Crazy Combinations
I was listening to my iPod the other day and the song “two is better than one” by Boys Like Girls started to play. I zoned in to the song for a moment, and of course my crazy A.D.D. brain started thinking about food, more specifically food combinations. And I quickly came to the conclusion that it’s true, two (or more) is better than one for multiple reasons. One reason is that certain combinations have good health benefits. For instance, combining green vegetables with starch helps your body with digestion. Another, more important, reason is that combinations can alter and enhance flavor. Two bland foods mixed together can create an amazing meal. For example, potatoes are plain and sour cream is pretty boring, but together they make a great side dish. I began to day dream about my favorite meals, but my dreams were quickly interrupted as I remembered a scarring elementary school lunch time. It was in fourth grade and I was sitting with three boys who were cutting up rubbery hot dogs, putting the diced pieces into their chocolate milk cartons and drinking the sickening drink. This led me to question my original beliefs that mixing food is a good idea.
So my question is when are food combinations considered an inventive, generally appreciated concoction or a bizarre, personally-liked blend?
I decided to start with some online research and I discovered that most people have at least one unusual food combination that they enjoy. One girl, on the site http://forum.minitokyo.net/t20059, suggested peanut butter on pickles because her “friend swears on it”. Another girl, on the same site, stated that she “dipped pretzels in Pepsi” and a man went above and beyond with his odd taste likings with combos such as “French fries with chocolate syrup, cheetos with mustard, and Colby cheese with milk chocolate”. On a more personal level, being at a boarding school with a limited food supply, I have witnessed many students construct peculiar meals. I asked Marina Stefanopoulos what her weirdest food creation at Kent was and she replied “french fries and mayonnaise”. Not my personal preference, but to each his/her own. Thomas Mangels told me that he liked to grill honey, bacon and mustard together. This sounds absolutely disgusting, in my opinion.
There is not one simple answer to my question. What some dislike, others enjoy and visa-versa. Maybe it depends on genetics, culture, or one’s upbringing but we can all agree that food is like beauty, it is defined in the eye of the viewer or in the mouth of the taster.
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I like how a song brought this to your attention, and that your ADD mind was what connected it to the food. I think that combinations are always a good thing to try,from french fries and sugar, to goldfish with penut butter. We all like our own things, and I think that is what makes those combinations unique to us. But I like how you gave examples and said that to his/her own. But now I think that you should try these bizarre combinations, and see if they appeal to your taste buds as well.
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