30 Times People Realized Their Beloved Food Combos Were Weird

While it might be tempting to just say "yuck" when reading about these meals, don't be so quick to write them off. "Trying out new dishes is like travel—broadening our perspective and widening our way of thinking," Sarah Tuck, the woman behind the food and recipe blog Stuck in the Kitchen, told Bored Panda.

"It's an adventure! And that's not to say the familiar isn't also amazing. I like nothing better than perfect softly scrambled eggs on toasted wholegrain bread—it tastes like coming home after a trip away," Tuck, who's also the editor of New Zealand's biggest food magazine Dish.co.nz, added.

It's also perfectly fine if these pictures inspire you to come up with something entirely new because "it's when you push the boundaries that you get the most interesting combinations," Richa Gupta, the cook, writer, and photographer running the blog My Food Story, explained to us.

Just remember to at least consider how things come together. To begin, Gupta suggests playing with complementary and contrasting flavors. The former allows ingredients to work in tandem (think peanut butter and bananas), while the latter pairs distinct taste profiles to create a dynamic sensory experience.

"While you're experimenting, always taste, taste, taste," Gupta added.

However, if you're an absolute novice, you might want to learn your way around the kitchen first. "I think as a beginner cook or baker it is best to follow conventions to start with," Sarah of Stuck in the Kitchen said. "Then, as skill levels increase, I would recommend experimenting."

"When thinking about developing a recipe, it is a little like writing music, thinking about all of the different elements coming together—in this case, I always start with the sweet/salty/bitter/umami balance, but also the texture; do I want an overall soft, smooth texture or would something benefit from a little crunch to contrast?"

"I like little contrasts to liven things up, like a fresh zingy lemon/garlic/parsley gremolata on a slow-cooked soft beef cheek ragu, or a sprinkling of crunchy nuts and seeds with dukkah and a little olive oil over burrata broken onto a salad," Sarah Tuck added.

"But the thing is, sweet and savory can also work brilliantly together, like sea salt and dark chocolate, or chili honey with cheese or chicken, so something that might sound weird when you first hear of it might actually make total sense when you take a bite!" the food writer said.

Interestingly, in some scenarios, you might be more inclined to broaden your culinary horizons. For example, if you're actively dating!

Turns out, being reluctant to try new foods can be a turn-off, according to research published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences. The study provides evidence that the willingness to try new food can influence sexual desirability and is seen by others as a signal of sexual unrestrictedness.

As Richa Gupta said, "If food lovers didn't experiment with ingredients, and techniques, and challenge the boundaries, the culinary world would be at a standstill." And by the sound of it, we owe it to them for spicing up not only our meals but also our love lives!