Peanut butter and WHAT? July 30, 2010 7:55 PM Subscribe
A while back there was a post on Metafilter, though it could have been on Ask, about the idea/theory/game where you can name any three foods, and two of the three possible pairings taste good together, but the third just doesn't work. I think there was a bit of a side argument about whether pickles tasted good on peanut butter sandwiches. I've exhausted my Google-fu. Does anyone remember this/can someone point me to it, or was I imagining it?
I think there's another MeTa thread talking about search from the last few days. I'm one of the better searchers digging in the archives here and I don't think having a better search engine would help in this case. We don't want to reinvent Google. It would be sort of great to have some sort of faceted search option maybe. In any case that discussion is going on in the other thread, not here.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:04 PM on July 30, 2010
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:04 PM on July 30, 2010
I thought it was a project. So are any of the above it? I won't look if so.
posted by cjorgensen at 8:15 PM on July 30, 2010
posted by cjorgensen at 8:15 PM on July 30, 2010
gman might have it with his first link, but I thought I remembered it being more the length of the second. I could just be conflating them in my memory, I suppose.
posted by coppermoss at 8:17 PM on July 30, 2010
posted by coppermoss at 8:17 PM on July 30, 2010
The theory gets mentioned in this comment from 2008.
posted by Combustible Edison Lighthouse at 8:37 PM on July 30, 2010
posted by Combustible Edison Lighthouse at 8:37 PM on July 30, 2010
Chicken, lemon, and chocolate were the foods in the triad, no?
posted by pseudostrabismus at 9:37 PM on July 30, 2010
posted by pseudostrabismus at 9:37 PM on July 30, 2010
Olive oil, garlic, tomatoes.
or any two of those with almost any third in the world.
posted by Some1 at 9:54 PM on July 30, 2010
or any two of those with almost any third in the world.
posted by Some1 at 9:54 PM on July 30, 2010
I had this comment on this thread:
I called this the "non-transitive property of food" as a kid.
We all know that if A=B, and B=C, then A=C.
Pretend that A=peanut butter
B=chocolate
C=mint
If that were true, because peanut butter pairs well with chocolate, and chocolate pairs well with mint, it stands to reason peanut butter pairs well with mint. No. Non-transitive.
posted by sourwookie at 9:59 PM on July 30, 2010
I called this the "non-transitive property of food" as a kid.
We all know that if A=B, and B=C, then A=C.
Pretend that A=peanut butter
B=chocolate
C=mint
If that were true, because peanut butter pairs well with chocolate, and chocolate pairs well with mint, it stands to reason peanut butter pairs well with mint. No. Non-transitive.
posted by sourwookie at 9:59 PM on July 30, 2010
dishwasher sponge, lint filter from dryer, and toothpaste.
posted by not_on_display at 10:12 PM on July 30, 2010
posted by not_on_display at 10:12 PM on July 30, 2010
Everyone make a note: Don't accept dinner party invites from not_on_display!
posted by amyms at 10:23 PM on July 30, 2010
posted by amyms at 10:23 PM on July 30, 2010
note to self - kidnap DNAB and force him to work in my kitchen.
posted by The Whelk at 10:34 PM on July 30, 2010
posted by The Whelk at 10:34 PM on July 30, 2010
I thought the thread was asking for groups of three in which any two foods go well together, but all three of them don't go well together. I wouldn't know how to search for this, though.
posted by Jaltcoh at 10:44 PM on July 30, 2010
posted by Jaltcoh at 10:44 PM on July 30, 2010
AskMeFi: Does anyone remember this/can someone point me to it, or was I imagining it?
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 11:25 PM on July 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 11:25 PM on July 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
Here it is! Two great tastes that taste terrible together
posted by amyms at 11:33 PM on July 30, 2010
posted by amyms at 11:33 PM on July 30, 2010
So... this time during lunch my friend started talking about how he drank orange juice with milk... and convinced me and a few more guys to try it.
It wasn't awful, it wasn't good... it just didn't taste like anything together. It was like... sip... "oh, here's the orange juice"... "now the milk"... "orange juice again"... "let me try to taste the combination... nah, just milk again"
posted by qvantamon at 1:13 AM on July 31, 2010
It wasn't awful, it wasn't good... it just didn't taste like anything together. It was like... sip... "oh, here's the orange juice"... "now the milk"... "orange juice again"... "let me try to taste the combination... nah, just milk again"
posted by qvantamon at 1:13 AM on July 31, 2010
This reminds me of the theory that anything can be improved with chocolate or cheese, but never both.
Chocolate covered cheese sounds particularly foul.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 4:14 AM on July 31, 2010
Chocolate covered cheese sounds particularly foul.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 4:14 AM on July 31, 2010
It'd depend on the chocolate, and on the cheese. We just had some really tasty medium-soft cheese, creamy but not to pungent, that had a nice cocoa rind, and that was aces.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:44 AM on July 31, 2010
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:44 AM on July 31, 2010
What do I win?!
Well, nothing, because that's not really the thread the OP is looking for, is it? That's just 2 things that go horribly together. The OP is looking for 3 things in which 2 of the possible pairs are a good combo but the 3rd pair is a bad combo.
posted by Jaltcoh at 7:50 AM on July 31, 2010
Well, nothing, because that's not really the thread the OP is looking for, is it? That's just 2 things that go horribly together. The OP is looking for 3 things in which 2 of the possible pairs are a good combo but the 3rd pair is a bad combo.
posted by Jaltcoh at 7:50 AM on July 31, 2010
For very loose values of cheese, chocolate+cheese is addictingly good.
posted by drlith at 8:00 AM on July 31, 2010
posted by drlith at 8:00 AM on July 31, 2010
Yes, I totally remember this thread. Definitely AskMe. Jaltcoh is right- 3 things in which 2 of the possible pairs are a good combo but the 3rd pair is a bad combo. Tea + milk + lemon juice is an example.
posted by kch at 8:27 AM on July 31, 2010
posted by kch at 8:27 AM on July 31, 2010
Not quite, though- milk and lemon juice don't mix well.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 8:53 AM on July 31, 2010
posted by pseudostrabismus at 8:53 AM on July 31, 2010
Not quite, though- milk and lemon juice don't mix well.
No, that's the point. The possible pairs are:
1. tea + milk
2. tea + lemon juice
3. milk + lemon juice
The first two are good. The third is bad. The question is whether there was an AskMe thread about things like this.
posted by Jaltcoh at 9:40 AM on July 31, 2010
No, that's the point. The possible pairs are:
1. tea + milk
2. tea + lemon juice
3. milk + lemon juice
The first two are good. The third is bad. The question is whether there was an AskMe thread about things like this.
posted by Jaltcoh at 9:40 AM on July 31, 2010
I totally remember the "three foods, two pairs good, one pair bad" thread.
I went to bed last night confident it would have been found by now. Has the MeTa Sleuthing Brigade been stumped?
posted by ambrosia at 11:09 AM on July 31, 2010
I went to bed last night confident it would have been found by now. Has the MeTa Sleuthing Brigade been stumped?
posted by ambrosia at 11:09 AM on July 31, 2010
Just in case anyone was wondering, pickles are fucking fantastic on peanut butter sandwiches, and I will fight anyone who disagrees.
posted by dorque at 11:57 AM on July 31, 2010
posted by dorque at 11:57 AM on July 31, 2010
I think there was a bit of a side argument about whether pickles tasted good on peanut butter sandwiches.
Sweet pickles are good on hamburgers and sweet relish is good on tacos. Dill spears are a garnish or at most a side dish. Every other use of pickles is VERBOTEN.
posted by DU at 2:26 PM on July 31, 2010
Sweet pickles are good on hamburgers and sweet relish is good on tacos. Dill spears are a garnish or at most a side dish. Every other use of pickles is VERBOTEN.
posted by DU at 2:26 PM on July 31, 2010
Bookhouse beat me to it, but here's Candi from Chocolate and Cheese.
posted by schyler523 at 4:50 PM on July 31, 2010
posted by schyler523 at 4:50 PM on July 31, 2010
P.S. Fried Dill Pickles are fantastic.
posted by schyler523 at 4:50 PM on July 31, 2010
posted by schyler523 at 4:50 PM on July 31, 2010
If you consider Velveeta "cheese", then cheese and chocolate go very well together:
Chocolate Cheese Fudge
posted by SuperSquirrel at 5:40 PM on July 31, 2010
Chocolate Cheese Fudge
posted by SuperSquirrel at 5:40 PM on July 31, 2010
Pickle and peanut butter sandwiches are excellent.
Many years ago, I tried one once on a lark; people had been talking about pregnant women and their bizarre food tastes, and that was a specific mentioned combo, supposedly shudder-worthy. So I figured to myself that all those biological drives can't be THAT far wrong, and fixed one up, just for kicks.
It sounds disgusting. I totally know it sounds awful. In my head, I can't imagine two tastes more diametrically opposed. I was expecting to throw the sandwich out. But you know what? Butter pickles with peanutbutter taste awesome.
The pickles go away. They just disappear into the peanut butter. You can't even tell they're on the sandwich, but the peanut butter gets WAY WAY better. If ordinary peanut butter is 5 on the flavor scale, adding pickles sends it up to about 8.5 or 9, but you can't tell why.
I've seen people mention that other pickles work too, but I've only ever done the butter type. My particular recipe was a generous dollop of peanut butter, spread thickly, with six butter pickles spaced evenly in a grid.
I have no idea why it works, but it does. Despite appearances, this is not a practical joke to make anyone gag. It sounds vomit-worthy, but it sure doesn't taste that way.
posted by Malor at 6:41 PM on July 31, 2010 [1 favorite]
Many years ago, I tried one once on a lark; people had been talking about pregnant women and their bizarre food tastes, and that was a specific mentioned combo, supposedly shudder-worthy. So I figured to myself that all those biological drives can't be THAT far wrong, and fixed one up, just for kicks.
It sounds disgusting. I totally know it sounds awful. In my head, I can't imagine two tastes more diametrically opposed. I was expecting to throw the sandwich out. But you know what? Butter pickles with peanutbutter taste awesome.
The pickles go away. They just disappear into the peanut butter. You can't even tell they're on the sandwich, but the peanut butter gets WAY WAY better. If ordinary peanut butter is 5 on the flavor scale, adding pickles sends it up to about 8.5 or 9, but you can't tell why.
I've seen people mention that other pickles work too, but I've only ever done the butter type. My particular recipe was a generous dollop of peanut butter, spread thickly, with six butter pickles spaced evenly in a grid.
I have no idea why it works, but it does. Despite appearances, this is not a practical joke to make anyone gag. It sounds vomit-worthy, but it sure doesn't taste that way.
posted by Malor at 6:41 PM on July 31, 2010 [1 favorite]
I grew up on peanut butter and sweet pickle and mayo sandwiches. They are indeed no-joke tasty things. You have to be careful not to overdo it on the pickles or they acidity gets overwhelming, but with just the right amount it's a fantastic little treat.
Sweet pickles in general have gotten a bit much for me over the years, just too much bite in them, so I tend to use banana instead these days. Different overall balance but similarly nice sweet-and-salty, sticky-and-slick concoction.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:59 PM on July 31, 2010
Sweet pickles in general have gotten a bit much for me over the years, just too much bite in them, so I tend to use banana instead these days. Different overall balance but similarly nice sweet-and-salty, sticky-and-slick concoction.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:59 PM on July 31, 2010
This reminds me of the theory that anything can be improved with chocolate or cheese, but never both.
My sister says it's chocolate or garlic. She spent a while telling me that the next time she was at my house, she was going to make and taste chocolate covered garlic, but I think I managed to persuade her that such a monstrosity should never enter MY home.
posted by galadriel at 9:47 PM on July 31, 2010
My sister says it's chocolate or garlic. She spent a while telling me that the next time she was at my house, she was going to make and taste chocolate covered garlic, but I think I managed to persuade her that such a monstrosity should never enter MY home.
posted by galadriel at 9:47 PM on July 31, 2010
And then there's chocolate cheesecake....
Chocolate-covered garlic? Now that sounds terrible.
posted by johnofjack at 12:42 PM on August 1, 2010
Chocolate-covered garlic? Now that sounds terrible.
posted by johnofjack at 12:42 PM on August 1, 2010
milk + lemon juice = lemon panna cotta and a gazillion other deserts. Sure mixing just lemon juice and milk won't work because it will curdle, but solve that issue and it's fine.
Yes, of course you can pair chocolate and garlic!
Peanut Butter & Pickles?
Deep-fried kimchee with a satay dipping sauce.
Not close enough? How about deep-fried kimchee and miniature peanut butter sandwich tempura with a coconut sauce. (or even lemon ice cream with candied pickle pieces and crispy peanut butter sandwich bites).
posted by tallus at 5:01 PM on August 2, 2010
Yes, of course you can pair chocolate and garlic!
Peanut Butter & Pickles?
Deep-fried kimchee with a satay dipping sauce.
Not close enough? How about deep-fried kimchee and miniature peanut butter sandwich tempura with a coconut sauce. (or even lemon ice cream with candied pickle pieces and crispy peanut butter sandwich bites).
posted by tallus at 5:01 PM on August 2, 2010
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posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:56 PM on July 30, 2010