10 Weird Food Pairings That Are Surprisingly Delicious & 10 That Just Don't Work
Food Experiments Gone Right—and Wrong
Ice cream and soy sauce? Avocado and chocolate? Watermelon and mustard? Yup, you heard right: all of those are food combinations people have actually tried. As for how they taste? Well, let's just say some pairings might be surprisingly delicious, while others will make your stomach churn. Are you brave enough to try everything on this list? Here are 10 weird food mashups that actually work and 10 that are better left untouched.
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1. Avocado & Chocolate
Honestly, it should probably come as no surprise that avocado and chocolate work together; they're both, after all, creamy and delicious. If you ever want to try it for yourself, mix equal parts of both into a mousse, pudding, or smoothie.
2. Pickles & Ice Cream
Even if you don't like pickles, eating them with ice cream might change your mind. Something about the briny, acidic flavor of these fermented cucumbers paired with the cool, creamy sweetness of ice cream just makes the taste buds happy.
3. Peanut Butter & Onion
Scared of onion breath? A dollop of peanut butter might just fix it! We're kidding, of course, but a peanut butter and onion sandwich is apparently one of those weird combinations that just work. Plus, peanut butter-stuffed onions were apparently a favorite of American novelist Ernest Hemingway.
Corleto Peanut butter on Unsplash
4. Balsamic Vinegar & Ice Cream
While you can technically drizzle balsamic vinegar on any ice cream flavor, the classic pairing is with a scoop of vanilla. As soon as you put a spoonful of dessert in your mouth, you'll be treated to the perfect combination of savory and sweet.
5. Chili & Cinnamon Rolls
We know it sounds odd, but adding a hint of spice to your cinnamon rolls will make your taste buds sing. Feel free to adjust the spice level depending on your tolerance, and you can either sprinkle it on or make a chili glaze to bring out the smokiness and heat.
6. Cucumbers & Honey
Need a quick pick-me-up? Instead of automatically reaching for the hummus dip, if you're looking for something sweet and refreshing, try dunking your cucumber sticks into honey. The crispness of the veggie and the syrupiness of the honey is a pairing you won't be able to get enough of.
7. Peanut Butter & Ramen
Before you twist your face in disgust, this is the type of combination that might just change the way you slurp your noodles. If you're up for a kick of spice, you can also mix in sriracha or chili with peanut butter before stirring it into the bowl of steaming hot broth.
8. Hot Chocolate & Cheese
Ever thought of popping chunks of cheese into your hot cocoa? Well, you should follow the tradition of the Colombian people and try it—you might just be surprised by how well it works. Mild mozzarella or halloumi are the best varieties to add to your cup.
9. Cola & Red Wine
The next time you pour yourself a glass of red wine, don't forget to mix some cola into it. Yup—you heard us right. This seemingly odd combination was actually invented by a server who tried to hide the taste of a wine gone bad with cola, and the pairing matched so well that the beverage now has its own name—Kalimotxo (or Calimoco). The cocktail is now a huge part of Indigenous Basque culture in Europe.
Malen Almonacid Trossi on Pexels
10. Pineapple & Pizza
Hawaiian pizza, anyone? While pineapple on pizza is heavily debated—wildly delicious to some; absolutely vile to others—it's a pairing that still, somehow, just works. Maybe it's the sweetness of the fruit that matches well with the savoriness of carb-heavy pizza, or maybe it's just plain weird magic.
Ready for pairings that just don't work? Read on for some food combinations you might not want to try...
1. Tuna & Nutella
Have you ever woke up in the morning, couldn't decide between making a tuna sandwich or a Nutella sandwich, and thought, "Why not mash them together instead?" No? Well, there's a reason you probably haven't, and it's because this pairing is so odd, you'll likely end up losing your appetite for the rest of the day.
João Pedro Freitas on Unsplash
2. Orange Juice & Cereal
Sure, some people swear by pouring orange juice into their bowl of cereal—Tropicana even made a cereal designed to be used with their brand of juice. But even if you were able to get over the weird, sweet, acidic combination, you're still overloading on the sugar, and that alone isn't worth frying your taste buds for.
3. Pickles & Peanut Butter
Pickles might work with ice cream, but peanut butter? At best, you might be able to tolerate the weird sour and sweet taste; at worst, your taste buds will be at war, and you'll probably want to spit it out. You're better off sticking to the classic PB&J.
Crunchydillpickle on Wikimedia
4. Ice Cream & Soy Sauce
If you're thinking of other odd ingredients to pair with your ice cream, don't try soy sauce. Even though some swear by the umami flavor of this combination, this attempt at mixing savory and sweet is probably not what you're looking for.
5. Hot Dogs & Grape Jelly
Yes, hot dogs with grape jelly are a thing; no, you probably shouldn't try it. Smucker's themselves might have a recipe out on the web for you to try, but these cocktail weenies will likely only leave a weird sugary, meaty taste in your mouth, which doesn't sound all too appetizing.
6. Bananas & Mayo
If bananas weren't mushy enough, pairing them with mayo will definitely do the trick. Despite being a Southern US classic, known endearingly as the "banana and mayo sammie," slathering mayo and slices of banana on two pieces of white bread is an invention better left uninvented.
7. Spaghetti & Maple Syrup
Ever wanted to try the dessert spaghetti from Buddy the Elf? Well, you're probably better off not knowing what this weird dish tastes like, because mixing pasta with maple syrup, chocolate syrup, M&Ms, and marshmallows will likely just set your stomach on fire.
8. Watermelon & Mustard
TikTok tried to make watermelon and mustard happen, but unless you're okay with burning off your taste buds, you should stay far away from this weird food combination. Equal parts tangy, salty, and sweet, even if you do survive the initial bite, there's no guarantee your stomach will.
9. Hot Cheetos & Milk
If pouring orange juice into cereal wasn't weird enough, here's an even weirder one: hot Cheetos with milk. Yup—some people swear by this pairing, noting how the milk helps tame the fiery taste of the Cheetos. Take it from us, though: please eat cereal the normal way.
10. Cola & Milk
Another weird pairing people have tried with milk? Pouring it into cola. If you try this at home, be warned: a chemical reaction will occur, which will lead to the milk curdling at the bottom. You might think this combination would taste similar to an ice cream float, but you're better off having an actual ice cream float instead.
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