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Pie artist Jessica, @thePieous, told Bored Panda that we should never say "never" to any flavor combinations. "In the right hands, it is technically possible to make almost any two flavors play nicely together with the correct balance of volume and accompanying supporting flavors, textures, and elements like spice and temperature," she explained. There is a caveat, however!
"That said, in general one wants to avoid pairing two really intense flavors together like coffee, mint, and citrus because it can be hard for the palate to separate out the flavors—almost like listening to two different songs written in different tempos at the same time. But outside of those big, smack-you-over-the-head flavors, pairing unusual ingredients together becomes a simpler matter."
The baking expert noted that you have to look at the basic elements that make up an ingredient's flavor profile: how sweet, salty, or bitter it is. You then check to see if all the other ingredients you've selected will work together at that level. "A bit of sweet can bring out the umami and saltiness in other dishes. A bit of salt can tame the sweetness in a sugary dish and make it easier to appreciate the complexity of flavors beneath all the sugar. And that sugar or salt doesn’t have to be presented in the basic forms of table salt and granulated sugar."
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For example, if you were making salted white fish and wanted to introduce a dash of sweetness into the dish, you could do that with dark chocolate! Jessica pointed out that it sounds weird, but it actually works (and we're genuinely curious to try it out firsthand). Or, if you want to add a dash of salt to your caramel ice cream, you could even add diced pickles. "It may sound gross on paper… but it really just tastes like salted caramel. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!" @thePieous urged everyone to try it out for themselves.
"Fatty ingredients like avocado and mayonnaise that have very mild flavors can be used to substitute oils and solid fats in almost any sweet dish. We get so used to certain pairings of ingredients, especially in the West, that we forget there are myriad other ways to bring sweetness, salt, acid, spice, and fat together into tasty new medleys."
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Bored Panda was also incredibly curious about the oddest flavor combos that Jessica has tried out while baking her pies. She told us that she hasn't ventured too far into the avant-garde realm with her pies. "But I do enjoy melted cheddar on apple pie, and I’ve added a dash of maple syrup to my charred bacon mac n cheese pies before… and it’s damn good!"
According to Jessica, someone who is really pushing the limits of flavor combinations is her friend, food historian Ken Albala. He's doing this daily "with his fruity, spicy, pâtés and fascinating arrays of boundary-pushing tapas." She quipped: "I’m not sure I’d be as brave as he is to try his 'fried rice turkey balls with pickled escarole, manchego, and umeboshi paste' appies, but maybe I don’t know what I’m missing!"
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The redditor’s thread was a roaring success. At the time of writing, it had 12k upvotes. But the real victory was getting people to reveal all of the peculiar things that they love to eat! Food is a popular topic any day of the week because it’s something that we all do. What’s different, however, is what we enjoy the most and what our relationship with cooking is.
Some people go on to cook exactly the same foods as their parents and grandparents because food traditions are a way to stay connected to older generations. Others, however, might cook different dishes but keep the same flavor profiles as they enjoyed back when they were young. Still, others might focus on nutrition more than taste and go for quick and healthy meals (not that they can’t be mouth-watering either; they certainly can be). It all really depends on each person.
There’s a lot of room for individuality and expression in cooking. Especially considering that we all have slightly different tastes and come from varying cultural backgrounds. Some of us, like yours truly, prefer really strong flavor profiles that leave a powerful impact: super sweet, salty, spicy—it doesn’t matter, just give me an experience. However, this doesn’t work for everyone.
Others might prefer more subtlety and nuance in their dishes. Think artisanal 70% cacao chocolate instead of peanut butter and milk chocolate milkshakes… and here I am, craving the latter.
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What really matters is how the flavors work together (or don’t!). Some food combos sound absolutely atrocious on paper but are divine in practice. Similarly, others should work in theory but end up turning a lot of people’s stomachs.
There will always be someone who enjoys even the most bizarre combos, but it’d be naive to think that your pickle-jam-mayo-cherry bonanza is going to be a crowd-pleaser in the same way a simple cheeseburger might be.
Broadly speaking, taste combos like sweet and savory work great. As do sweet and sour ones! (That’s why many of us enjoy sweet and sour chicken, as well as the infamous pineapple and ham combo on pizza.) It all comes down to how brave and open to new experiences you are.
If you work up the courage to take a bite out of something that sounds weird, you might end up pleasantly surprised. Heck, who knows, it might become your new favorite cheat meal.
