(Photography: Getty)
We’ve seen some weird food combinations hit the internet in our time and while some work, others just don’t.
American singer Dua Lipa has just shared three unlikely ingredients that apparently work together: Diet Coke, pickle juice and jalapenos. Previously, she also shared that she puts olive oil on ice cream.
Watch Dua Lipa jazz up her Diet Coke
@dualipaofficial What do we call her?
♬ original sound – Dua Lipa
Of course, hundreds of users took to TikTok and Instagram to test the flavour combination, with many people agreeing it’s a mix that works.
This got us thinking, what are some other unusual flavour combinations?
We took to Facebook to ask you, our dear readers, what weird flavour combinations you’ve tried, and the answers are in. To say there are some… questionable combos is a massive understatement.
One we found to be popular was salty ingredients paired with sweets. Our readers didn’t let us down, pushing the bounds of what shouldn’t work but apparently does.
Here are some of the weirdest flavour combinations as shared by YOU.
1. Vegemite
Vegemite is an equally loved and loathed Australian spread. It has a strong, salty flavour and is often spread on a slice of bread or toast with butter. Over the years, lovers of the spread have gotten creative, trying out the flavour combination with unexpected ingredients. We’ve got some fun Vegemite recipes, such as a Vegemite bolognese and a succulent cheesymite chicken which is a spin on the traditional Christmas turkey.
While those ingredients are unusual pairings, they do work well together. But our readers also shared some flavour combinations that we aren’t so sure about.
One reader said they enjoy having “Vegemite, ice cream and maple syrup on pancakes” while another said, “Vegemite and lettuce sandwiches”. The latter was quite popular, with many sharing that they add cheese and tomato to make it the perfect sandwich.
“Vegemite and butter on pink iced finger buns – you shouldn’t knock it until you try it,” said another. Vegemite was also popular in scrolls or on toast with honey, jam, marmalade, sultanas or topped with a poached egg. One person even said they’ve tried a beetroot and Vegemite sandwich!
2. Unusual ice cream toppings
Vanilla ice cream is the most basic flavour you can get – while we’ve got no-churn orange and vanilla ice cream, carrot cake ice cream and margarita ice cream recipes, plain old vanilla can be dressed up with a variety of flavours or toppings and be just as delicious.
Our readers have tested the bounds of vanilla ice cream, pairing it with pickled onions, soy sauce, tomato sauce, balsamic vinegar, and even incorporating it into a mushroom risotto.
One reader commented, “I love a boiled new potato in a bowl of Neapolitan ice cream. It’s weird but tastes good.”
Potatoes in ice cream? Now that’s one we’ve never seen before.
But the weirdest of them all is definitely the “pork crackle on soft serve ice cream”.
3. Chips and…
Chips are the perfect snack and they come in unusual flavours and different forms, from potato chips to vegie chips and even rhubarb chips.
Our readers have found some unique ways to eat chips, whether with a surprising dip or paired as a garnish.
“I have salt and vinegar chips crushed up and mixed with a crushed flake chocolate bar,” says one reader.
Another shared that their “daughter likes salt and vinegar chips with strawberry yoghurt, like a dip”.
“Vinegar crisps with vanilla ice cream” and “choc dipped salt and vinegar chips”, said others.
4. Peanut butter combinations
Peanut butter is one of the most popular and versatile spreads. It can be used in both savoury and sweet treats such as a peanut butter chocolate cake and peanut butter slices, paired with jam biscuits, or in savoury dishes such as a peanut butter chicken curry. These are delicious flavour pairings, but there are some odd ones too. We’ve tried and tested a pickle and peanut butter sandwich, and it wasn’t as bad as you’d expect.
One reader shared that they love eating “avocado and crunchy peanut paste on a toasted slice of sourdough”, which sounds delicious.
Another has tried a “sandwich with sliced chicken, cheese, lettuce, crunchy peanut butter and honey”.
5. Tomato sauce mix-ups
Australians use tomato sauce on just about anything! We love it on a meat pie, sausage rolls, with bangers and mash, and the list goes on.
But have these people taken it too far?
Someone admitted to eating cornflakes with honey milk and tomato sauce… We can’t even imagine the flavour, and it just doesn’t sound nice at all.
But wait, there’s an even crazier comment – “Ice cream and tomato sauce when I was pregnant!!!!”
Pregnancy cravings are just something else.
6. Cheesy disasters
One that just kept popping up in our comments section was cheese. Again, it’s a food that works with almost anything – look at a charcuterie board for example. It combines fruits, nuts, vegies and jams when, once upon a time, it may have seemed unusual to combine cheese with sweet-flavoured foods. But while cheese may taste nice with some fruits, it may not necessarily work well with others.
One person shared that they tried watermelon and cheese, warning, “Do not try it.” Other comments of unusual flavour pairings that tasted nice were minced ginger in a sandwich, blue cheese with chocolate cake, parmesan cheese on Nutri-Grain (what??) and sour cream and honey on toast.
Natural yoghurt and red capsicum, blue cheese on a piece of dark fruit cake for breakfast, fresh strawberry with a bit of blue cheese, and chocolate biscuits with a slice of cheese wrapped around them were a few other dairy and fruit/vegie combinations that had us intrigued.
What are the weirdest food combos?
These comments are just plain bonkers…
- Sardines and custard
- “My dad used to put apricot jam on potato cakes and once made oxtail stew with bananas,” said one comment.
- Fried dim sims with chocolate topping
- Halloumi and watermelon
- Raspberry jam and spring onion sandwiches
- “Nutella and sardines on toast – was not good!”
- Sausages with a sprinkle of sugar – it gave it a bit of crunch
- Oreo Coke
