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“Don’t Hate It Until You Try It”: 40 People Are Sharing Their Unpopular Takes On Food
Pickles wrapped in cheese, popcorn with beans and ice cream on meatloaf are just a few of the surprising food combinations Americans said they love, according to this survey. It’s not to say these pairings are must-try, but they definitely show just how unique our taste buds can be.
So when Twitter user Michael Realman called for “canceling each other over food takes today,” it hit a soft spot for many. Immediately, people started sharing their own “cancelable” food combos that hit all too close to home, or rather the kitchen, for the rest.
From ketchup on waffles to Nutella pasta, some of the pairings will definitely raise our brows but hey, who am I to judge when I put salt and pepper on my porridge! And if you too are no stranger to some quirky food combo, be sure to share it in our comment section!
Image credits: trichesfaucons
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Most of us have at least one eating habit, if not more, that chances are we developed way back in our childhood. The first year of life is a period of rapid physical, social and emotional growth, during which eating patterns also develop. During this first year, infants transition from consuming a single food (i.e., breast milk or formula) to consuming a variety of foods more characteristic of an adult diet.
Moreover, parents influence children's eating behavior in many ways. First off, adults actively make food choices for the whole family, serving as models for dietary choices and patterns. Children also learn about food by observing the eating behaviors modeled by others. For example, research reveals that children's intake of fruits, vegetables, and milk increased after observing adults consuming the foods.
Our food preferences, whether common or unusual, are also part of our eating habits that formed early in life. They often include unique food combinations, too. The registered nutritionist Charlotte-Stirling Reed, who’s the author of “The Baby & Child Nutritionist,” told Bored Panda that when it comes to weird food pairings, parents often have a preconceived idea of what “flavors” go together. “They find it unimaginable that their young children eat certain pairings. But little ones, especially during weaning, don’t have the idea that breakfast HAS to be sweet, for example, until we introduce that idea,” she said and added that “They might not see the problem of having a courgette porridge in the morning or avocado ice cream!”
This is a pretty common dish (specifically in the UK), so I don't see this one being cancelled.
Both of those ingredients bring my daughters IBS up big time!! Goes from a flat stomach to looking five months pregnant! Hard to cook without them but possible!!
“In fact, my children recently chomped through some fruit sorbet with a stick of cauliflower on the side (their request). Sometimes children just follow their own innate intuition of what foods and flavors they want at that moment,” Reed told us. She said that parents should be happy to see that and “let them go for it!” Moreover, the child nutritionist added that she has carrot, beetroot and courgette porridge options as regular breakfasts for her kids, “and to them that’s quite normal!” If you and your little one feel adventurous enough to try some of the Reed’s unique porridge recipes, check them out right here.
I don't see anything unusual? Not my favorite, but if there was a cookie shortage, I'd at least consider them.
Sensory scientists and flavor experts have been studying just what foods and flavors pair well with others, pleasantly surprising our taste buds. One such pretty widespread combo is pineapple and ham (but beware to never order this kind of pizza anywhere in Italy!), which seem to work perfectly together.
Paul Breslin, a sensory scientist at the Monell Chemical Senses Center and a professor of nutrition at Rutgers University, explained this combo: “Really fatty foods, like ham and other meats, tend to leave your mouth feeling fatty, which is an undesirable state. Enter the pineapple. The fruit, which is naturally acidic, cuts through that greasy mouthfeel, creating a balanced (and tasty) result,” he said.
Pears and blue cheese have a similar effect. Breslin says that dressings typically contain three components: fat, salt, and acid. In the case of this classic pairing, the blue cheese provides the fat and salt, and the pear does its part with the acid.
Meanwhile, Niki Segnit, UK-based author of The Flavour Thesaurus, argues that “there are many wonderful matches to be discovered, and you don't need a PhD in molecular gastronomy to start experimenting.” She told the press that “interesting and unusual flavor matches can be made with common store-cupboard ingredients, like cheese and marmalade, or chocolate and aubergine.”
This 2020 survey commissioned by SPAM found that 41 percent of American respondents were most likely to have discovered their favorite food combinations from family or friends. The most popular food combo Americans love is the dipping of French fries in their chocolate milkshake. Other top combinations were chocolate and popcorn or sour cream and onion chips with chocolate. Interestingly, over half said they’ll have a “freak out” if their different foods touch each other while on their plate, the same survey found.
Hear me out. Vanilla Greek yogurt, a spoonful of fig preserves, a good sprinkle of chopped toasted walnuts.
People put stuff in Starbucks coffee because Starbucks coffee is terrible.
People putting 20 things in their drink at Starbucks aren't drinking coffee. They're drinking a pre-diabetes shake.
Load More Replies...I love coffee. I've had to tone down the caffeine a bit because my doctor said only humming birds should have a heart rate that fast
This is funny 😅 sorry for.your condition tho. Coffee is life
Load More Replies...People put 20 other thing in it because they want desert not coffee. I drink it with nothing in it and I enjoy it :)
Starbucks is selling mildly coffee-flavored milkshakes. People know this and think everyone else is fooled that they're drinking coffee instead of an incredibly unhealthy dessert.
Disrespectful. I absolutely love the taste of coffee. Coffee ice cream is amazing. To be fair I did drink motor oil when I was 2.
I love the bitterness although i alwaysndrink it with milk. No sugar but it needs to have milk
Me too and i really enjoy Coffee but Sadly it doesn’t have any effect on me besides i Drink more and that for have to pee more. I have sleep Problems but the Coffee has nothing to do with it and because i am always very tired (but cant sleep), i sometimes wish, that Coffee would wake me up. But tgen i couldnt enjoy it every time of the day...
Load More Replies...Coffee and booze. Take out the drugs and the industries would vanish over night. Suddenly all that hoity-toity talk about flavor nuances, blends and refinements would vanish and exactly 23 people who actually liked the flavor of burnt bean oil and rotten corn yeast farts (respectively) would actually care about it anymore. That said, they still got the drugs, so BOTTOMS UP!
yeah and this further adds to my "theory" that people are actually stupid enough to pay $5-6 or more for a cup of s**t they don't even like And even more, they will wait in line to do it. How many people do you know that drink straight black coffee? Those are , maybe, the folks who actually like coffee. The rest of them whether it's just sugar or cream or anything else, ask this: Why do they put that stuff in the coffee? Answer: To make it taste less like coffee. Why? Because they don't like f*****g coffee! Gotta hand it to a Bajillion dollar a day industry to get people to pay so much for a cup of crap they don't even like.
I drink straight black coffee, and I also think it sucks. It's the cheapest way to get caffeine, and has some limited health benefits. I think of it like medicine. Just get it done and enjoy the feels. If I'm going to add sugar, then I'll just drink a Pepsi. Tastes better.
Load More Replies...Me neither. I think we're in the minority, lol. I do love a good cup of tea, though.
Load More Replies...Apparently you have never had a good coffee. Try buying higher end beans and grind yourself.
After covid, coffee tastes/smells somewhat like gasoline. However… I actually like it more
I can't agree with this one, I drink black coffee all day every day. I like it with cream, and I like Hazelnut as long as its from the beans and not some nasty after syrup. I absolutely cannot stand anything sweet in coffee.
Just like alcohol, if your coffee tastes bad, it's because you have bad coffee.
It's black or nothing for me. It kills me when others drink coffee-flavored sugar water.
Guess they never had a Grandma who made it for them. Sucks to be you guys.
European coffee is far superior to anything in North America; much smoother and no acidic taste. Most coffee here is crap.
I agree with this. But lots of people drink decaf... someone please tell me why!!
I drink unsweetened decaf all day everyday so I guess I like light colored motor oil
Starbucks ain't good coffee...go to Costa Rica...it will change your mind.
I used to drink coffee if I needed caffeine but when I had coffee made by my husband for the first time I realized what utter crap I’d been given under the same name.
it its something you have to put pounds and pounds of sugar and cream to make it taste good, then well it prob isn't the best choice. lemonade you don't need to put anything in it and it tastes delicious. ill leave you that
Lol no that's what people tend to do the BAD coffee!- I'll agree that often it smells better than it tastes, but again, that's not GOOD coffee!
I like coffee occasionally. I don't always want coffee though. Caffeine also doesn't have any effect on me, but I still like things with caffiene in them. I'm also strange cuz I like black coffee with a spoonful of sugar in it.
I drink my coffee strong and black, just with a little bit of sugar... anything else isn't coffee, it's a dessert!
Starbucks tastes like burnt pencil shavings in hot water. I prefer good old Folgers.
I drink coffee because I actually like the taste of watered-down motor oil.
I disagree, I often drink my coffee strong and black and I love it. That said, sometimes its nice to have a flavoured coffee too, especially an iced latte of some description in the summer. But places like starbucks have terrible coffee to begin with, so I may presume that this poster may not have had good coffee from a good coffee shop etc yet. >.>
I drink my coffee black and I love it! I also like IPAs, for context.
It’s a difference in taste buds. My husband says coffee tastes nutty rather than bitter. He doesn’t notice the smoky taste in dark roast coffees, and coffee that is labeled as fruity tastes sour to me.
Then why do i hate the caffeinated energy drinks but still love coffee? Its like says u like cake only because of frosting
I make my own Frappuccinos with decaffeinated espresso, skim milk, and ice. Sometimes I add sugar free syrups to them.
I've had the coffee that tastes like motor oil. I've also had coffee that tastes amazing without anything in it. It all depends on the quality, and I really think this person just hasn't had a decent cup of good quality coffee
Starbucks is DISGUSTING and HEINOUSLY overpriced. I like coffee flavored candy, cakes, and other things like that. The caffeine has no effect on me........I drink coffee for the taste of the coffee.
Then stop going to Starbucks! Check out small, local, specialty coffee shops and find one with a really good roast. I could never drink drip coffee black until I started drinking coffee at places like that. Flat white is one of my favorites, (approximately 1/4 espresso, 3/4 steamed milk with only a light layer of foam, depending on the shop. Less milk than a latte) even though I don't tolerate caffeine well and almost always drink decaf. A good cold brew black or with just a splash of cream is also wonderful.
I know people who only drink decaf.... why????????????? Coffee tastes like s**t, take away the caffeine and you are left with liquid s**t!
I like my tea black with two sugars. Tried coffee for the first time way back when and naturally thought it would taste just as delicious black with two sugars. That was a big fat NOPE. Now, I drink maybe 5 cups a week, decaf for medical issues, with cream and sugar to cover the taste, lol.
Okay, me and Stan here are about to throw down. He hates oysters, now he is going after coffee. Coffee is the best tasting thing I have ever had. I cannot think of one thing in the world I would rather have than coffee. Black, no sugar, with sugar, with cream, iced, hot, I will drink coffee in any form. The most expensive thing on my grocery list every week cause I pay for the premium. Got a coffee grinder to make sure I can get those whole beans and really have fantastic coffee every morning of my life.
Starbucks coffee might be like watered down motor oil but real coffee isn't.
OP's opinion comes from drinking bad coffee. Espresso roasts, dark roasts, and French roasts are almost certain why coffee has failed the OP. If you're one of those folks that likes to drink out of ashtrays, more power to you, but a lighter roast will absolutely change your coffee drinking world. Light roast especially has a natural sweetness to it, not like "omg that's sweet" but just a smoothness that darker roasts lack. Lighter roasts also have more caffeine. And coffee strength is a function of how much grind you use and how you move water through it, NOT how darkly roasted it is. I love STRONG light roasts.
People who buy coffee from Starbucks don't like coffee. The root of the problem is bad coffee, poorly ground, over-cooked, and served in a 32oz mug. Buy good coffee (doesn't really matter where from, but I have a soft spot for Guatemalan coffee from Antigua - you can purchase this through De La Gente, a cooperative of coffee growers that results in more revenue going to the growers and not the middle-men), use a hand-cranked grinder to mill it to a size appropriate for your coffee-making method, and serve in an espresso cup without milk or sugar. It's sweet, nutty, spicy, chocolatey, and delicious.
Guess he never tried arabica without any other stuff. Some coffe have their own unique characteristics. My favourite so far is arabica ratnasari, from my hometown Tegal.
I had a heart rate for mice when I was pregnant,so I drank coffee without caffeine. What do you say to that?
I actually like the flavour but too much caffeine gives me acid reflux so these last few weeks I've been drinking Whole Earth Organic Coffee Alternative from Holland and Barrett. It tastes similar to coffee (at least similar to instant coffee) and my acid reflux has gone down 🙂👍
I actually prefer my coffee black. It also depends on the brand and if you grind your beans yourself (which I highly recommend).
I cant drink it, it makes my heart Beat too Hard And I shake. The only drinkable is when I am seriously tired And its dillated by a litre of Milk And to s of sugar, then its digestable for me
I like all coffee, sometimes I want espressos, sometimes I want a load of coffee flavoured sugar, but yeah caffeine is a bonus specially on a migraine day
Sounds like somebody who's never had a good coffee. I drink mine without anything, and sometimes I have to stop myself in the afternoon because I'd love to have some more, but I know it will mess with my sleep. When I was in uni and the goal was to get caffeinated as efficiently as possible I would choose cheap energy drinks anyway.
Made right it's good. I never drink coffee for the caffeine. Never notice any energy surge or anything unless it's 3 cups. By then I'm having a rapid heart rate and dizziness. If I need an energy boost I'll eat some mints or fruit.
You obviously haven't been to an Italian coffee bar. I don't drink coffee, because even imported Italian coffee tastes different and not good enough, but every time I visit Italy, I drink coffee everywhere all the time and I also stock up for home.
Don't talk about coffee if you only had coffee in America. Esp. if you only had coffee at Starbucks.
I usually drink my first coffee of the day black and strong. Because caffeine. If I ever go for a second one, coffee with milk and salted caramel it is.
I only drink decaf. I love the taste of coffee so does my 9 year old lol
Starbucks coffee is garbage. If your entire post is based on Starbucks=coffee, then you're just misguided. And you probably need a decent cup of coffee (which is hard to find in the US, except at small, local coffee shops).
You forgot the fact that they sit on the bottom of the ocean and eat all the fish poop that drifts down, and they are full of poop when people eat them.
OMG! Finally another human being that shared my aversion to Ranch! It's totally gross! My favorite food is bacon cheese fries. I ALWAYS get it without ranch, because ranch is just gross. I usually always get it WITH ranch because some brain surgeon in the kitchen thinks that EVERYBODY likes ranch. 😝
"There are 3 stages in life - I hate olives; I don't despise olives and OMG OLIVES"
this might kill you but, i sometimes eat raw onions as a snack when i’m done grilling burgers, like chips. *powers up defibrillator *
I can't stand BBQ pizza, and also don't much like chicken on pizza, so totally disagree.
I've tried hot sauce on vanilla ice cream. It's an odd combo, but I've done it more than once.
If taste of flavourless grass is someone's thing...not judging but actually judging.
As long as it's medium rare, then I don't care if it looks like it was hit by a 4x4 and the grill left an imprint
This is why you had the witch hunts. To stop this affront to nature ;o)
The state of Texas gets a lot of things wrong, but brisket isn't one of them.
What does that even mean? "Extremely Mid?" I'm from Denver, and I love me some In N Out. They just opened up a store here in town. Now I don't have to drive to Phoenix for my double/double fix!
because you can mash them together and make oatmeal chocolate cookies
McDonald's fries are really good, but the ones at Islands are better.
hey hey what’s that sound, this person will be laying on the ground
I like to peel a banana, butter a slice of bread and roll the banana up in the bread and eat it like a sausage roll. It stems from my love of banana sandwiches and my laziness to slice the banana
it’s good friday and today should be holy, so now *performs exorcism*
1=NO, 2=IDK, 3=pickled beets, yum, 4=Huh?, 5=true dat, 6=you're too picky.
Tomato ruins my braces nothing else. Tomatoes don’t ruin anything else
i ahve never tried this. and tbh, they look like tiny diseased turds
Strawberries dipped in chocolate is delicious. Also banana and Nutella sandwiches are amazing.
WHY are those "fantasy" pizza toppings? Can you not afford them?
I love sushi because of the rice part and the veggie part. Not because of society
no. i don’t agree. noone agrees. i dislike you. you are incorrect
that pizza sounds delicious. thanks for saying this, i’ll try to make one and send the results
My mother forced me as a child to eat watermelon, because she was NOT going to be known as the mother whose child hated watermelon.
Should I tell him that you can also put fruit in savory dishes (like pork with apple)? Or would it kill him?
Ketchup and mayonnaise together is essentially thousand Island dressing, so not weird. But eating it off the spoon is.
therapist: colour or highlite the part that you dislike. me: *colours in the whole damn thing*
no. it should not. please do not. do not listen to the insane man.
let me just say, after looking at some of these, i refused to look at the rest of them, and just came here to say that
What is the purpose of this post? Just don't eat it and stop judging what others do
"Hunger is the best sauce" ---- a proverb for a reason. When you're hungry, you'll eat anything. Been there, tried that.
There are a lot of these where i really wonder if they've ever had a good example of the thing they hate. Like nowadays, especially in Canada and the US, i can easily imagine someone who has never had good bread or a good tomato. It's sad. otoh, if they have and they just don't like them, fair enough
We have amazing breads and tomatoes in the US, lol! I grow heirloom tomatoes every summer and bake breads all throughout the year. Darn, now I'm hungry for warm, fresh bread.
Load More Replies...I like Hershey's chocolate and Goldfish Crackers. Probably the sweet and salty combo.
I thought I was the only one. It's one of the many weird food habits I've passed to my daughter. One of the others is pepperoni, jalapenos, onions, and pineapple on pizza.
Load More Replies...Skin on fries are not fancy. You're just too lazy to peel the f****n spuds!
that sounds like the best way to have rice pudding when you have no rice pudding I have ever heard
Load More Replies...Add another one. I've never even bought it. I tasted it once at my sister's house and thought I was going to die from a sugar overload. I don't understand the appeal.
Load More Replies...I suggest we cancel the cancellers. Why should anyone care what other people like or don't like to eat?
If we cancel the cancellers then aren't we cancellers and should be cancelled?
Load More Replies...With some of these horrible posts.. Do you upvote them (after all, this is a list of food combinations that should be cancelled) or do you downvote them, because they are just terrible?
I think we're upvoting the ones we don't want to cancel
Load More Replies...Cheez-its and black licorice are a snack sensation you gotta try at least once. Tastes like gourmet sausage
I don't get the love for those sickeningly sweet brown sugar and molasses concoctions some people think are BBQ sauce either, but a nice tangy or spicy sauce can compliment just about any meat.
Load More Replies...These folks are amateurs :) When I was 5 or early 6yo and alone at home while my parents were working and sister in school (my parents were quite trusting or that was a different time, I guess), I got hungry and started looking for something to eat. I ended up mixing bread crumbs with some sort of powder for instant vitamin drink and ate it dry. I liked it. Made it again quite a few times, especially while still a kid.
This list made me sad- half the food was things I can no longer eat, the other half food I have never heard of/tried :(
If you're referring to the peanut butter spread they try to pass off as peanut butter then you're right. It might as well be classified as icing. It's like saying miracle whip is the same as mayonnaise. I prefer natural peanut butter like Adam's. It actually tastes like peanuts. If you don't like peanuts then it really doesn't matter which one you try.
Load More Replies...Coffee creamer, straight outta the container. Pure chemicals, almost styrofoam, sure, nummy, yes!
Rice with anything is a crime against humanity. Absolutely revolting stuff.
For the most part, rice is just a filler carb. But, sushi wouldn't really be the same without it.
Load More Replies...let me just say, after looking at some of these, i refused to look at the rest of them, and just came here to say that
What is the purpose of this post? Just don't eat it and stop judging what others do
"Hunger is the best sauce" ---- a proverb for a reason. When you're hungry, you'll eat anything. Been there, tried that.
There are a lot of these where i really wonder if they've ever had a good example of the thing they hate. Like nowadays, especially in Canada and the US, i can easily imagine someone who has never had good bread or a good tomato. It's sad. otoh, if they have and they just don't like them, fair enough
We have amazing breads and tomatoes in the US, lol! I grow heirloom tomatoes every summer and bake breads all throughout the year. Darn, now I'm hungry for warm, fresh bread.
Load More Replies...I like Hershey's chocolate and Goldfish Crackers. Probably the sweet and salty combo.
I thought I was the only one. It's one of the many weird food habits I've passed to my daughter. One of the others is pepperoni, jalapenos, onions, and pineapple on pizza.
Load More Replies...Skin on fries are not fancy. You're just too lazy to peel the f****n spuds!
that sounds like the best way to have rice pudding when you have no rice pudding I have ever heard
Load More Replies...Add another one. I've never even bought it. I tasted it once at my sister's house and thought I was going to die from a sugar overload. I don't understand the appeal.
Load More Replies...I suggest we cancel the cancellers. Why should anyone care what other people like or don't like to eat?
If we cancel the cancellers then aren't we cancellers and should be cancelled?
Load More Replies...With some of these horrible posts.. Do you upvote them (after all, this is a list of food combinations that should be cancelled) or do you downvote them, because they are just terrible?
I think we're upvoting the ones we don't want to cancel
Load More Replies...Cheez-its and black licorice are a snack sensation you gotta try at least once. Tastes like gourmet sausage
I don't get the love for those sickeningly sweet brown sugar and molasses concoctions some people think are BBQ sauce either, but a nice tangy or spicy sauce can compliment just about any meat.
Load More Replies...These folks are amateurs :) When I was 5 or early 6yo and alone at home while my parents were working and sister in school (my parents were quite trusting or that was a different time, I guess), I got hungry and started looking for something to eat. I ended up mixing bread crumbs with some sort of powder for instant vitamin drink and ate it dry. I liked it. Made it again quite a few times, especially while still a kid.
This list made me sad- half the food was things I can no longer eat, the other half food I have never heard of/tried :(
If you're referring to the peanut butter spread they try to pass off as peanut butter then you're right. It might as well be classified as icing. It's like saying miracle whip is the same as mayonnaise. I prefer natural peanut butter like Adam's. It actually tastes like peanuts. If you don't like peanuts then it really doesn't matter which one you try.
Load More Replies...Coffee creamer, straight outta the container. Pure chemicals, almost styrofoam, sure, nummy, yes!
Rice with anything is a crime against humanity. Absolutely revolting stuff.
For the most part, rice is just a filler carb. But, sushi wouldn't really be the same without it.
Load More Replies...