If you love cooking and experimenting with food, you have probably invented some, let’s say, less-than-tasty recipes in the past. If you experiment, sometimes wonderful things happen, and sometimes things go awry. Despite the fact that most of us usually pair our foods with well-known matches – balancing acid with fat, creating the perfect lightness of sugar and butter in baking – there are some food combinations which you might imagine are disgusting, but are actually delicious. Creating recipes with surprising combinations might sound risky, but in actual fact, when you start practising with new flavors and exploring the weird and wonderful food combinations you read about in this blog, you’ll soon discover that there is more to cooking than pairing meat with veggies. So tuck your napkin in, put your judgements aside, and read on to find out the most wonderfully weird food combinations out there. Let’s go!
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Chocolate, and…
Chocolate goes well with many things: fruit, nuts, cream, and, well, more chocolate. But one thing that many people wouldn’t expect is that chocolate also can be paired with bitter or typically savory foods which don’t necessarily sound like a delicious combination. Here are just a couple of the weird and wacky flavors which will surprise you when you combine them with chocolate.
- Sesame. When you think of chocolate and nuts, you might think of peanut butter in Reese’s Cups or hazelnuts when you spread Nutella on your toast in the morning. Nevertheless, sesame seeds, which have a rich, nutty, sweet flavor and are typically found on meat dishes, go fantastically well with chocolate. Dip your chocolate covered strawberries in some sesame seeds for a surprisingly gorgeous texture and flavor combination.
- Chilli. You may have seen chilli chocolate flavored bonbons in the store, rolled your eyes and backed away slowly, but the phrase “Don’t knock it ‘til you try it!” definitely applies here. Chilli, with its spicy, hot, surprising flavors works wonderfully with the creamy yet acidic tones of chocolate. If you want to spice up your life while still getting a chocolate fix, this is the answer to your prayers.
- Goat’s cheese. If you love cheese and love chocolate, get ready for your mind to be blown. The richness of the cheese combined with the cocoa flavors of the chocolate will make you a very happy person. You might have a few frightened faces at your party, but don’t be fooled, your goat’s cheese and chocolate combination will be a hit before you know it.
- Soy sauce. Soy sauce is very typically used on Asian foods such as sushi to add perfect umami to a dish. However, this salty sauce works amazingly with chocolate. Try adding a splash of soy sauce to your next chocolate ganache, and experience an amazing taste explosion.
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Lemon, and…
Lemon – the saving grace of any salad, fish dish or gin and tonic. A horribly sour taste on its own, lemon compliments and draws flavors out of many different food combinations. Some unlikely combinations you will love with lemon are:
- Black pepper. Whether you crack some into your gin and tonic or add it to a lemon salad dressing, you would be surprised that the spiciness of black pepper doesn’t make lemon more intolerable, but rather more palatable. Try it – you won’t regret it.
- Cinnamon. When garnishing baked goods or making a funky new iced tea, try cinnamon and lemon together. The wholesome notes of the cinnamon and the slicing citrus tones of lemon work brilliantly together. For a summery, delicious combination, don’t miss this simple trick!
- Nuts. Whether it is pine nuts in a pesto, peanuts on a dessert or hazelnuts in a smoothie, you can add lemon to nuts to balance the fatty, whole textures and flavors that nuts bring.
- Cheese. A squeeze of lemon on a cheesy pasta bake, a lovely cheese board or even in a cheese sauce will help offset the dairy overload feeling that comes with eating a lot of cheese. Lemon’s sharpness is a surprisingly excellent combination with most dairy dishes; try it next time you’re considering putting your dinner party guests in a cheese coma!
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