Who doesn't love cheese? Okay, aside from people who are lactose intolerant. They might not be so fond of it. Cheese is a trendy food with many fans worldwide. But the question posed by a commenter on an admired Internet forum is this, what foods do not taste good when paired with cheese?
These typically delightful snacks might make your skin crawl when put together with a nice Comte. They are foods that terrorize you with their discord with a robust cave-aged blue. Here are some of those combinations.
Table of Contents
1. It's Mint Baby
Mint has a crisp, clean, intense flavor incompatible with any cheese. The savory cheeses seem to fare the worst, as one user stated that they imagined mint flavor and Swiss cheese together, making them want to dry heave. Even the tiny amount of sweet dessert cheeses like Basajo, a creamy Italian blue cheese soaked in dessert wine, do not work with mint. Basajo's delicate and sweet flavor would be a nightmare with mint.
2. You Got Your Cream Cheese In My Sushi
Sushi with cream cheese gets its shout-out because many commenters hated it. Generally, the prevailing wisdom is that fish and Asian food are big no-nos with cheese for good reasons. In case you don't know, cream cheese is a variety of fresh cheese or cheese curd that has not been pressed or aged in any way.
The prevailing opinion is that adding cheese to sushi is not traditional and adds nothing to the taste of sushi while being slightly gross texturally. Yes, the texture is part of what makes foods work together for many people. Another criticism is how many American sushi restaurants are subbing cream cheese as a cheap filler which seems like cheating.
3. Oatmeal On The Table
The anti-oatmeal and cheese debate boils down to the argument of a purist. Some people tried to claim that you could use certain cheeses or dress up the oatmeal as a savory meal to make this combination work, but one user gave this example.
It is a compelling argument. Just take a bowl of standard oatmeal and don't add any of the usual ingredients. Then plop a hunk of cheese or some fresh cheese in the oatmeal. Does that make you want to eat the oatmeal more? Does it seem appetizing? No, it looks pretty disgusting. Therefore cheese and oatmeal do not go together.
4. Life Is Short, and Toilets Are Not Abundant
Someone did take the opportunity to humorously point out that the problem is not the combination of foods but instead the combination of cheese and a person's internal organs. Lactose intolerance means that a person's body cannot digest lactose, a form of sugar, in foods made with milk, which results in painful gas, bloating, and diarrhea.
None of those things are delicious, and the condition will likely leave you huddling in the nearest bathroom for some time. Unfortunately, lactose intolerance is one of those things where you might need to conclude that life is too short for lactose-intolerant people to eat cheese.
5. What?
This comment came from out of nowhere and is somewhat puzzling. But a commenter claimed that the combination of cheese and Oreos dipped in milk is revolting. While it is hard to disagree with this assessment, one wonders where this twisted idea came from in the first place.
The user's children were found eating cheese, and Oreos dipped in milk for some reason. You could understand the parent's horror at seeing this spectacle, but the big unanswered question is why on Earth the parent tried it too. Another user admitted to trying this as a child and almost vomiting, so it may be the experimental spirit of children. *Shivers*
6. Asian Cuisine Generally Doesn't Need Cheese
Everyone seems to agree that cheese is excellent food and that Asian cuisine is delicious. Overwhelmingly, these people agree that cheese has no business mixing with Asian food. Trying to imagine melting cheese on top of Asian dishes is distressing.
You have to ask yourself that trying to get certain foods to work together isn't going to work and that both foods can be great, just not together, and that's okay. For example, Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean, and Thai are better combinations.
However, Indonesians love cheese and eat Gouda and Dangke cheese, similar to Buffalo mozzarella, made in Sulawesi and covered with spices and fried. However, they don't add it to local dishes and eat it alone.
7. Borscht, It's Made Of Beets
While there are types of soup famous for being topped with cheese, like the classic French onion soup, soups that some people hold up their hands in horror if you suggest adding cheese to them, one of these is the Ukranian favorite Borscht. Borscht can be with a dollop of sour cream, but sour cream is not cheese. The soup's ingredients are beets, beef shanks, and assorted vegetables. No cheese is required.
8. Don't Burn The Oxtail Soup
A user objected to adding cheese to oxtail soup because of a personal experience. This criticism is based more on the cooking process, but it is a good point. The cheese had a bad reaction with the broth. The user stated that it "burned the broth" and tasted terrible. Sometimes those who explore the frontier of cooking come back with wisdom for us all.
9. Just No
The combination of caviar and cheese repels people because of the fish connection. The cold fish jelly that is caviar has such a strong flavor that combining it with even the mildest cheeses sounds nauseating. Texturally, it is a nightmare fuel.
10. No Cheese With My Pancakes, Please
This warning sounds like a no-brainer, but to state the obvious, pancakes, Vermont maple syrup, and fresh butter are good enough all on their own. They do not need cheese. Stop trying to add things to delicious dishes to see if you can do it. Stop this madness.
This thread inspired this post.