Flavour expert shares strange food combinations people absolutely love
| 4th September 2020
More than eight in 10 adults have admitted to having a ‘weird’ food combination they love – including chocolate with crisps, fish fingers and custard, and hot dogs with jam.
A study explores the nation’s unusual culinary tastes – which also featured Weetabix with butter, salad cream and sausages, and mayonnaise on toast.
Baked beans and rice, milkshake and fries, as well as banana and bacon also made the top 50 strange pairings enjoyed by Brits.
Other unusual combinations enjoyed by those polled include pasta sandwiches, apple and bacon on toast, and butter and sugar sandwiches.
Tea and coffee in the same cup is also favoured by some, as is lettuce in a sugar and vinegar dressing, and chicken with marmalade.
Commissioned by Ocado, which has joined forces with M&S to make its full range available online at ocado.com, the study also found 27 per cent of adults have created a weird food combo of their own.
To celebrate its partnership, Ocado has teamed up with food flavour expert and author of The Flavour Thesaurus, Niki Segnit, to reveal her perfect pairings.
They feature everyday ingredients like chicken, salmon, spinach, pears and Cheddar cheese – and it’s hoped they’ll inspire those who might be bored of eating the same dishes week-in week-out.
Niki Segnit said: “Everyone knows the traditional food combinations like bangers and mash, or fish with chips.
“But have you ever tried coffee and orange, or spinach and strawberry?
“There are many wonderful matches to be discovered, and you don’t need a PhD in molecular gastronomy to start experimenting.
“Interesting and unusual flavour matches can be made with common store-cupboard ingredients, like cheese and marmalade, or chocolate and aubergine.”
The flavour expert also recommends chicken and banana or salmon and caramel, along with cheddar and marmalade, and steak with coffee.
Not forgetting chocolate and mustard, butternut squash and nutmeg, and chicken with grapes.
She added: “Part of my job is to discover classic, interesting and occasionally bizarre ingredient matches, understand where they come from and why they work.
“People can feel inspired to try new ways to cook foods they love or have at home in abundance.”
The study also found 45 per cent of those surveyed through don’t tend to follow ‘the rules’ when it comes to which foods work well with each other.
While four in 10 said they are experimental when it comes to putting different ingredients together.
In fact, a third revealed they have been especially innovative with their cooking in recent months due to food shortages.
But despite their apparent willingness to try weird and wonderful food pairings, 44 per cent described themselves as picky eaters.
On this note they revealed the well-established combos they consider to be most controversial with ice cream and fries, battered Mars Bars, and ketchup with a roast dinner in the top three.
Lisa McDowell, head of brand marketing at Ocado, said: “Clearly we all have our own tastes and preferences, so if you’ve found a food combo you love, stick with it!
“We hope Niki’s novel pairings will empower cooks to discover the many food and flavour combinations, and to look at the contents of their fridge and store-cupboard with a fresh pair of eyes.”
NIKI SEGNIT’S TOP FOOD PAIRINGS TO TRY:
• Bacon and banana
• Salmon and caramel
• Cheddar and marmalade
• Steak and coffee
• Coffee and orange
• Cumin and Stinky Cheese
• Apricot and Lentil
• Mushroom and Blueberry
• Avocado and Sugar
• Blackcurrant and Peanut
• Goats cheese and cherries
• Grapefruit and Juniper
• Potato and Lemon
• Chicken and banana
• Pineapple and Prosciutto
• Apple and hummus
• Chocolate and mustard
• Butternut squash and nutmeg
• Chicken with grapes
TOP 50 WEIRD FOOD COMBOS:
1. Mixing mayonnaise and ketchup together
2. Cheddar cheese and apple
3. Salt and porridge
4. Pasta and ketchup
5. Pizza and tuna
6. Milkshake and fries
7. Sugar sandwiches
8. Prosciutto and melon
9. Chocolate and crisps
10. Banana and sugar sandwiches
11. Ham marinated and cooked in cola
12. Strawberry and basil
13. French fries and pickles
14. Strawberries and balsamic vinegar
15. Watermelon and feta
16. Baked beans and rice
17. Butter and sugar sandwiches
18. Dipping toast into tea
19. Ketchup and rice
20. Salad cream and sausages
21. Dry, buttered Weetabix
22. Tuna with salt & vinegar crisps
23. Cold baked beans in a salad
24. Mango and chili powder
25. Pot noodle on toast
26. Cheese and strawberry jam sandwiches
27. Yorkshire pudding with sugar
28. Ice cream and fries
29. Honey and pizza
30. Cold Brussels sprouts and gravy
31. Mayonnaise on toast
32. Crisps and brown sauce
33. Watermelon and salt
34. Pasta sandwiches
35. Blueberries and steak
36. Salami with grapes
37. Tea and coffee in the same cup
38. Banana and bacon
39. Chicken and marmalade
40. Mince pies topped with cheese
41. Lettuce in a sugar and vinegar dressing
42. Banana bread with cheddar cheese
43. Melted chocolate on a cheese pizza
44. Apple and bacon on toast
45. Hot dogs and jam
46. Peanut butter and burgers
47. Ketchup on popcorn
48. Chocolate and avocado
49. Chips covered in chocolate/honey
50. Fish fingers and custard