What’s your weirdest food combination? Her Campus Pitt is no stranger to “odd” flavor pairings. Members swear by hummus as pasta sauce, Cheez-Its and apple sauce, and ketchup and mustard sandwiches (yep, mustard and ketchup on white bread). Personally, I have built part of my identity on my love for peanut butter and pickle sandwiches, thanks to my best friend from home making me try them on a beach trip. The snappy pickle mixed with the peanut butter creates an oddly refreshing taste (trust me, try it). Everyone has that one craving, the one your friends turn their nose at, but in your heart, you know it’s unmatched. After watching one too many of my friends put ketchup in mac and cheese, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was something behind these cravings or if my roommate was just crazy.
Turns out there’s a method behind the madness, and most of our bizarre cravings have slight scientific backing. Apples and peanut butter, though a widely accepted flavor combination, are so good because apples are water-based and lack salt and fats. Peanut butter is both fatty and salty, giving us the perfect, well-rounded bite. According to Sebastian Ahnert, a Cambridge physicist, flavor pairings go down to the chemical level. Foods that seem vastly different often share similar chemical compounds. Often (not always) foods that share similar chemical compounds go together quite well, giving us overpriced menu items like chocolate and caviar. Ultimately, it comes down to how the food is prepared; my friend who loves Cheez-Its and apple sauce claims it’s not all that different from apples and cheese, a charcuterie board staple. Texture also plays a significant role in food pairings; those sensitive to “bad” textures are less likely to enjoy pickles and cream cheese or chocolate-covered bacon.
Many of these flavor pairings fall back on the idea of “sweet and salty,” which is undeniably good. Salted caramel pretzel is one of my favorite dessert or ice cream flavors of all time. Another combination to try for those who love sweet and salty is flaky sea salt on watermelon—if you ask me, it brings out the melon flavor (while defeating the purpose of eating the hydrating fruit). Other, less expected sweet and salty combinations that Her Campus loves are vanilla ice cream and balsamic vinegar, Nutella toast and eggs (I really can’t get behind this one), and jam on grilled cheese.
In the end, many of these foods would warrant some weird looks in public but are worth a try. You never know when you will discover the next French fries and Wendy’s frosty combination or even the next chicken nuggets in Coke.