What's an unusual but excellent food combo you've tried?

Had a pizza in Spain yesterday - pear, walnut and gorgonzola
Was absolutely stunning
- I used to work at a pizzeria that had fig, pistachio, and arugula dressed with truffle honey. It was very popular.
- Okay now THAT is weird. How did they prepare the pear? Big slices or little?
  
  That has always been a pretty classic combo on cheeseboards. Probably that is why they came up with the idea to put it on pizza. My favorite pizzeria has it on the regular menu too. They make thin slices of halved pears for it, so the pear is not raw after baking.
- I love that sweet and salty. Sea salt caramel. Prosciutto fig pizza. Chocolate pretzels.
- I've had similar pizzas in the US. "Sweet pizzas", so to speak, were all the rage in the mid 2010s. More often, they were branded as flatbreads.
  I've made pizza topped with a brandy peach sauce (peaches sautéed in brandy, nutmeg, butter), bourbon blueberry syrup, and taleggio. Even better is peaches, arugula, and brie.
- I've had a similar one too! Very good. Non citrus fruit + funky cheese, + nuts is always a great combo.
- My favorite kind of pizza is a bacon lettuce tomato, with a mess of mayo to top it off. Chefs kiss*

pizza with jalapeños and pineapple, the spicy-sweet was pretty good
- Add garlic and it's my "to go to" pizza since nearly 25 years
- This feels like a more widely available of habanero mango combination
- My favorite pizza toppings

Peanut butter on hamburgers. Really nice contrast especially if you also include pickles
- This is the one I came here to post. Tried it at a brew pub I liked, I figured they wouldn't steer me wrong.
  It's a bit messy once the burger starts really melting the peanut butter, but it reminded me of satay w/ peanut sauce.
  No pickles for me though, I can't seem to get with the taste of cucumber in any form I've tried.

Not unusual but not common is fish sauce on your fried or scrambled eggs.
- I have also seen someone added fish sauce into their chili. Not a lot, just a splash for the whole pot. It works.
  
  I use it instead of Worcestershire sauce in my gravies.
  
  I do this. All the umami.
- I love adding fish sauce to my stir fry with eggs, this sounds like it would work similarly
- fish sauce and a little cornstarch (optional) in your scrambled egg mix and then dump it into screaming oil for 30 seconds and you get a basic thai omelette. Sooooooo good with sriracha.
- I rather go for soy sauce and a bit of starch in the beaten egg to make really thin umami omelette type things.

A can of condensed tomato soup, 1 can of milk, pad of butter, 1/2 cup(or more) instant rice. Lets soup come to near boil, turn off heat, add rice., cover and let steep for about 8 minutes.
- I sometimes will toss in tomato soup instead of water when using a rice cooker when I'm sick and just want carbs and salt and liquid. It's adequate.
  
  That sounds good too.
- A can of milk?
  
  Yes, empty the can of condensed soup into a pot, then fill the empty can with milk instead of water then empty than into the pot.

French fries with vinegar. Ok, not unusual if you’re British, but delicious even if you aren’t.
- Why the fuck did we colonise 90% of the world if you're not putting vinegar on chips? Did we teach you nothing?
  
  Conquer half the world for spices.
  Use absolutely none of them in authentic British cuisine.
  Just the way His Majesty intended.
  
  We put ketchup on our "French Fries", governor.
- I am the only one in my family who likes vinegar on fries.
  I do prefer apple cider vinegar over regular vinegar, but I'm more than happy to slather any available vinegar I can on.
- I discovered the vinegar as a condiment with vinegar salt potato chips. Then I found out the fries. Sooooo good.
- Well, malt vinegar.

Vanilla ice cream and/or raspberry sorbet topped with pitch black, salty sweet licorice sauce. (common only in Denmark afaik)
"Birnen, Bohnen und Speck", a stew made from pears, green beans, bacon and a herb called satureja/savory. The pears in this one are a certain old breed, that is pretty hard and sour before cooking. (This is a local delicacy from the city of Hamburg in northern Germany)
Watermelon and feta cheese, especially during hot summer days (common in mediterranean countries)
Pickled cucumbers and feta cheese (those are eaten as a combo around the black sea afaik)

Pickles and anything
- Pickles and more pickles

This might sound wild... But buttered chicken/curry is a fantastic dipping sauce for pizza.
Order a pizza, order some curry, eat the whole pizza... It's so good
- Fuck that sounds decadent 🤤
  
  Seriously! You gotta try it! We did it with both cheese and pepperoni pizza and both were some of the best things I've ever tasted.

Pepperoni and pineapple pizza. The sweet and tangy go sooooo well together!
- Oh yeah! I also add jalapenos too.
  
  I enjoy a good Hawaiian pizza. But this combo is way better.

Grapes in a chicken/tuna salad sandwich. Totally different experience with the diced grapes
- Apples too. But I'm not sure this is unusual. Even Arby's sells a chicken salad sandwich with grapes and apples in it.
  
  Dang, did not know that, I've only been to Arby's once

i like to dunk left over fries in vanilla icecream.
my coworkers thought i was mad when they witnessed me doing that.
- Back in the day when Wendy's served steak fries I used to dip them in my frosty.
  
  Aye, this is the classic way to eat out at the red-haired chick's place.
- I don’t go to McDonalds much any more, but I’d get fries and a vanilla shake to do that with, as a treat!
  
  I always get a chocolate Sunday and dip the fries in.
- I've tried that, not my thing but some people swear by it
- I like to do it with 'fresh' fries. The hot fry and cold vanilla shake/ice cream combo is amazing to me.

Mexican flavoured penang curry
- Wait, that sounds really good. Can you elaborate on the specifics?

Avocado in chicken soup. Add to the bowl, not the pot. You'll never eat it without again.
- Also cilantro
  
  Oh god. You’ve just summoned them….
  _{PrayingTheyHaven’tHeard🤞}
  
  Y'all are just making sopa de tortilla now
- I sort of accidentally discovered that when dining at the local cantina.
  The restaurant did something neat in serving an appetizer of guacamole on top of pico de gallo. For whatever reason I decided to dump the whole thing in to the bowl of spicy, chicken-black bean soup I was having. The contrast in flavors, and cooked vs fresh, spicy vs cool was an instant game changer. Indeed, I never looked back from there.

A Puerto Rican coworker turned me onto hot chocolate with cheese in it. I believe the traditional method is basically just to put some cheese in the cup and you end up with a melted glob of cheese to eat with a spoon as/after you drink it. I've played around with that as well as actually incorporating the cheese into the drink itself, melting it all together on the stove.
Kind of gets you some of that well-tested sweet/salty/savory combo. I dig it in a Mexican hot chocolate with some cinnamon and chili powder.
I believe the traditional cheese is edam, I've tried that as well as cheddar and a few other cheeses, they all seemed to work pretty well, try it at your own risk if you go for anything too funky
- That sounds like a food crime...
  
  That's kind of the point of this thread though isn't it? Weird food pairings that sound crazy but actually work if you're brave enough to try them
  Elsewhere in this thread you'll find a lot of sweet/salty/savory pairings, one that's particularly relevant is adding chocolate to chili. Lots of chili will end up getting served with some shredded cheese, or some sour cream (sour cream is kind of next door to cheese when you think about it) so not too far off from a Mexican hot chocolate without the meat.
  Cheese is dairy, and there's no shortage of milk and chocolate creations, like hot chocolate itself
  Cheese can go with sweet things just fine, plenty of great fruit and cheese pairings, cheese and honey, etc. (if you haven't tried it, some warm apple pie with some sharp cheddar cheese on it is great, also sounds crazy to some people but if you ever do a cheese fondue odds are you're going to be dipping apple slices into cheese)
  You're probably even familiar with a couple pairings of chocolate and other cheeses, things like chocolate chips in cannoli, chocolate cheesecake
- When I was in high school, we had a class potluck. I accidentally got some cheese dip (Rotel and Velveeta) on one of my chocolate chip cookies.
  I figured, "Why not?" and tried it. Surprisingly good.
- MMM I used to put choco krispies (think chocolate rice krispies) into my quesadillas. That shit was fire.

One night we were making oatmeal butterscotch chip cookies, and I dipped a Frito corn chip in the cookie dough.
We decided to only make a half batch of cookies and used the rest for Frito dip.
Yes. We were high.

Kimchi on all the things! Burgers and pizza especially.
- Kimchi Aioli is fantastic for sandwiches and fries

I think my cousins maybe made me try this as a joke when I was younger but hear me out..
Toast. With mayo. Sprinkled with chocolate powder.
I don't eat it anymore because I'm a grown up or whatever but I still get cravings for it sometimes.

Peanut butter toast with Sriracha.

Water melon + bacon.
I was about to start my shift, but knew I would probably get hungry before lunch, so on my way out to the back deck I stopped via the galley to get some form of breakfast. I like bacon, and I like water melon, so I grabbed some of each as a snack on my way out. But then I needed to free up my hands, so I just put it all in my mouth, and the combination of sweet and salty was absolutely amazing.

Cinnamon raisin bagel. Toasted with some thick slices of aged cheddar and a nice hotsauce. I like valentina, but siracha is good too.

Dr Pepper and kumquats.
- Dr. Pepper mixes surprisingly well with a lot of things. It's kinda wild.
- Dr Pepper and kum~~quats~~
  ftfy
  
  Stop banging the bread, thanks.

I had a cherry chutney hamburger at a restaurant somewhere in Missouri. I ordered it because I thought it was a weird combo. IT WAS DELICIOUS.

Cold watermelon soup with anise and cracked black pepper.
It was the appetizer to a meal that included duck breast smoked with lapsang souchong tea.
All of ot was outstanding.

I made a chef salad at work which usually comes with just ranch.
I added a sweet Thai chili sauce to it and it was honestly really fuckin good. The sweetness from the chili sauce really brought out all the regular flavors of the salad and ranch

Rosemary + Strawberry (Jam)
Fresh Strawberries mixed and cooked with rosemary twigs then sieved
Can be diluted with water as a sort of lemonade.
Or it can be further processed as a jam.
I like to use it as a thin topping on a chocolate or hazelnut spread :)
Sort of like a PB&J but instead a S&B?
- Strawberry is also really good with basil or mint in a cocktail.
  
  Havent tried basil. I have tried with lemon balm and mint. The mint I chose with the strawberry basically tasted like strawberry toothpaste xD It tasted great though.
- My girlfriends' mom makes rosemary + grape jam.
  Absolutely great on pâté I hear!
  Also mango jam is very nice with yogurt
  
  Want another suggestion?
  Try to get ahold of Yuzu marmelade. Usually can be bought at the asian supermarket.
  Mix that with yoghurt and optionally oatmeal.

My wife makes an awesome chocolate chili.
Now it's an open secret that a bit of dark chocolate adds more flavor and "richness" to a bowl of chili. But she cranks it up to 11 and puts about 200 grams of chocolate into a 3 liter pot. It's spicy, savory and sweet, and tastes like you're eating dinner and dessert at the same time. I love it, and so did anyone who's ever tried it.
- This sounds pretty similar to "mole" which is a Mexican dish.
  
  For those who've never heard it spoken, it's pronounced mol-ay, like frijole. It is not mole, like role.
- I put cinnamon and brown sugar in my chili when I want it to be sweeter, recommended to anyone looking to switch things up.

Since mangoes are in season now:
Green mangoes (still crunchy) with crushed Thai pepper and sugar and a tiny pinch of salt.
Or just go all out and make the crack sauce.
- Green mango pickle is so weird and so delicious. Green papaya salad is the only way I like papaya. Blistering hot.
  
  Papaya salad is my absolute favorite Thai dish.

My grandmother introduced me to chocolate ice cream with crumbled lays chips about 35 years ago. I abstain from this almost consistently; but I’ll be damned if those aren’t a match made in hell.
- This reminds me of Wendy's frosty and fries.

I've been looked at weirdly for dipping pretzels in mustard.
- Isn't this the standard way to eat pretzels?
  
  Yeah, I'd say it's 50/50 on whether a pretzel gets served with mustard or cheese in my experience, and I almost always try the pretzel when it's on the menu. Sometimes you get both. Assuming we're talking soft pretzels. Hard pretzels, idk.
  
  I mean it was always normal for me, I also dip them in ranch and have been looked at weird for that too. Idk man. I got downvoted for answering the question haha.

I don't agree but I get called weird for putting applesauce on my macncheese

Avocado and Worcestershire sauce

Curried rice with chicken, dried cranberries, and pistachios
- Sounds vaguely like Persian food
  
  I was combining Indian and Persian food :)

Chocolate Stout beer and a scoop of vanilla ice cream (gently lowered -- otherwise it's all foam gushing about).
I take no credit. A deadhead, traveling beer blogger in a Winnebago (how he described himself) told me about it years ago.
Beer float.
- I've made an imperial stout cheesecake. Delicious.
- Lienenkugel Vanilla Snowdrift porter is perfect for a beer float!

Peanut butter and banana sandwich.

Sriracha sauce on a hot dog, period.

It's not something for me now that I'm older but I use to love putting ketchup on mashed potatoes and mac and cheese. I know mac and cheese with it is somewhat common.
Also potatoes on a hamburger is really good. If you do a cheese burger it might take some trial and error on getting the right cheese. I myself like fresh shredded American. Don't use cheap ingredients though! This is the 1 thing I wouldn't cheap out on.
- I've had a "Breakfast Burger" with a fried egg, shredded hash browns, bacon, and sausage gravy.
  Probably took 6 months off my life, but it was delicious!

Peanut butter, jalapenos, and your fingers. Get to dipping.
- Fresh jalapenos?
  
  They need to be stiff enough to get in and out of the butter. Pickled need not apply.

Youve heard poutine which is fries with cheese and gravy. Next time try fries wth cheese and salsa.
- I've had that and it's incredible

Roasted peanuts goes good with most salty foods. Crush and sprinkle it on top of some beef or chicken for a nice, tasty crunch.

Dry roasted peanuts and fresh tomato

Nutella on a salty cracker, like a saltine. Careful, you can eat half a jar this way!

Crunchy peanut butter and banana sandwich. Bonus if you add honey.

Squeeze of lime on hot, salty French fries.

Chicken Shack Broasted Potatoes with their Cole Slaw mixed in.
It's so good, it's the main thing I get there, it's better than the chicken.
It's like going to Red Lobster and just ordering the cheddar bay biscuits.

Not very unusual, but also not super common: Emmental and strawberry jam bread rolls.
- TIL: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmental_cheese

A scoop of vanilla ice cream, topped with a little “chili crunch” oil - salty and sweet, spicy and creamy… it’s great.

I don't know anyone who does this, but I love putting barbecue chips on cheese and mustard sandwiches. Same with spicy chips.
- BBQ chips on a sandwich is an excellent way to up your sando game

Based on this thread peanut butter or peanuts goes with a lot more than expected.
Potato chips dipped in peanut butter or yellow mustard. Malt vinegar on eggs. Waldorf salad.
- Isn't mustard always yellow ?
  
  That's true, I meant the style of mustard that's not Dijon mustard but they are both yellow in color.
- Peanut butter is absolutely vile, I like actual peanuts by themselves though.
  
  It is an acquired taste, I found it real strange initially but I've grown to like it now. I find it also mixes well with a few things

Dip your pretzel sticks or Salzstangen in mustard.
Trust me and thank me later.
- Dijon mustard on a soft pretzel is also incredible

I just had Mac n cheese with green Chile and meatballs. I liked it 👍

Gingerbread cookies with blue cheese

Peanut butter and dill pickle sandwiches are way better than they have any right to be.
Got to be no sugar varieties of both ingredients.

I'm a big fan of blue cheese:
Water cracker, soft blue cheese, and a bit of hot (spicy) honey drizzled on top.
Ramen with blue cheese crumbles melted into the broth.
Avocado toast with blue cheese crumbles.
- I don't even like sweet potato, but baked Stokes Purple sweet potato with blue cheese, olive oil, salt and pepper and pumpkin seeds is amazing.

Peanut butter on bread as a side to chili (con carne).