I’m looking for flavor combos that involve a contrast of some kind. One of my favorites is pretzels or salted crackers with tonic water or Coke. The contrast of salty with sweet or bittersweet…Mmmmmm.
Which ones do you enjoy? I’m always hungry for more.
If you just said “raisins and milk,” that would be gross, but it works ok in Raisin Bran.
Sweet/salty’s my favorite combo. This is going to gross out the Europeans out there, but apple slices and peanut butter is a snack too often wasted on preschoolers. Salty, savory and sweet and juicy. Wonderful contrasts of flavors and textures.
My other favorite is a savory chickpea soup seasoned with lemon juice, garlic and oregano (think hot creamy soupy hummus, and you’re close) with a spoonful of spicy mango chutney just loosely swirled in. You’ve got them all there: salty, sweet, spicy, tangy. Deee-lish! Recipe here.
Chocolate and salt. Something about the salt just makes the chocolate that much better.
Salt on Granny Smith apples. It isn’t much good on the red, sweet apples, but on the tart, green ones it’s wonderful.
My wife likes apple slices and peanut butter, too.
Cream cheese on hot turkey or roast beef sandwiches, preferably on toasted bread or bagel.
Sliced strawberries marinated in balsamic vinegar, and then possibly poured over good vanilla ice cream (not soft serve crap!)
Peaches, pineapple, and mango in salsa.
Dark, bitter chocolate and sweet creamy vanilla ice cream.
Sausages and marmalade (my favourite sandwich)
My dad used to salt his watermelon.
Heavily.
Oh, I like salt licorice, too. I used to buy it at the imported food shop, from Holland.
I was down here in the South for about six years before I found some salt licorice, at a specialty sandwich shop in Jacksonville. I was so happy, I bought a whole bag of rolls. I told my wife they were an acquired taste, and she tried one. Well, part of one…she had to spit it out. She said it tasted like old tires.
I put pineapple chunks into my beef stew.
Hot/sweet. I like Toad Sweat hot sauce on ice cream, and I put red pepper flakes in my home-made peanut brittle.
I went to a restaurant once that had a (beautifully presented) lump of pineapple and cilantro on the plate - almost like a chutney or minor side dish. That’s it, but it was a suprising tasty combo. It’s been years, but I remember it to this day…
i like to use cinnamon rasin bagel chips as croutons in chicken noodle soup.
Herb garlic cream cheese on cinnamon rasin bagels =)
mmm avocado and vegemite on toast…
My mom salts and black peppers her cantaloupe.
I also have grown to love cottage cheese with Tabasco. I heard about it from another Doper whose username I don’t recall. Good stuff.
I haven’t done this in years, but I used to love to take cherry yogurt and dice Granny Smith apples and sharp cheddar cheese in. Mix, and eat. The sweet yogurt, tart apples, and salty/strong cheese were just a great combo.
Also, I love to make sandwiches using maple sausage plus egg plus cheddar.
I used to buy Paydays all the time, but my coworkers threatened to revolt if I didn’t stop saying, “It’s the perfect combination of sweet and salty!”
raisins and olives are a staple of venezuelan christmas dishes. A shock to the unsuspecting.
'mmmmm
Pretzels and ice cream. It’s very much the sweet/salty at work, and I give one thousand thanks to Ben & Jerry’s for creating Chubby Hubby (which is vanilla ice cream, with chocolate covered pretzels and peanut butter.) I’d wager to say that a lot of the posters in this topic would really like it, too.
Mint, especially peppermint, and milk. I don’t normally drink milk; I just don’t like the stuff. Something about drinking it with the taste of mint in my mouth changes it completely, though. It goes from bland and sort of chalky-feeling to tasty and refreshing. I came across some hollow peppermint sticks once, and used them as straws to drink milk through.
Coke and salted peanuts is a slightly odd combination I picked up from my mother when I was very young. I don’t really like peanuts, but I like salted peanuts in Coke. You drink just enough Coke off the top of a bottle to make room, then pour the peanuts in. The mix of salt and sweet flavors makes it work, with the peanuts adding crunch. Eating the peanuts and washing them down with Coke doesn’t give the same effect for some reason. I’d probably like it better with some other sort of nut, but I never remember to try it.
My whole family always salted watermelon. I’m not sure where we got the habit. It did tend to draw the juice out, but I’ve since concluded that I prefer watermelon without the salt.
Moved from IMHO to CS.