18 Food Combinations That Shouldn't Work But Do
1 of 181.Chocolate-covered Crisps
□Fab or fad? Whatever, these are Only in America.□□<Just-eat.co.uk>□□
2 of 182. Dark Chocolate + Parmesan
Blogger Elle assures us her melted cheese and chocolate toastie is ‘damn good.’ So do news blog Huffington Post. □□□□□□ □
3 of 183. Christmas Cake + Cheese
A tradition as old as the Pennines. According to blogger Stripey Anne it’s a ‘Yorkshire thing’.□□□
4 of 184. Popcorn + Milk
We like this one. And safe to say it’s probably a lot better for us than Coco Pops. □□□□□
5 of 185. Popcorn + Mustard
If top chef Marcus Wareing is concocting recipes from this combination it gets our vote.□□□□□
6 of 186. Banana + Mayo
Furious debates in the blogosphere whether this combination works or not. Even top US chefs are joining in the debate. □<Food.com>□□□
7 of 187. Doritos + Nutella
Big, nutty, fanbase (geddit?), and a Facebook page devoted to the cause.
8 of 188. Strawberry Jam Sandwich And Cheese
Can’t see this one replacing the Great British fry up. But full marks for trying Chef Dennis.□□□□□ □□□
9 of 189. French fries + Vanilla Ice Cream
We think we’ll take Scoopy Scoop’s word for it. And if you're the type to go heavyhanded on the vinegar we think you shoudl give this a wide berth.□□□□□
10 of 1810. Coffee + Salt
Apparently the Scandinavians do it, as do Turkish and Hungarians, and it reduces bitterness. □□□□□
11 of 1811. Tonic + Salt
Salt has the same effect on reducing bitterness in tonic water too. Who knew?□□□□□
12 of 1812. Meat + Aniseed
According to chef Heston Blumenthal aniseed and star anise ‘intensifies the flavour of meat.’ □□□□
13 of 1813. Guinness + Ice Cream
This should put hairs on your chest. If that’s what you’re after. □ □□□□□
14 of 1814. Grilled Cheese + Jam
The Grazia jury’s out on this one, but we can see it’s an acquired taste. □ □<Yumsugar.com> □□http://www.yumsugar.com/Would-You-Eat-Jam-Your-Grilled-Cheese-Sandwich-1539261□□
15 of 1815. Courgette + Lime
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall put these in a cake at his River Cottage, and we like the look of this one too from blog Katie’s Kitchen. □<Katie’s Kitchen>□
16 of 1816. Coca-Cola + Chicken
Hot on the heels of Nigella’s Coco-Cola glazed ham, comes this hybrid.□□□□□□
17 of 1817. White chocolate + Black Olives
The salt in the olives has an amazing ability to bring out the sweetness of the chocolate.□<Now You’re Cooking>□□□□□
18 of 1818. Ketchup + Banana
Website Foodpairing – a website which chefs use to discover foods that go together, has found that bananas and ketchup are a scientific match made in heaven. Try this Almond Sponge Cake With Poached Bananas And Ketchup Icecream. □ □□<Foodpairing.com>□□□
We all have a food quirk, something we like to eat, that other people think is disgusting. And we're not just talking about pregnant ladies and their cravings. From peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwiches to pancakes with ketchup for example, when it comes to food, there are people out there who like the strangest pairings.
Occasionally though these weird flavour combinations make their way into the mainstream. Who'd have thought a few years ago we'd be buying salted caramel, or chilli, marmite and beer-infused chocolate? Or actually thinking it was perfectly acceptable to drizzle balsamic vinegar on our strawberries?
So what will be the next strange pairing to tempt our palette? We've done a roundup of some that are bubbling under around the interweb below, and while we're on the subject, we'd love you tell us your weird culinary discoveries. Promise we won't laugh... >>