All food is, obviously, a matter of taste. What might seem truly terrible to some people could be the most delicious thing on earth to others. Ask anyone about their favourite snack, and it quickly becomes obvious that flavour is a distinctly singular experience. This regularly leads to all sorts of odd ingredients ending up together.
We’re not saying that there’s anything inherently wrong with liking these foods. Your dinner is yours to do with what you will. However, it would take someone deluded in the extreme to deny that the combinations that we’re about to describe are anything other than unorthodox. Brace yourselves for strangeness. Here are seven disgusting food combinations that people actually like eating.
Bananas, by right, are absolutely delicious in an array of sweet, sticky treats. Serve them alongside some chocolate or deep fried into a fritter, and you’re well on the way to puddingy happiness. However, for whatever horrifying reason, many people around the world apparently like nothing more than to spread sliced banana and mayonnaise on white bread before scoffing the lot as a sandwich.
If the idea of potato and dairy causes you to throw up a little into your mouth, this next entry may be hard to get your head around. Dozens of blog posts, pictures and social media profiles are all dedicated to the cult of taking oily chips and chucking them onto a frozen pile of soft, white vanilla ice cream. Though there’s little doubt that this combination ticks every taste box under the sun, this might not necessarily be a good thing.
Both coffee and avocados have the potential to be among the most pretentious ingredients on earth, if they fall into the wrong hands. It’s therefore only natural that if you combine the two, you get something totally disgusting, with all the pretensions of a dreadlocked, white male philosophy first year who keeps on trying to talk to you about Kant. Avoid at all costs.
Foods that feature both salt and sugar can be some of the tastiest things on the menu. That being said, the idea of a greasy quarter pounder slathered in crunchy, cloying peanut butter might be a bridge too far. Despite being a feature of several prominent fast food menus, including the infamous Shake Shack secret option, there’s still something alarming about nutty beef.
If you want a surefire way to irritate an Italian, show them a picture of someone doing something unspeakable to pasta. But, even with all the heinous offences scattered across the internet, there is surely nothing more scandalous than serving spaghetti with ketchup. This dish is an affront to every nonna who has had to spend years slaving over a stove, making proper tomato sauce for squawking family members. Kill it. With fire.
The last few years have been a golden era for the pickle. For some reason, the world has suddenly decided that these slimey, astringent sausages belong in everything from smoothies to whisky shots, making life particularly perilous for those of use who still don’t see what the fuss is all about. Of all the odd combinations, there is nothing more alarming than pickles and chocolate. While some claim that it’s the perfect balance of sweet and salty, there’s no getting over the undeniable weirdness of this eating experience. Best left in the jar.
Not every odd edible combination has to be eaten. One of the most aesthetically unappealing cocktails on the planet, “kalimotxo” is popular in the Basque region of northern Spain, and features a combination of Coca Cola and cheap red wine. A favourite amongst the youth, the drink is allegedly much nicer than it sounds.
It’s obvious from looking at this list that no food group is entirely safe from some maverick deciding that it can be “improved”. But, it’s equally obvious that these strange combinations have, by hook or by crook, managed to find an audience. Maybe it isn’t wise to knock them until you’ve tried them.