This topic has been done before, but let’s do it again.
Spinning off from my comment in this thread that ice cream with black pepper is good…
I tried it because my kids dared me to - I’ve had chilli and fruit together before many a time, so I know that hot and sweet together can be a winning combination.
So this time it was a liberal grind of black pepper on top of a good quality toffee vanilla ice cream. My kids watched in horror as I spooned it into my mouth. It was really very good - the ice cream suppresses some of the initial heat of the pepper, so the flavours develop gradually as it melts in your mouth - it was the same kind of rounded, sweet, earthy spiciness that you get with really good gingerbread, but different, of course. Try it…
What unusual food combinations have you found to be good?
Marmite (which is odd all by itself, with nothing else added) and cheddar cheese. Not the nasty tasteless cheddar dyed industrial yellow as it’s served in the US, but proper strong mature farmhouse cheddar available here (closest I’ve seen in the US is Tillamook White Cheddar in Oregon and Washington). [
It’s a lovely taste combo, and not at all what it looks like (extremely thick used engine oil spread on lard). Even better when it’s melted into a panini.
Since products from th same region often go well together, this makes perfect sense – the Tabasco state of Mexico has been a major vanilla producer throughout much of its history!
(Yes, I know that Tabasco sauce is from Louisiana. I’m just kidding.)
Before this turns into a grossfest, I submit Pumpkin and Shrimps. A pairing not often found around but that I find perfect under the guise of any type of cuisine. First had it from a Brazillian friend in the form of a stuffed pumpkin with some spicey shrimp. After that, it has taken all forms. My current favourite is pumpkin cream (soup) with fried shrimp.
That sounds good, Sapo. It reminds me of one of my favorite soups, Black Bean and Pumpkin, which has ginger in it. (I’ll share the recipe if anyone wants it.)
Recently I bought some Paul Newman salsa, opened it and scooped up a big chunk and WHAM! My god, what a delicious taste! I had grabbed a jar of peach salsa. I had no preparation for the taste and it was utterly fantastic. We devoured the entire jar!
I guess this has been mentioned before, but strawberries with a splash of balsamic vinegar and a crack of pepper - my tastebuds went berserk and it felt like my sense of taste had had a lick of heaven.
There’s a pizza place in town that has a combination called “Melvin” – canadian bacon, spinach, pineapple, jalapenos, and blue cheese. When I tell people about it I always get a :dubious: look but it’s amazing how all those various flavors work together. Mmmm… Melvin.
I have to ask you all about something I saw on Everyday Italian. She made a panini of brie, semi-sweet chocolate morsels, and basil. Of course she did her orgasm face when she tasted it, and they’re all tastes I like on their own.
Has anyone tried such a combo and what did you think?
I’ve seen brie paired with sweet stuff a lot and I’ve seen chocolate paired with savory items a lot, it could work. Maybe. Who’s going to argue with Giada’s Orgasm Face?
For me green olives stuffed with bleu cheese. I love them both separately but the idea of them together made my mouth pucker. I tried one and it did make my mouth pucker and at first I thought it was ick, but it was one of those things you have to try again to see if maybe you were wrong and it was actually kind of good. So you eat a few more. Thankfully, I only buy a large spoonsful worth at the olive bar or I’d eat a whole container trying to decide if I like them. Apparently, I do like them but every time I eat them it’s a new adventure in taste.
It sounds like it ought to work - dark chocolate combines well with creamy things (and when it hits your mouth unmixed like that, it’s better than chocolate that has been blended homogeneously with something creamy). I’m trying to get my mind to imagine the effect of the basil, but it’s eluding me. I’ll have to try it.
That sounds pretty interesting actually. I’m a fan of all of the above (spinach is “take it or leave it”).
I don’t really have anything to add though except for marinating chicken in pickle juice and soy sauce.
Oh, and I like unspeakable horror from beyond with mango chutney.
