By Nathan Lee, TLE Correspondent
Cheese and strawberry jam sandwiches, cold baked beans in a salad and tuna with salt & vinegar crisps form part of the top ten weird food combinations Brits actually enjoy eating.
A new poll of 2,000 UK adults found more than one in ten Brits like to dip their toast into their tea and dip apples in peanut butter! Mayonnaise on toast and celery with a scoop of Nutella were also found to be unusual, yet popular, combinations across the nation.
The study was commissioned by Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! London to tie in with their Alice in Wonderland exhibition, which has a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party feature.
A spokeswoman said: “Sometimes you can get a craving and not be able to put your finger on exactly what it is you want.
“There were many combinations in this survey that made us grimace but there were others that have the potential to be surprisingly tasty – we might even give it a try. Many people will have stumbled across the combination just by rummaging through the food cupboard and feeling experimental. Either way, we encourage people to be experimental and a little less ordinary – you might make an amazing creation.”
Other strange food creations created by Brits were mince pies with cheese on top, apple and bacon on toast and muesli with salsa and tobasco.
But the oddities don’t stop there, chips covered in chocolate or dipped in honey have been found on plates at dinner time as have cold Brussel sprouts and gravy. Some have been known to have both tea and coffee in the same cup while others dip lettuce in a sugar and vinegar mix.
More than a third of Brits admitted they had a particular “weird” food favourite – with strange sandwich combinations proving particularly popular. They included, pepper sandwiches, banana and sugar sandwiches and butter and sugar sandwiches amongst others.
But other unusual dishes were said to be sausage and salad cream sandwiches, Yorkshire pudding with sugar and dry buttered Weetabix. Sugared chips, avocado and pesto on toast and McDonald’s fries dipped in a McFlurry were also named as food that might be best served at a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.
One in five of those who admitted to having a guilty pleasure confessed they wouldn’t tell anyone about it, but of those who have told others, four in ten said laughter was the response. But it’s not just adults who are conjuring up unusual food pairings, children are asking for odd dishes too.
One parent recalled their child asking for chips dipped in diet coke and another asked for chicken nuggets dipped in milkshake. A mashed potato butty was named as favourite among some children across the country and one adventurous youngster asked for rice cakes with tzatziki.
The “weird” foods don’t stop when we leave the front door – one in seven have braved asking restaurants to satisfy their unusual cravings and they will almost always get what they want when they do.
This could be because Brits are becoming more open minded about trying new things, more than half of Brits wouldn’t be put off by a new date revealing they enjoyed a peculiar treat. In fact one in seven said they would probably join them if they were offered to try a bite or two of something strange but new.
The spokeswoman said: “At Ripley’s London we celebrate the weird, wonderful and the bizarre, so it’s great to see all of the unusual food selections people enjoy!”
Top 10 Most Common “Weird” Treats
- Banana and sugar sandwiches
- Tuna and salt & vinegar crisps
- Butter and sugar sandwiches
- Cheese and strawberry jam sandwiches
- Sausage and salad cream sandwiches
- Dipping toast in to tea
- Cold baked beans in a salad
- Yorkshire pudding with sugar
- Dry, buttered Weetabix
- Mayonnaise on toast