get older.

Dave,
The temperature part of it is something I hadn't thought of. Apple pie tastes good hot or room temperature.

Sue,
Sour cream on pizza! My first instinct is to say yuck, but I should try it first. I hope you eat lots of veggies on your pizza too to offset the unhealthy dairy overload :-)

Dave,
Coconut shrimp is a weird combo that is commonly accepted. I thought of another one. Brie cheese and hot fruit preserves.

[Eric Cox]

Can I just say, "Zoup!" is my new favorite place! I discovered it about a month ago, and can't get enough! Mmmm. There's ths place on 6 and newburgh called Thai Basil, where I regularly order this "Pineapple curry". It has pineapple, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, and shrimp in a buttery thai curry sauce. Sounds strange, but it's delicious! And by the way coconut shrimp is not strange, it is the way God intended it to be! Mmmm. :)

[Dave P]

Eric
I am a fan of Zoup as well though I eat there much more during the cold weather months. Soups are hot, fresh and homemade and the sandwiches are good too. It is a good place for people who like trying different foods.

I enjoyed your last comment. It was insightful AND stirred the pot!

[Heather Goodwin]

I am a very picky eater and normal don't like weird combinations of food, but own of my absolute favorite things is chicken nuggets and frosty. I rarely eat fast food but if I do, I get Wendy's chicken nuggets and dunk them in a chocolate frosty. I can't explain it, but it is definitely delicious!

[Dave P]

Hi Heather
That is one of the stranger combos that I've heard of. It is another example of mixing hot and cold. They're great by themselves so why not together.

[Atul]

Eric,

I miss Zoup now that I moved out of the Detroit area. I used to go to the one in the RenCen quite often. I liked the fact that they had at least two veg. soups available at all times. And your comment about pineapple curry made me think that flavor combinations might seem odd here but are perfectly normal in other cultures.

Heather,
Dunking chicken nuggets and frosty is kind of strange, but if you're drinking/eating a frosty while eating nuggets, it's not much different. That's the important thing; you can't explain why it tastes good.

[Angie Z.]

How about warm spinach and crushed bacon with mashed potatoes? Although I think fat can make almost any veggie taste better? Oh yes, fried chiicken with a little bit of fresh rosemary?

[Dave P]

Angie
I can't say that I've ever sampled those 2 food combinations. Perhaps one day I will give them a try.

[Sarah Sherwood]

I am a creature of habit, now I understand the logic behind “you will never know until you try” but I still find no desire to go outside my normal food orders. I usually order the same meal from various restaurants. For example from Noodles N Company I always get Wisconsin Mac and Cheese with broccoli, and from Max and Erma’s I get the Chicken Finger meal. My reasoning behind this is if I decided to be adventurous and order something new there is a chance I will be disappointed, if I order the same thing I know I am going to enjoy my meal. As far as crazy combinations go like Heather I sometimes use a Wendy’s Frost as a dipping sauce, but instead of chicken nuggets, I like to dip French fries.

[Dave P]

Sarah
Continuing your point on not knowing what you'll get, sometimes a particular food item is made differently/tastes differently from place to place. Honey Mustard is one example of this.

As long as the restaurant prepares your food properly, you'll always gain value in knowing that you'll enjoy your meal when the item is one of your personal favorites and you are contributing to keeping that item on the menu.

[Chris K]

I live to eat. I asbsolutely love food! I am always trying different combinations. One of my favorite to eat would have to be french fries with mayo. I dont know what it is but its really good. Im not saying it is the best for you though! Some different combinations of flavors like popcorn and orange juice are good. I think it is the salt from the popcorn and the tangy sweet from the orange that creates the "i have to have more" feeling in your brain. As for breakfast foods... just give me a cup of syrup and I will put it on anything! I agree with Sarah on the Wendy's combination. I rarely try to dip my chicken nuggets in my frosty but I will dip my french fries in the frosty though. :)

[Atul]

Rapid Fire Comments back from me...

Warm spinach and crushed bacon with mashed potatoes - i won't eat it because it has meat but it is interesting

French fries and mayo are good, especially with flavored mayo like at Cinq, (basement of Bastone's) in Royal Oak.

Sarah had to try each of those restaurants once for the first time and she ended up liking them so there's a good chance that other dishes at Maccaroni Grill taste good, or even better.

One other weird food combo I like is fries with ketchup and mustard, especially a good honey mustard.

Popcorn and orange juice sounds good. I like OJ with eggs (with tobasco) and toast.

Syrup on anything!? Too sweet for me, except if on pancakes or waffles. Even then I get the less sweet light syrup. Pure maple syrup is too sweet for me as well.

[Rebecca Schram]

Recently I have encountered the issue of "not knowing if you like it until you try it". As a kid, I would eat anything that you put in front of me, but lately I am weary of trying new things. My brother has just become a vegan and insists on me trying tofu. I am completely disgusted by it, but in all fairness how do I know if it is disgusting if I haven't tried it. As was said before, many things that seem weird or gross can turn out to be very good in the end!

[Dave P]

Rebecca
I'm the opposite. As a kid, you couldn't get me to try anything. Now I'm more open to trying things-within reason.
This blog site is hosted by my favorite vegan.

[Atul]

Rebecca,
It's interesting that you've become more picky. Like Dave, I've become less picky as I've gotten older. I read that our taste buds become less sensitive as we get older so that would make sense, but I see that you don't want to "risk" it by trying something different.

It's neat that your brother is vegan. (I love tofu by the way. It takes on the flavor of what it's cooked in and when fried, has a nice meaty texture).

Just to correct Dave a bit, I eat eggs and dairy so, I'm not vegan but vegetarian.

[macie]

I think its really cool your brother is a vegan, i give him a lot of respect i tryed that once and got real sick, but i enjoy eating many things and will give mostly anything a try.

[Evan Bell]

One time my father was making breakfast for me on the weekend. He is known for taking whatever is in the fridge and mixing it together because he will eat anything. I usually don't agree with what he mixes. At this particular breakfast he decided to take the leftover hot dogs, cut them up, then mix them with leftover white rice and put it all in the omelet he was cooking. I was shy to try the hot dog and rice omelet, but he forced me to take at least one bite. It turned out to be a decent way to eat an omelet.