Some food combos are so natural that not putting them together seems weird—peanut butter and jelly, french fries and ketchup, coffee and cream. But what about peanut butter and pickles, french fries and mayo, or coffee and butter? What’s disgusting to some people sets others’ mouths watering. Which of these weird and wacky food fusions have you tried? We feel a TikTok challenge coming on . . .
Why Do People Like Weird Food Combinations?
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Some people try weird food combinations for all kinds of reasons. We may crave particular foods because of nutritional deficiencies, hormonal issues, stress, or emotional triggers. Sometimes, it happens by accident: we unintentionally pour the wrong thing on our food, or two foods sit too close to one another on our plate, and the flavors mix. Sometimes, we’re acting on a dare from a goofy friend, trying to get attention, or trying to think of something original to keep our followers tuning in online. Maybe the fridge is empty, and we’re just using what we have, no matter how weird they may seem together. But a lot of times, our taste buds are bored. Even our favorite foods have become predictable. So we mix up some odd things together and see what happens. It’s true what they say: “Variety is the spice of life.” Would you spice up your life with any of the following food combos?
1. Bananas and Mayonnaise
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This is a Southern thing. Here’s what you do. Generously slather your favorite mayonnaise on two slices of bread. Slice up a fresh banana and neatly cover one side with little banana wheels. Cover with the other slice and take a big bite of your banana-and-mayo sandwich. Depending on your mayo brand, this can be more or less tangy or sweet.
2. Peanut Butter and Pickles
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If even the thought of a banana sandwich makes you feel queasy, how about a peanut butter and pickle sandwich? Not sweet pickles, though. Only dill or bread-and-butter pickles. We’re not complete animals here. It might sound like a pregnancy food craving, but it was actually served up first at lunch counters during the Depression when pretty much everything was expensive and in short supply. Some people experiment with butter or mayo instead of peanut butter. And truly insane people make peanut butter, banana, and bacon sandwiches. As for us, we’d order that sandwich but ask the waiter to hold the peanut butter and bananas . . .
3. Mangoes, Soy Sauce, and Vinegar
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This Hawaiian favorite combines the sweet, salty, and sour flavors of mango, soy sauce, and vinegar to create a luau in your mouth! Some people add black pepper and sugar to taste. Mango can be an ingredient in sushi, so the sky’s the limit to seafood, fruits, vegetables, and spices you can pair with it. You’ll find recipes all over the internet, or just have fun and experiment with what’s in your fridge.
4. French Fries and Mayonnaise
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Originating in Belgium and France, the idea here is to get your french fries and dip them in mayonnaise instead of ketchup. So it kind of depends on whether you like the more tangy and vinegary taste of mayo or the sweet tomatoey taste of ketchup. Try this one on your ketchup-loving kids.
5. Balsamic Vinegar and Ice Cream
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Ok, confession time. We love vinegar so much that sometimes when no one’s looking, we take a big ‘ol swig of it. But vinegar on ice cream is a new one on us. So we tried it. Verdict: we wasted a perfectly good scoop of ice cream and a spoonful of vinegar. But it gives you that sweet-and-sour combo that tastes pretty darn good in other foods, so some people will like it.
6. Jalapeños, Takis, and Cream Cheese
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This was a TikTok trend a couple of years ago. Cut the top off a jalapeño, hollow it out, remove all the seeds, fill it to the brim with cream cheese, then cram it with Takis (spicy Mexican rolled tortilla snacks). It’s crunchy, creamy, and spicy, balanced with plenty of cream cheese to cool the heat. A college student favorite!
7. Red Wine and Coca-Cola
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This unusual idea started at a Basque festival in Spain. Some guys selling wine realized several cases had gone sour. Rather than take a loss, they mixed in a little Coca-Cola to mask the taste. It was a hit, especially with younger people whose palates were not so discerning. Now, it’s called Kalimotxo and is popular across Spain and other parts of Europe. If you want to try it, use red wine and serve it on the rocks.
8. Coffee and Butter
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This will be well-known to many of you as “bulletproof coffee.” Low-carb and keto dieters sometimes add butter and coconut oil to their coffee to jump-start the morning with calories from fat instead of carbs. Enthusiasts say it helps them feel more full and less apt to snack through the morning. The jury is still out on its health benefits and risks. But what you want to know is what it tastes like. Creamy, rich and . . . (surprise) buttery.
9. Orange Juice and Breakfast Cereal
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The Kellogg company found in a survey that 20% of Americans poured orange juice rather than milk on their cereal. And, of course, you know exactly how this started. Someone staggered half asleep into their kitchen, took the wrong jug out of the refrigerator, dumped it on the last bowl of cereal, and then just went for it. Because this is the kind of thing you do as a mistake. And then never do it again. What kind of monster would ever do it again, though . . . on purpose?
10. Chocolate and Potato Chips
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In case you didn’t know, chocolate-covered potato chips are a thing. An Italian confectioner named Vincent Grimaldi is credited with inventing them, and now they’re all over the internet. The Lays chip company even marketed them for a while. Why this combination? Our taste buds and brains delight in working through the puzzle of novel taste and texture combinations. Chocolate-covered chips are sweet and salty, melt-in-your-mouth creamy and crunchy, candy and vegetable. Oh so many mysteries to figure out, we can’t stop at just one. This is for science, man!
11. Peanut Butter and Onions
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Is there any combination people won’t try with peanut butter? Here’s one: make a peanut butter sandwich and put slices of sweet onions on it. Or try this Depression-era recipe: bake an onion and smear peanut butter into the crevices. Honestly, you lost us at “onion.”
12. Watermelon and Feta Cheese
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A Greek specialty known as watermelon salad, this combination sounds strange but works great. You can also add olives to it. If you want to make hors d’oeuvres, just use a toothpick to spear melon and cheese cubes with a basil leaf. This just might be one of the healthiest and tastiest food combinations you’ll find on our list.
13. Hot Chocolate and Cayenne
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Both chocolate and cayenne pepper originated in Central and South America, so there’s no doubt people have experimented with mixing them for millennia. The spicy pepper complements the sweet chocolate and gives it a nice kick. If you want to get even more fancy, go all out and make Mexican hot chocolate, which includes cinnamon, chili powder, and vanilla, as well as cayenne. “¡Ay, caramba!”
14. Pears, Bread, and Butter
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How about a pear sandwich? Butter two slices of bread, add fresh pear slices, sprinkle with a pinch of sugar, and enjoy. We would try this one. At least it’s butter and not mayonnaise, right?
15. Spam and Waffles
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Let’s be honest. For many of us, Spam is a guilty pleasure. We know we shouldn’t like highly processed meat by-products full of preservatives and salt, all squeezed into a sort of brick in a can. But we love it—love, love, love it more than Gollum loved his Precious. So, to us, the idea of Spam and waffles is pure genius. How’s it different than sausage and waffles, we ask? It is not, we answer. So, guess what we’re having for breakfast tomorrow? No, why wait? It’s what we’re having for dinner tonight! Ooh my Precious . . .
16. Honey and Cheese
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Honey has been called the universal condiment. Putting it on cheese is nothing new. The ancient Romans left behind recipes for drizzling it over cottage cheese or soaking a type of cheesecake in honey after baking. There are so many different flavor nuances in different kinds of honey and cheese that it’s hard to generalize what will taste good. Culinary experts suggest paring those that are produced in the same region, as the bees and livestock are accessing the same plants and weather conditions. The results are likely to taste better together.
17. Bacon and Chocolate
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We don’t quite know what to say about this one. Bacon dipped in chocolate. Could anything possibly be more decadent and less healthy? Give it a try if you want. You have your sweet and your salty, your chewy and your smooth. You might like it. A lot. And if you’re in the mood to upset vegans, heart surgeons, and your mom, go ahead and post a video of yourself eating it on social media. We’ll pass, thanks!
18. Cheese Curds and Caramel
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People in the dairy-producing states of Wisconsin and Minnesota, as well as the province of Quebec, are particularly fond of cheese curds. They can be served fresh or deep-fried. In Quebec they are the main ingredient of poutine: french fries covered with cheese curds and brown gravy. Cheese curds can be dipped in all sorts of dressings and sauces: barbeque sauce, bleu cheese, honey mustard, ranch, hot sauce, horseradish, pesto, honey, or raspberry jam. Caramel can work, too. As cheese curds are often a food served at fairs, we wonder if someone tripped and dumped their caramel apple in a bag of curds.
19. Zucchini and Cinnamon
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If zucchini and cinnamon sounds strange, consider that zucchini tastes perfectly delicious baked into cakes and breads with cocoa, cinnamon, and other spices. If you want to try a pairing that will really let you taste the flavors of zucchini and cinnamon, try slicing zucchini, spraying the slices with cooking spray, and sprinkling them with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. You can bake them or put them in a dehydrator to create crispy zucchini chips.
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