The Great Flavor Experiment: A Taste Test of Weird and Wonderful Combinations

In an effort to broaden their horizons, our hosts embarked on a journey to taste test some of the weirdest flavor combinations that the internet has to offer. The first item on the menu was bacon, which was paired with candy cane bubblegum drink.

Bacon: The Unsuspecting Star

The hosts began by highlighting the potential benefits of pairing bacon with sweet flavors. "It's gonna work," one of them said, as they lifted the cloche on number one. Bacon was, after all, a salty product that could complement sweet flavors well. The idea was that the sweetness would balance out the saltiness of the bacon, creating a harmonious union of flavors. However, when asked if bubblegum flavor was strange, one host replied, "It's so sweet; you know exactly what that is – it's the aftertaste of bubblegum."

Bubblegum Flavor: A Complex Combination

The bubblegum drink contained a unique blend of ingredients, including banana, pineapple, cinnamon, and winter greens. Winter greens are an aromatic plant with a distinct flavor profile. The hosts were curious to see how these flavors would interact with the sweet, fruity taste of bubblegum. "Is it so strange?" one host asked, "cause as soon as you have bubblegum..." The answer was clear: bubblegum flavor is unmistakable, and its sweetness dominates any other flavors.

Reducing the Drink

While waiting for the scientific part of the experiment, the hosts decided to conduct a taste test. They reduced the drink down to a thicker consistency by adding sugar, hoping this would make it more syrupy and easier to analyze. The result was a hot, sticky liquid that seemed to have taken on a life of its own.

Tasting the Bubblegum Drink

The hosts were eager to taste the bubblegum drink and see how it paired with bacon. They took small bites of candied bacon, dipping it into a peanut butter sauce for added sweetness. The combination was surprisingly pleasant, with the saltiness of the bacon bringing out the fruity flavors from the bubblegum. However, when one host asked if they could taste the fruit flavors separately, there was no going back – the saltiness had unlocked more complex flavors.

The Science Behind Flavor

Before diving into the taste test, one of the hosts mentioned that according to Benhas' 13-year rule, 80% of flavor comes from aroma. Taste accounts for only 20%. This theory is rooted in the idea that our brains process aromas before we even take a bite. The hosts applied this knowledge to their experiment, hoping to understand how flavors interact and combine.

The Candied Bacon Experiment

As the hosts continued to experiment with different flavor combinations, they turned their attention to candied bacon. One of them asked if they could reduce some of the drink down to create a syrup that would help bring out the flavors of the bacon. The answer was yes, but only if they wanted to turn it into a syrup – essentially reducing the drink down to its essence.

The Syrup Was Born

With the addition of sugar, the bubblegum drink became a thicker, more syrupy liquid. This new consistency made it easier for the hosts to analyze and understand how the flavors interacted. The sticky liquid seemed to have taken on a life of its own, with the hosts marveling at its unique aroma.

Tasting the Bacon Again

With the reduced drink now in hand, the hosts decided to re-taste the bacon. This time, they focused solely on the flavor profile, trying to distinguish between the saltiness and the fruitiness from the bubblegum. As one host put it, "It tastes very sweet; very intensely fruity as well." The sweetness was still present, but now it was accompanied by a slightly artificial aftertaste.

Conclusion

The hosts' experiment was not without its challenges, but ultimately, they uncovered a unique and complex flavor combination that worked surprisingly well. By applying the principles of aroma and taste, they were able to unlock the full potential of the bubblegum drink and discover new flavors hidden within it. The experience served as a reminder that sometimes the most unlikely combinations can lead to something truly remarkable.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(dramatic music)- Stop it!(all laugh)- Hello, everybody.- Hello, everybody.- Hello, everybody.- In an attempt to broaden our horizons,today we're gonna be taste testingsome of the weirdest flavour combinationsthat internet has to offer.(upbeat music)Lift the cloche on number one.(cloche tings)- Bacon.It's gonna work.- Strong start.- It's going to work.- Steady on.- Okay.- It's bacon, what's notgonna work with bacon?- Sorry, what?Candy Can,bubblegum drink.- Bubblegum.- Bubblegum flavour.- Bacon and bubblegum (laughs).Thoughts?- What is bubblegum flavour?- Well, I'm glad you asked, Barry.Bubblegum flavour seemsto be a combination ofbanana, pineapple, cinnamon,cloves, and winter greens.Winter greens are basicallya really aromatic plant.- Is it so strange,'cause as soon as you have bubblegum...- You know it's bubblegum, right?- Exactly, that's so sweet.You know exactly what that is,it's the aftertaste of bubblegum.There you go.- So I know we all laughbecause Jamie loves bacon,lo-lo-lo.But there is theory to themadness in the fact thatbacon as a salty...- Yeah.- ...product goes verywell with sweet stuff.Bacon and maple syrup.- Yes.Can you see it going with bubblegum?- I think it can, 'causeyou get candied bacon.So sugared bacon and bacon strips,I had it in America once upon a timewhere it was actually properly candiedand we dipped it into likea peanut butter sauce.And that was great, becauseit was so sweet and so salty,it worked really well together.I feel like this might do the same thing.- I've never had bubblegum drink,and this particular one is quite aromatic.I always thought bubblegumjust smelt of sugar,but it does have alittle bit more going on.So that might help some complexities.- What do we know about flavour?What's the one thing Benhas taught us in 13-years?- You can do this.- Never trust him on a night.(Barry laughs)Any night.80%.- 80% what?- Of flavour comes from aroma.- Yeah, and theremaining 20% is taste.- Taste, yeah.- I think that might work.- Yeah, 100%.- Okay, Spaff, you mentionedcandied bacon earlier.Do you wanna reduce some of that down,and then glaze your baconand see if it works?- What, turn it into a syrup?- Yeah.- Perfect.(upbeat music)Whilst we wait for thescientific part of the experimentwith the reducing of the drink,shall we just do a(can clicks)taste test?- Yeah!- Yeah.- It dissipates too quickly.- Yeah, there's notenough of it to test it.So we're doing the right thing.- Yeah, I think so, youneed it to be thicker.This is science, boys.- The thing is, I have no ideathe contents of this drink.So we could just bereducing it down to nothing.- It's not sugar free, is it?- It is.- Zero sugar.(spoon clatters)- It's zero sugar, we can'tmake a syrup from zero sugar.- There should be something in it.- So we've added some sugarbecause that will help.- That's good.- We've now got somethinga bit more syrupy.- It's hotter thananything else in the world.Now that is very sticky now.- Okay.- Right, cheers.- Cheers.- Can you taste anything except sweetness?- I can't taste bacon anymore.The saltiness brings out all of thefruity flavours...- Fruity Flavours.- ...from the bubblegum.- No way, give us some of that.- I'm now getting pineapple and banana.- Really?- Yeah.- I don't want the bit you chewed.Gimme a fresh bit.(Jamie laughs)- It's just a vehicle forsalt to unlock more flavours.- It tastes very sweet.Very intensely fruity as well.Slightly artificial.But then right at the end I go,\"Yeah, that's bubblegum.\"But up until that point, I'm like,ma-ma-ma-ma!- As an experience, I liked it.I wouldn't drizzle it over my breakfast,I don't think, no.- It's too sweet for me to bea normal flavour combo that I'd go for.- So bacon bubblegum as aflavour pairing, does it work?- It's bacon me happy.(symbol crashes)Strangely, yes,and more than just forthe sweet salty combo.It actually brought out moreof the flavours of bubblegum.- It's helped me understandwhat bubblegum flavour is.- Yeah.- There are only three-days leftto our live streamedevent, the Wild Weekender.Jamie, tell them about it.- Two-full days of livestream funfrom a house in the countryside.There's gonna be PassIt On - Kids Takeover,Pass It On - On Fire,the Olympicnic Games,Janice's late night pub trivia quiz,Poker Face Extreme by the pool,quiz cup brain freeze,Kush skinny dipping,Kush being a science man,Ben doing a recipe rumble with Jan,Ben cooking up Momos,James Curry doing a sub10-minute burger challenge,Mike Huttlestone doing a sub10-minute burger challenge,Barry and I reviewing crazy thingsthat you've sent us in the mail.I think that might be it.- The time is running out,you can get your tickets right now.Just scan the QR code orthe links are downstairs.You do not want to miss this chaos.(energetic music)(upbeat music)- Okay, next up.- Apples.- Apples.- And...- Pepper.- Salt and pepper, seasoned apples.- Seasoned apples.- Just slices of apples withsalt and pepper on them.Thoughts?Let's talk about the five tastes,you've got sweet, salty,sour, umami and bitter.- Yeah.- Where does anapple sit on that graph?- Mostly sweet, but not overly sweet.- Tangy as well, wheredoes the tang come in?- Sour.- Yeah.- Sour.It's already well-balanced.- Green apples are moresour than other varieties.Go really well with honey.- Pepper, it's the pepperthat's throwing me.- Pepper, yeah.- Well, let's try it.I have no idea what to expect here.Does an apple need improving?The internet says yes.(upbeat music)- But do you want a control group?- Control group.- Very nice- Science.- Salty, and then salt and pepper.- Hang on a second, do you wantcontrol, salt, pepper, salt and pepper?- Let's do that.Salty apple, peppery apple.- Salty...- And peppery apple.Doesn't feel right, does it?- That does feel very strange actually.- Apple.- Apple.Tastes like apple.- Very sweet.It's like sourness tang there.- Drying as well.- Salty.- I've lost the sourness.- Yeah.- The sourness has beenreplaced by saltiness.- Yeah, but I've still got the sweetness.- Yeah, less drying becauseI'm salivating more.- Yeah, the salt is helping to salivate.- Interesting.- No better though.- No.- Worse?- Different.- Yeah, probably worse,from what I want from an apple (laughs),you know what I mean?- When you bite into anapple, you're not going,\"It's missing the salt.\"- You're eating an applebecause you want somethingthat isn't salty sometimes.- The salt is not bringingout more apple flavour.- No.- It's adding more salt.- Yes.- Which is overpowering the sour.- Yes.- Interesting.- I'm not sure about this one.It's fragrant.- I actually quite like that.- I quite like pepper.- It's adding the slight spiciness to it.- Yeah.- So you're gettinga bit more savoriness.- Sour and the pepper are working togetherto make something spicy.Getting less sweetness this time.- Yeah, definitely less sweetness.- The sweetness, that's weird,the sweetness is gone,you're now left with sour and heat,and you get a little woo!- But still not as drying...- No.- ... as just on its own.- Wow, group four, this is the one.- Where are we gonna go?- This is the internet one.Shut your mouth.Shut up!No, gimme some of that.- The pepper and the salt arenow balancing out the flavours.And you're getting a bit ofsweetness, a bit of sourness,a bit of heat now.- Yeah.- Do you like it?- I really like it.- Give us a bit.- You gotta go through...- No!- You've gotta go on the journey.- Give him a good one.- Because now, this is aneven more scientific test.I'm a placebo for groupone, two, and three.- You know what it remindsme of is a crisp thing.- Yeah, it's like a crisp,you know when you get theroot vegetable crisps.- Cider vinegar crisp.- Yeah.- That is exactly what it's like.- Yeah, like a crisp.- That's mad.- Yeah, cider vinegar.- Cider vinegar.- A little bit less pepper.- Yeah, the pepper is quite spicy.- It's quite overpowering.So if you reduce thepepper a little bit less,everything works in harmony.The sweet, the spiced,the salty and the sour.- We lifted the coche...- I know you were underwhelmed.- Massively, I was like,\"This is not gonna work.\"- You have removed my scepticism.Maybe the internet is a good place.(Mike laughs)- You can create a tarte tatin,and finish it with salt and pepper.- Yeah.- You could do somethingreally interestingwith that in a dish.- You put apples in thesalad, don't you, sometimes?- Yeah, like Waldorf.- Yeah.- A peppery olive oil.- Look at us.- If a chef was here, they'd be going,\"Well obviously.\"- Yeah, exactly.That's why this is so much better.(all laugh)- If you are enjoying this,there are some small things you can doto make a big difference to us.Like the video, subscribe, if you aren't,click the notificationbell and select all.Thanks.(upbeat music)- Flavour combo number three.Lift the cloche on number one.- Ready?- Go for it.- Glass of coffee.- Coffee.It's coffee.- Hang on a minute.- It just sounds like breakfast.- Yeah.Side by side, never as one.- On a plate and in a cup.- Avocado is not an offensive flavour.It's a creamy texture thatgoes with most things.- You know when I say things taste red,I feel like avocado tastes creamy green.- Yeah, creamy green.- Does creamy green go with coffee,which we know is bitter?- I'm not convinced by this one at all.- No.- Seeing as we are three basic (bleep),why don't we take a slice, dunk it, eat.- No!- And then I'm gonna get youto do something cool with it.(upbeat music)I feel we might run into the same issuethat we did with the bubblegum soda,which is by the time you'vetasted both together,the coffee's dissipated.It's probably a stronger flavour.But, hey, as we're here, first steps,give it a dunk, give ita taste, see what we get,and then we'll try something else.(Barry and Jamie laugh)- It's really slippy.- No!- I got it, come back.It's got latte vibes interms of it's creamy,it's coffee-y.- But the bitterness ofcoffee isn't outweighedby the creaminess of the avocado,'cause avocado's not sweet,so it's not counteracting the bitterness,it's just adding acreamy texture to coffee.- Yeah.If you blend the avocado upwith the coffee and add...- (bleep)- I know.- That's really slippy.- Keep going, Baz.- And add in some sweetness,I could see you can makesome sort of supernatural....(record scratches)- Supernatural?- No, you can make some sort of...- You started so well and the you just...- No, you can make somesort of super berry...- It is actually an Indonesiandrink called Jus Alpukat,which is a coffee drinkwhich combines milk,sweetened condensed milk, fresh avocados,and strong espresso.Shall we try a version of that?- Yeah.- Yeah.- I think this will make sense.Let's do it.- It didn't work on its own,so I'm hoping that this does work.- Four shots ofcoffee, half an avocado,condensed milk and milk in equal measure,and some vanilla paste.So this is a take on theIndonesian drink, Jus Alpukat,which I'm 100% mispronouncing,terribly sorry.Please don't take it offensively.- I don't think the avocado'sgonna add much flavour to this,'cause there's so muchflavour from the coffeeand the condensed milk.I think it'll make it extra creamy.- Cool.(mixer hums)(glasses clink)How does it smell?- Lot of coffee.- Sweet coffee.- Sweet coffee.- Not getting any avocado.Oh, quite like that.- So I'm still definitely gettingthe bitterness of the coffee,that's still coming throughin a way that you wouldn'thave in a normal latteor milky coffee drink.- The sweetness is all comingfrom the condensed milk.We're so used to havingcoffees with syrups and so on,that's actually quite a savoury...- Yeah.- ...coffee,even though there's condensed milk in it.- I'll tell you what itreminds me of, Michael,it reminds me of Matcha.- Yeah, okay.- So I'm getting like the grassy-ness,the earthiness.- Without the drying.- And it adds that creamy smoothnessright at the end, doesn't it?But I can't taste the flavour of avocado.- No.- No.- But I know it's there,having watched it gone in, obviously.- I eat a lot of avocado,and the flavour avocado comesout when you add salt to it,especially in the UK, we don'tget flavoursome avocados.- I'm just thinking.- So now we're moving into territoryof the seasoning triangle,sweet, salt, acid.- Does help, doesn't it?- It does help.- Does help make it taste more...- Avocadoy?- Not avocadoy, more rounded.- It does benefit froma little bit of salt.- Flavour, 80% aroma, 20% taste.That taste has to be balanced.And that's when we usethe seasoning triangleto help balance the taste.It's almost like after13-years we're learning.- Maybe we didn't need Ebbers after all.- We've literally justfigured it out for ourselves.- Yeah.- Avocado and coffee asa flavour combination,do they work?- Avocado and coffee are twoflavours that don't not work,but they don't compliment each other,they don't add anything new at all.- No.- They need a supporting castin order to shine.- Yeah.- Yeah.(upbeat music)- Okay, final combination.- Cool.- Lift the cloche onon ingredient number one.- I'm gonna go soy.- He has nailed it.- It's only bloody soy.Soy sauce with...- So soy sauce we knowsalty used to season stuff.Vanilla ice cream, so you've got vanilla,which is sweet, aromatic, floral, fruity.- So that's also pouredover, you're asking me,it seems a bit too much to me.- Don't you think temperatureplays a part in this.But when something'scolder it tastes of less,you get less from it.- It might take away toomuch of the sweetnessof the ice cream.- Lots of people say youshouldn't have whiskey cold.You shouldn't put an ice cubein whiskey or other spiritsbecause you'll numb theflavours of the spirit.I wonder with this, are wenumbing the flavour of vanillaby having it in ice cream?- You think that might bringthe flavour of vanilla out more?- Yeah.- Interesting.- Question is, is thatsoy sauce gonna bring outmore of the vanillaflavour of the ice creamor the sweetness?(playful music)- Clotted cream.- That is clotted cream ice cream, mmm.- I really don't want ruin it.We're going for a littledrizzle of soy sauceon one of the balls.We're not fully committing yet.- No.- When I see it, I look at it and go, ooh!- Syrup.- Yeah, coffee syrup.- Lovely, cheers.- No, no!Oh, gets better.- Gets better.(all laugh loudly)- That is a journey.- That is a long journey to go on though,'cause when you go...- It is (laughs).- When you put it in your mouth,and you're instantly soy sauce.Soy sauce, and you go, oh,and now that soy sauce is really cold,and then the soy dissipatesand you're left with the creamy ice cream.- It's a journey to go on,but the first part of thejourney is so uncomfortable,I'm not sure it's worth it.- I would describe that as getting cramps.(all laugh)You're walking along and you're fine,suddenly, oh, worst pain inthe world for two-seconds,then it dies down andyou're like, ah, amazing.But did you need to do it in first place?- This will be fun.(Barry and Jamie laugh)It's using a tiny littleamount of the soy sauce,because for me I was gettingsalted caramel vibes,but there was too much soy sauce,so therefore I was gettinga really miserable journey.But then turning intosomething really cool.- It's like a punch in the face,and then, here have some nice ice cream.- It's given me an idea.So it's reminded me of somethingthat I think could work,'cause it's playing off thesame stuff, the same flavour.Drizzle it like chocolate sauce.- Oh God, I hate Marmite.- I love Marmite.I can't do it, can youundo it, Jamie, for me.Double dad.- Barry, Barry, Barry!- As it getscold it doesn't quite...- It doesn't drizz.- This is extreme,based of the same logic,I think this might work and createa more pleasurable experience for me,'cause I like Marmite.- This ice cream ismade from clotted cream.Clotted cream is generallyused like butter on a scone.Butter is what you put on toast.You've made Marmite ontoast without the bread.You're gonna make me try this, aren't you?- Well, you don't have to.- It's science.- Just inch on the sauce- Oh!(spoon clatters)No, 'cause what happens is the ice creammakes the Marmite hard,and then it gets stuck in your teethand it won't disappear.- So what happens (laughs)is as the journey goes,it's the other way round.(Jamie chokes)It starts off really nice,because you get all the ice cream,and then Marmite just kind of disappearsuntil the ice cream goes,you're left with just pure Marmite.(Jamie groans)And if you like Marmite,it was worth the wait,if you don't likeMarmite, (bleep) journey.- I reckon that's interesting enoughand transformative enoughto possibly be able touse in other recipes,because you think you've gottacreate caramel, add salt,then add that to something.Well, if you can add atiny amount of soy sauceto something sweet andget salted caramel vibes,then that's a shortcut.It's just one ingredient added.- It provides layers.- It's seasoning, not a flavour.- Yes.- Whereas that is an abomination.- Quite like it.- I think with all of them today,it's that thing wherelooking at ingredientsas the job that they are doing,rather than this tastes of apple,and then finding something else thatdoes another job to pair with itthat can either elevateit or compliment it.And that's what I don'tdo often enough at home.- No, 'cause you're normal.You ask anybody, \"Whatdoes an apple taste like?\"- Tastes like an apple.- Yeah, it's a silly questionuntil you break it down andthen you can play with it.- Yeah, the apple was the best one.- Salt and pepper and apple,the best one, by a long way.- Well, if you thought thisvideo was simple, yet effectiveplease like it.And also use the commentsection to tell usother flavour combinationsthat you've heardmay work for us to test next time,and we shall do show, so.(dramatic music)\n"