Chocolate with crisps, fish fingers and custard and hog dogs with jam - weird food combinations revealed

More than eight in 10 adults have admitted to having a ‘weird’ food combination they love – including chocolate with crisps, fish fingers and custard, and hot dogs with jam.
Baked beans and rice, milkshake and fries, as well as banana and bacon also made the top 50 strange pairings enjoyed by Brits.Baked beans and rice, milkshake and fries, as well as banana and bacon also made the top 50 strange pairings enjoyed by Brits.
Baked beans and rice, milkshake and fries, as well as banana and bacon also made the top 50 strange pairings enjoyed by Brits.

A study of 2,000 adults explored the nation’s unusual culinary tastes – which also featured Weetabix with butter, salad cream and sausages, and mayonnaise on toast.

Baked beans and rice, milkshake and fries, as well as banana and bacon also made the top 50 strange pairings enjoyed by Brits.

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Other unusual combinations enjoyed by those polled include pasta sandwiches, apple and bacon on toast, and butter and sugar sandwiches.

Tea and coffee in the same cup is also favoured by some, as is lettuce in a sugar and vinegar dressing, and chicken with marmalade.

Commissioned by Ocado, which has joined forces with M&S to make its full range available online at ocado.com, the study also found 27 per cent of adults have created a weird food combo of their own.

To celebrate its partnership, Ocado has teamed up with food flavour expert and author of The Flavour Thesaurus, Niki Segnit, to reveal her perfect pairings.

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They feature everyday ingredients like chicken, salmon, spinach, pears and Cheddar cheese - and it's hoped they'll inspire those who might be bored of eating the same dishes week-in week-out.

Niki Segnit said: “Everyone knows the traditional food combinations like bangers and mash, or fish with chips.

“But have you ever tried coffee and orange, or spinach and strawberry?

“There are many wonderful matches to be discovered, and you don’t need a PhD in molecular gastronomy to start experimenting.

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“Interesting and unusual flavour matches can be made with common store-cupboard ingredients, like cheese and marmalade, or chocolate and aubergine.”

The flavour expert also recommends chicken and banana or salmon and caramel, along with cheddar and marmalade, and steak with coffee.

Not forgetting chocolate and mustard, butternut squash and nutmeg, and chicken with grapes.

She added: “Part of my job is to discover classic, interesting and occasionally bizarre ingredient matches, understand where they come from and why they work.

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People can feel inspired to try new ways to cook foods they love or have at home in abundance.”

The study also found 45 per cent of those surveyed through OnePoll don’t tend to follow ‘the rules’ when it comes to which foods work well with each other.

While four in 10 said they are experimental when it comes to putting different ingredients together.

In fact, a third revealed they have been especially innovative with their cooking in recent months due to food shortages.

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But despite their apparent willingness to try weird and wonderful food pairings, 44 per cent described themselves as picky eaters.

On this note they revealed the well-established combos they consider to be most controversial with ice cream and fries, battered Mars Bars, and ketchup with a roast dinner in the top three.

Lisa McDowell, head of brand marketing at Ocado, said: “Clearly we all have our own tastes and preferences, so if you’ve found a food combo you love, stick with it!

“We hope Niki’s novel pairings will empower cooks to discover the many food and flavour combinations, and to look at the contents of their fridge and store-cupboard with a fresh pair of eyes.”

NIKI SEGNIT’S TOP FOOD PAIRINGS TO TRY:

• Bacon and banana

• Salmon and caramel

• Cheddar and marmalade

• Steak and coffee

• Coffee and orange

• Cumin and Stinky Cheese

• Apricot and Lentil

• Mushroom and Blueberry

• Avocado and Sugar

• Blackcurrant and Peanut

• Goats cheese and cherries

• Grapefruit and Juniper

• Potato and Lemon

• Chicken and banana

• Pineapple and Prosciutto

• Apple and hummus

Chocolate and mustard

• Butternut squash and nutmeg

• Chicken with grapes

TOP 50 WEIRD FOOD COMBOS:

1. Mixing mayonnaise and ketchup together

2. Cheddar cheese and apple

3. Salt and porridge

4. Pasta and ketchup

5. Pizza and tuna

6. Milkshake and fries

7. Sugar sandwiches

8. Prosciutto and melon

9. Chocolate and crisps

10. Banana and sugar sandwiches

11. Ham marinated and cooked in cola

12. Strawberry and basil

13. French fries and pickles

14. Strawberries and balsamic vinegar

15. Watermelon and feta

16. Baked beans and rice

17. Butter and sugar sandwiches

18. Dipping toast into tea

19. Ketchup and rice

20. Salad cream and sausages

21. Dry, buttered Weetabix

22. Tuna with salt & vinegar crisps

23. Cold baked beans in a salad

24. Mango and chili powder

25. Pot noodle on toast

26. Cheese and strawberry jam sandwiches

27. Yorkshire pudding with sugar

28. Ice cream and fries

29. Honey and pizza

30. Cold Brussels sprouts and gravy

31. Mayonnaise on toast

32. Crisps and brown sauce

33. Watermelon and salt

34. Pasta sandwiches

35. Blueberries and steak36. Salami with grapes

37. Tea and coffee in the same cup

38. Banana and bacon

39. Chicken and marmalade

40. Mince pies topped with cheese

41. Lettuce in a sugar and vinegar dressing

42. Banana bread with cheddar cheese

43. Melted chocolate on a cheese pizza

44. Apple and bacon on toast

45. Hot dogs and jam

46. Peanut butter and burgers

47. Ketchup on popcorn

48. Chocolate and avocado

49. Chips covered in chocolate/honey

50. Fish fingers and custard

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