Unusual Relationships Between

UN USUAL B E TW E E relationships F Oo Ds N

words by: Sasha Nugara design by: Priyansha Kamdar

The world of food is an extremely complicated one, full of ridiculous mixtures that don’t belong together at all. Sweet and sour, chilli and chocolate, pineapple and cheese; the list is endless. Although the flavours are at the complete opposite ends of the spectrum, for some reason, they just work. At Quench, we wanted to know what everyone’s favourite unusual food combinations were and thanks to Lisa, Muskan and Alex, we were able to get to the bottom of what made them work so well together.

Ham and Pineapple words by: Lisa Levytska Food is a truly unique, unusual, but beautiful phenomenon. It evokes emotions, triggers sensations, and helps to make lasting memories. There are so many wonderful yet bizarre food combinations that, although seem too odd to even think about, work when put together. For example: chocolate and chili, hot sauce on brownies, cold pizza dipped in soda. Straight away, at the first look at this list, anyone would be right to think… how much worse can it get?But there is also a much simpler but similarly extraordinary example – ham & pineapple.

Everyone loves pizza. It’s a delicious necessity that many couldn’t imagine their lives without. Some like it thick and crusty, others like it soft and thin. And of course, the toppings are just as important. Everyone has their favorite toppings, but why does ham & pineapple cause so much controversy?

Ham & pineapple is a win-win combination for many passionate foodies. Why does it work out, despite being an extremely strange one? Well, the most straight-forward answer is because of ham’s and pineapple’s contrast. The relationship between these two makes up a perfectly imperfect pair. The different tastes of meat and fruit intertwine to create something peculiar, but remarkably tasty. It’s impossible to express the feelings that this combination arises or associate the outcome of this match with anything. The best way to find out is simply to try. It may not become a favourite or leave the best impression, but the experience is worth it.

Bread, Malaai and Sugar words by: Muskan Arora

Over the years, different generations have invented wacky combinations of food which aren’t understood by many people. Being born raised in India, there is one weird combination which I never liked earlier, but have recently grown to enjoy. It is a weird combination from our parent’s generation which they initially force fed us. I am sure what you’re about to read will blow your mind or make you frown and cringe. It is, a combination of bread, malaai (used to make butter, thick coating on the top after the milk is boiled) and sugar as the final coating. I’ll elaborate on how it is prepared. Take a piece of toast and then slightly cut through and slide off the malaai from the top of the pan in which you boiled; the longer you boil, the thicker it’ll be. Spread the malaai on top of the bread and coat it with either finely grated or thick sugar crystals.

This beautiful, tasty and yet frowned upon combination is regularly consumed in my household and most households in India.The aspect of wacky combinations which I absolutely adore is how they are so relative and how one is unable to settle on the middle ground, either you love it or completely hate it. I have definitely been on both sides of the scale.

Unusual Bread Combinations words by: Alex Channing

It’s a great moment when you stumble across a strange, yet tasty food combination that would never normally be considered. One of my personal favourites that I’ve recently come to love is marmite on toast with cheese. The pungency of the marmite combined with some mature cheddar really makes for a powerful taste that I think is great for some breakfast inspiration, and I would highly recommend it to all marmite lovers – although I think marmite haters would have a particular distaste for it. A friend also convinced me to try a cheese and jam toastie a while ago which sounds incredibly odd, but the sweet and sharp together actually made it really enjoyable.

Something else I loved when I was younger and still occasionally have is white bread and butter with sprinkles. This one always sounds really weird to friends, but the sweetness that the sprinkles add to the bread and butter almost makes for a little makeshift slice of cake that I always enjoy. Experimenting with food and making ‘unusual’ combinations can often make for delicious outcomes, so get creative!