Itchy York article

Taste sensations

DIY weird flavour combos

Gone are the days when the most exotic flavour you'd get when eating out in the UK was the glacé cherry that came on your trifle. Eating out in Britain has never been as varied as it is these days, with chefs trying to tempt us to their tables with ever more imaginative and original dishes.

But a new generation of cunning cooks have gone a step further, applying the methods of science to their recipes. We’ve all heard of the improbable sounding snail porridge or bacon and egg ice cream served up by Heston Blumenthal in his Berkshire restaurant, The Fat Duck.

The only trouble is, that sitting down to eat a dinner cooked by one of these kitchen creatives is likely to make you throw up when the bill comes. So how do us ordinary Joes get a taste of this futuristic fare? Easy. Make it yourself.

Although making the likes of ‘liquid nitrogen mousse’ is probably best left the experts, there are plenty of different dishes you can rustle up at home to confuse your gran when she next comes round for tea.

Here are Itchy’s top DIY strangely-flavoured recipes:

Wasabi ice cream

Hot ice cream? Are we mad? Probably, but we couldn’t get enough of this when we tried it, and that’s pudding it mildly. It’s easy to make too. All you need to do is empty a small tub of vanilla ice cream into a bowl. As soon as it starts going soft, squeeze in some pre-mixed wasabi paste and mix it in well. Keep tasting the mix and adding wasabi until there’s enough to make your nostrils tingle. Don’t overdo it, or you’ll kill granny with shock. Once you’ve got the right balance between sweet and heat, put it back in the tub, and back in the freezer ‘til it’s time for afters with an aftertaste.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches

We’ve all heard of this one from the countless American teen-flicks we watched in our youth, but how many of us have actually tried it? Well, we have, and there’s a reason that Sesame Street’s The Amazing Mumford raves about them: they taste good. Just spread one slice of bread with peanut butter, and another with your favourite jam. We prefer strawberry for the sake of authenticity, and if you really want to do it properly, wash it down with a glass of milk.

Chocolate chilli con carne

The Aztecs used to drink a hot chocolate drink with chillis added for an extra kick, but when you’re in need of something a bit more substantial before making your next human sacrifice, then you can also add chocolate to a hearty chilli con carne. Just make a regular chilli with plenty of spice and drop in a couple of squares of very dark chocolate per person. Your chilli will taste the same, but every mouthful will have a curious, but delicious sweet aftertaste.

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