What's an unusual but excellent food combo you've tried?

Cryophilia@lemmy.world to Ask Lemmy@lemmy.world – 128 points –

Always looking for new food ideas.

219

Had a pizza in Spain yesterday - pear, walnut and gorgonzola

Was absolutely stunning

Okay now THAT is weird. How did they prepare the pear? Big slices or little?

That has always been a pretty classic combo on cheeseboards. Probably that is why they came up with the idea to put it on pizza. My favorite pizzeria has it on the regular menu too. They make thin slices of halved pears for it, so the pear is not raw after baking.

That's...actually a good point. Maybe not as weird as I thought.

Not that weird, just relatively uncommon. I can recommend it, try one if you can :)

Jazz up a quesadilla by adding a little thin sliced apple or pear. Good ol super market cheddar is an excellent cheese choice.

I love that sweet and salty. Sea salt caramel. Prosciutto fig pizza. Chocolate pretzels.

I've had similar pizzas in the US. "Sweet pizzas", so to speak, were all the rage in the mid 2010s. More often, they were branded as flatbreads.

I've made pizza topped with a brandy peach sauce (peaches sautรฉed in brandy, nutmeg, butter), bourbon blueberry syrup, and taleggio. Even better is peaches, arugula, and brie.

My favorite kind of pizza is a bacon lettuce tomato, with a mess of mayo to top it off. Chefs kiss*

I've had a similar one too! Very good. Non citrus fruit + funky cheese, + nuts is always a great combo.

Peanut butter on hamburgers. Really nice contrast especially if you also include pickles

This is the one I came here to post. Tried it at a brew pub I liked, I figured they wouldn't steer me wrong.

It's a bit messy once the burger starts really melting the peanut butter, but it reminded me of satay w/ peanut sauce.

No pickles for me though, I can't seem to get with the taste of cucumber in any form I've tried.

Not unusual but not common is fish sauce on your fried or scrambled eggs.

I have also seen someone added fish sauce into their chili. Not a lot, just a splash for the whole pot. It works.

I use it instead of Worcestershire sauce in my gravies.

I love adding fish sauce to my stir fry with eggs, this sounds like it would work similarly

fish sauce and a little cornstarch (optional) in your scrambled egg mix and then dump it into screaming oil for 30 seconds and you get a basic thai omelette. Sooooooo good with sriracha.

I rather go for soy sauce and a bit of starch in the beaten egg to make really thin umami omelette type things.

French fries with vinegar. Ok, not unusual if youโ€™re British, but delicious even if you arenโ€™t.

I am the only one in my family who likes vinegar on fries.

I do prefer apple cider vinegar over regular vinegar, but I'm more than happy to slather any available vinegar I can on.

I discovered the vinegar as a condiment with vinegar salt potato chips. Then I found out the fries. Sooooo good.

A can of condensed tomato soup, 1 can of milk, pad of butter, 1/2 cup(or more) instant rice. Lets soup come to near boil, turn off heat, add rice., cover and let steep for about 8 minutes.

A can of milk?

Yes, empty the can of condensed soup into a pot, then fill the empty can with milk instead of water then empty than into the pot.

  • Vanilla ice cream and/or raspberry sorbet topped with pitch black, salty sweet licorice sauce. (common only in Denmark afaik)

  • "Birnen, Bohnen und Speck", a stew made from pears, green beans, bacon and a herb called satureja/savory. The pears in this one are a certain old breed, that is pretty hard and sour before cooking. (This is a local delicacy from the city of Hamburg in northern Germany)

  • Watermelon and feta cheese, especially during hot summer days (common in mediterranean countries)

  • Pickled cucumbers and feta cheese (those are eaten as a combo around the black sea afaik)

Avocado in chicken soup. Add to the bowl, not the pot. You'll never eat it without again.

I sort of accidentally discovered that when dining at the local cantina.

The restaurant did something neat in serving an appetizer of guacamole on top of pico de gallo. For whatever reason I decided to dump the whole thing in to the bowl of spicy, chicken-black bean soup I was having. The contrast in flavors, and cooked vs fresh, spicy vs cool was an instant game changer. Indeed, I never looked back from there.

i like to dunk left over fries in vanilla icecream.

my coworkers thought i was mad when they witnessed me doing that.

I donโ€™t go to McDonalds much any more, but Iโ€™d get fries and a vanilla shake to do that with, as a treat!

I always get a chocolate Sunday and dip the fries in.

I've tried that, not my thing but some people swear by it

I like to do it with 'fresh' fries. The hot fry and cold vanilla shake/ice cream combo is amazing to me.

This might sound wild... But buttered chicken/curry is a fantastic dipping sauce for pizza.

Order a pizza, order some curry, eat the whole pizza... It's so good

Fuck that sounds decadent ๐Ÿคค

Seriously! You gotta try it! We did it with both cheese and pepperoni pizza and both were some of the best things I've ever tasted.

Grapes in a chicken/tuna salad sandwich. Totally different experience with the diced grapes

Apples too. But I'm not sure this is unusual. Even Arby's sells a chicken salad sandwich with grapes and apples in it.

Dang, did not know that, I've only been to Arby's once

A Puerto Rican coworker turned me onto hot chocolate with cheese in it. I believe the traditional method is basically just to put some cheese in the cup and you end up with a melted glob of cheese to eat with a spoon as/after you drink it. I've played around with that as well as actually incorporating the cheese into the drink itself, melting it all together on the stove.

Kind of gets you some of that well-tested sweet/salty/savory combo. I dig it in a Mexican hot chocolate with some cinnamon and chili powder.

I believe the traditional cheese is edam, I've tried that as well as cheddar and a few other cheeses, they all seemed to work pretty well, try it at your own risk if you go for anything too funky

That sounds like a food crime...

That's kind of the point of this thread though isn't it? Weird food pairings that sound crazy but actually work if you're brave enough to try them

Elsewhere in this thread you'll find a lot of sweet/salty/savory pairings, one that's particularly relevant is adding chocolate to chili. Lots of chili will end up getting served with some shredded cheese, or some sour cream (sour cream is kind of next door to cheese when you think about it) so not too far off from a Mexican hot chocolate without the meat.

Cheese is dairy, and there's no shortage of milk and chocolate creations, like hot chocolate itself

Cheese can go with sweet things just fine, plenty of great fruit and cheese pairings, cheese and honey, etc. (if you haven't tried it, some warm apple pie with some sharp cheddar cheese on it is great, also sounds crazy to some people but if you ever do a cheese fondue odds are you're going to be dipping apple slices into cheese)

You're probably even familiar with a couple pairings of chocolate and other cheeses, things like chocolate chips in cannoli, chocolate cheesecake

When I was in high school, we had a class potluck. I accidentally got some cheese dip (Rotel and Velveeta) on one of my chocolate chip cookies.

I figured, "Why not?" and tried it. Surprisingly good.

MMM I used to put choco krispies (think chocolate rice krispies) into my quesadillas. That shit was fire.

I think my cousins maybe made me try this as a joke when I was younger but hear me out..

Toast. With mayo. Sprinkled with chocolate powder.

I don't eat it anymore because I'm a grown up or whatever but I still get cravings for it sometimes.

One night we were making oatmeal butterscotch chip cookies, and I dipped a Frito corn chip in the cookie dough.

We decided to only make a half batch of cookies and used the rest for Frito dip.

Yes. We were high.

Water melon + bacon.

I was about to start my shift, but knew I would probably get hungry before lunch, so on my way out to the back deck I stopped via the galley to get some form of breakfast. I like bacon, and I like water melon, so I grabbed some of each as a snack on my way out. But then I needed to free up my hands, so I just put it all in my mouth, and the combination of sweet and salty was absolutely amazing.

Cinnamon raisin bagel. Toasted with some thick slices of aged cheddar and a nice hotsauce. I like valentina, but siracha is good too.

I had a cherry chutney hamburger at a restaurant somewhere in Missouri. I ordered it because I thought it was a weird combo. IT WAS DELICIOUS.

Cold watermelon soup with anise and cracked black pepper.

It was the appetizer to a meal that included duck breast smoked with lapsang souchong tea.

All of ot was outstanding.

Since mangoes are in season now:

Green mangoes (still crunchy) with crushed Thai pepper and sugar and a tiny pinch of salt.

Or just go all out and make the crack sauce.

Green mango pickle is so weird and so delicious. Green papaya salad is the only way I like papaya. Blistering hot.

Rosemary + Strawberry (Jam)

Fresh Strawberries mixed and cooked with rosemary twigs then sieved
Can be diluted with water as a sort of lemonade.
Or it can be further processed as a jam.
I like to use it as a thin topping on a chocolate or hazelnut spread :)
Sort of like a PB&J but instead a S&B?

Strawberry is also really good with basil or mint in a cocktail.

Havent tried basil. I have tried with lemon balm and mint. The mint I chose with the strawberry basically tasted like strawberry toothpaste xD It tasted great though.

1 more...

My girlfriends' mom makes rosemary + grape jam.

Absolutely great on pรขtรฉ I hear!

Also mango jam is very nice with yogurt

Want another suggestion?
Try to get ahold of Yuzu marmelade. Usually can be bought at the asian supermarket.
Mix that with yoghurt and optionally oatmeal.

1 more...

My grandmother introduced me to chocolate ice cream with crumbled lays chips about 35 years ago. I abstain from this almost consistently; but Iโ€™ll be damned if those arenโ€™t a match made in hell.

I made a chef salad at work which usually comes with just ranch.

I added a sweet Thai chili sauce to it and it was honestly really fuckin good. The sweetness from the chili sauce really brought out all the regular flavors of the salad and ranch

I don't agree but I get called weird for putting applesauce on my macncheese

Youve heard poutine which is fries with cheese and gravy. Next time try fries wth cheese and salsa.

I've been looked at weirdly for dipping pretzels in mustard.

Isn't this the standard way to eat pretzels?

Yeah, I'd say it's 50/50 on whether a pretzel gets served with mustard or cheese in my experience, and I almost always try the pretzel when it's on the menu. Sometimes you get both. Assuming we're talking soft pretzels. Hard pretzels, idk.

I mean it was always normal for me, I also dip them in ranch and have been looked at weird for that too. Idk man. I got downvoted for answering the question haha.

I just had Mac n cheese with green Chile and meatballs. I liked it ๐Ÿ‘

Crunchy peanut butter and banana sandwich. Bonus if you add honey.

Roasted peanuts goes good with most salty foods. Crush and sprinkle it on top of some beef or chicken for a nice, tasty crunch.

Based on this thread peanut butter or peanuts goes with a lot more than expected.

Potato chips dipped in peanut butter or yellow mustard. Malt vinegar on eggs. Waldorf salad.

Isn't mustard always yellow ?

That's true, I meant the style of mustard that's not Dijon mustard but they are both yellow in color.

Peanut butter is absolutely vile, I like actual peanuts by themselves though.

It is an acquired taste, I found it real strange initially but I've grown to like it now. I find it also mixes well with a few things

It's not something for me now that I'm older but I use to love putting ketchup on mashed potatoes and mac and cheese. I know mac and cheese with it is somewhat common.

Also potatoes on a hamburger is really good. If you do a cheese burger it might take some trial and error on getting the right cheese. I myself like fresh shredded American. Don't use cheap ingredients though! This is the 1 thing I wouldn't cheap out on.

I've had a "Breakfast Burger" with a fried egg, shredded hash browns, bacon, and sausage gravy.

Probably took 6 months off my life, but it was delicious!

Chicken Shack Broasted Potatoes with their Cole Slaw mixed in.

It's so good, it's the main thing I get there, it's better than the chicken.

It's like going to Red Lobster and just ordering the cheddar bay biscuits.

I don't know anyone who does this, but I love putting barbecue chips on cheese and mustard sandwiches. Same with spicy chips.

BBQ chips on a sandwich is an excellent way to up your sando game

1 more...

Sriracha sauce on a hot dog, period.

A scoop of vanilla ice cream, topped with a little โ€œchili crunchโ€ oil - salty and sweet, spicy and creamyโ€ฆ itโ€™s great.

Nutella on a salty cracker, like a saltine. Careful, you can eat half a jar this way!

Chocolate Stout beer and a scoop of vanilla ice cream (gently lowered -- otherwise it's all foam gushing about).

I take no credit. A deadhead, traveling beer blogger in a Winnebago (how he described himself) told me about it years ago.

Beer float.

Honey and white cheese on a pancake. Honey by itself might be too sweet - the cheese (especially if it's a bit more salty) balances that out nicely.

Ho yeah that reminds me of spicy honey on cheesy pizzasโ€ฆ maybe my best memory from l.a.

Sprinkle ketchup on sausage gravy. Tangy goodness.

Sprinkle? What the hell is wrong with your ketchup?

What I mean is we sprinkled little dots of ketchup instead of large dollops.

Slice of bread and table syrup (not maple syrup). Super quick, sweet snack. I call it the poor manโ€™s pancake.

Why not just buy eggo waffles?

These are usually things you already have at home. You donโ€™t even have to toast it like the waffles. Just pour the syrup on the bread and away you go.

I'm a big fan of blue cheese:

  • Water cracker, soft blue cheese, and a bit of hot (spicy) honey drizzled on top.
  • Ramen with blue cheese crumbles melted into the broth.
  • Avocado toast with blue cheese crumbles.

I don't even like sweet potato, but baked Stokes Purple sweet potato with blue cheese, olive oil, salt and pepper and pumpkin seeds is amazing.

Not sure whether it's unusual, but at least it took many years to be introduced to combining any chocolate dessert with red wine.

Peanut butter and dill pickle sandwiches are way better than they have any right to be.

Got to be no sugar varieties of both ingredients.

I used to sautรฉ up frozen corn in butter with garlic and paprika. Right about when it's done, throw in some cilantro. Fuck. I want some now. I had to stop eating it, it was causing problems I was eating too much.

Boil up some ramen noodles, drain all the liquid and discard the flavor pack. Add a can of Hormel No Beans Chili and a few table spoons of Cheez Whiz. Heat up the chili and cheez. A few decades after I first concocted this, I found out that Ohio has restaurants that basically sell this same thing (Skyline and Goldstar).

Ice cream on a hot dog. Just plain vanilla ice cream, on an all beef hot dog in a bun. Some chocolate fudge on top if you like.

You get the FUCK out of here, you god damn monster.

Peanut butter on bread as a side to chili (con carne).

Plain Potato chips and pretzels.

We used to make peanut butter sandwiches with potato chips. I haven't had one since I was like 14 and need to try one again.

Cheese and jam

Cheese and honey

Best crepe I ever had. I like to make them with gouda and hot honey. Goats cheese and normal honey also slaps.

Cheese and marmalade, the sharper both are the better. Mmm.

Cheddar and sliced apples. I don't think it's rare and no one gives me crap when I eat it, but I never see anyone else do it.

Marshmallows on regular pizza. Salty and sweet is so nice.

Peanut butter, jelly, salami, and giardiniera.

As a kid, I used to dip pretzel sticks in applesauce. Just another sweet+salty combo, I suppose.

BLP. Bacon Lettuce Peanut butter. It's like a BLT, but I hate tomatoes.

Just ate a kimchi grilled cheese sandwich for breakfast, yum. With a dip of gochujang, mustard, soy sauce, kimchi brine.

There is a Mexican fruit salad with pineapple, mango, jicama, onion, and cotija sharp cheese, in an orange juice dressing, it is so good with onion, I would not have expected that.

โ€˜kimcheeseโ€™ fries are great. French fries + med/sharp cheddar (merkts is common here) + Kimchi = ๐Ÿซ 

Bread or cracker with peanut butter, mayo, and mustard (the ground seedy kind).

Okay I have a secret recipe from when I was a kid.

Brioche + cheddar slice + hamburger (the frozen kind)

The sweetness of the brioche makes the recipe, it's also super easy to make, pop the meat in a microwave for a couple minutes and it's ready to assemble.

I love using Hawaiian rolls/buns/bread for like, anything really lol.

I don't think it's unusual, but balsamic vinegar, mixed with olive oil, and sprinkled with pepper, is an excellent dip for sourdough or French bread.

One of my favourite things ever is to make a salad (tomatoes, onions + whatever other stuff you like in your salad with olive oil, balsamic vinegar salt and pepper) and make it with extra juicy tomatoes and stuff. It'll leave some juices in the bowl. I clean the bowl with bread. Amazing.

I havent tried this yet but I know some people who swear by red wine and coca cola

Ham and strawberries, my favorite combination of foods.

Ok, I have a few.

Potato and onion pierogies and maple syrup. So good.

Hot chocolate and buttered toast. Dip it.

Pizza with Mike's Hot Honey. Maybe that's not too weird, there's a pizza place around here that offers that.

McDonald's pancakes with an ice cream sundae dumped on them.

I love mayonnaise and lime pickle together, especially mixed into a bowl of mashed potatoes.

Also, it's a classic in the north of England but fruit cake with a slice of cheese (cheddar or Wensleydale) is great.

I do not eat this anymore, but when I ate animal products I would order pizza with hot chilis and I'd put honey on top.

Chocolate and chili pepper. Sounds weird, but spicy chocolate is hella good.

I was equally surprised with how good the short-lived limited time Spicy Skittles were. They should bring those back. ๐Ÿคค

They sell chocolate bars that have chili in it. Though some are better than others. But generally always better than like, Hershey

Pizza dipped in ranch dressing.

That's not unusual at all

Yeah tomato bacon ranch pizza is actually really good.

They serve pizza with ranch by default in the South.

Really? Here in the PNW itโ€™s considered odd.

You're just on the wrong side of the country lol

We like to think itโ€™s the right side of the country, but get your meaning.