Lemon and cinnamon taste like Coke? Avocado and banana mimic ice cream? That’s what TikTok wants us to think.
These little flavor combo hacks have been shared around the internet for a few years, but an account called Eat with GG seems to have sparked the recent rash of taste-testers. She often tries things suggested by commenters in her videos, running through several pairings.
Some are more successful than others, but her face often transitions from uncertainty to recognition as the flavor blending takes full effect. “Oh wow, she says, I thought this was all a joke.”
Other accounts have verified some of her reactions. Creator Samiya Jakubowicz’s taste test has really caught on, with over 77 million views on Instagram, as well as nearly 2 million on TikTok, and she seems to think most of the illusions work.
“I could see it,” she says to my extreme surprise, after trying out the avocado and banana ice cream trick. Really?
As a dietitian, I think a lot about flavor when I come up with new recipes or suggest foods I think a client might like. Different plants sometimes have a lot of aromatic compounds in common, so it’s true that they can interact in unexpected ways. Certain combinations really can add up to some of the characteristics of a third flavor, almost like an illusion.
That’s because what we call “flavor” is really a conversation among several senses, which our brains unify into a single experience. Though the tongue map we learned in school is largely a myth, we do have receptors for salty, sweet, sour and bitter, along with umami and carbonation. But, they can’t tell much difference between one plant and another without the addition of dozens or even hundreds of aromas. Try small pieces of raw onion and apple while pinching your nose, and you’ll find out just how much the nose knows.
Temperature, texture and even our expectations and mood can affect what we think we perceive; people often think of cotton candy and bubble gum as similar flavors because they are pink sweets, but the former is just spun sugar with a little vanilla, while the latter is a complicated blend of fruit and spice essences like banana and menthol.
Is it really possible to mimic something as iconic as Coca-Cola or as distinctive as strawberry with just a couple of ingredients? I’m skeptical. Let’s try it!
Here’s my tasting platter with the ingredients I started with, but I threw in a few others on the fly.
Although they look beautiful, I am not looking forward to straight lemon with dry cinnamon piled on top. Read on for my reactions.
The Absolutely Nots
Banana + Lemon = Pineapple
Nope, tastes like banana with lemon on it. They do not play nicely together. Bell pepper with lemon and sugar doesn’t taste like pineapple, either.
Apple + Ketchup = Red Chili
I had high hopes, because Heinz had a 1950s “Red Magic” cookbook with a ketchup apple pie that is an absolute banger, but there’s no magic to this one. The chili that’s there is always there, in the ketchup.
Avocado + Banana = Ice Cream
In no way does this taste remotely like ice cream, and whoever initially made this claim should be doomed to nothing but avocado banana splits for the rest of their lives. Room temp. No hot fudge.
Raw Onion + Honey = Beer
This tastes like beer in approximately the same way that burned tires and maple syrup taste like licorice. There’s a certain evocative theme in the aftertaste, and I get it, but I suggest letting this one blow right past.
Tomato + Grape = Cherry
Zero-percent cherry. Actually, negative cherry. It’s not just that they’ve never heard of cherry — they cross the street when they see cherry coming.
The Kindas
Cucumber + Lemon = Lime
Sure, it tastes more like lime than either alone, but no one cares.
Potato Chip + Tomato = Pizza
This little sandwich is somewhere near pizza, I guess. I tried adding a pinch of pizza seasoning, and it was OK, but not earth-shattering, even though I tried a cheese-flavored chip as the comments suggested.
Cream Cheese + Mustard = Nacho Cheese
You know what, it kind of works. That bite of mustard turbo-charges the cheddar in many a macaroni and cheese recipe, and it turns out the cheddar is optional … almost.
Apple + Cheddar + Cinnamon = Apple Pie
Maybe, but only if you mean Southern cheddar-crusted apple pie, with your pinky in the air. It’s lovely to me, truly, but if you didn’t grow up with it, it might not be your bag.
The Wowzas
These are not all dead ringers, but they are all at least in the ballpark, and really interesting.
Apple + Soy Sauce = Caramel
It actually does taste like a salted, burnt sugar caramel apple, especially with the sweeter coconut aminos instead of soy. Just a few drops per slice will do.
Cucumber + Sugar = Watermelon
This one worked better than cucumber and apple in my opinion, and when I added a drop of lemon, it was uncanny.
Tomato + Sugar = Strawberry
The texture is very confusing, but it really did hit several strawberry flavor notes. Since the two fruits are not closely related, it’s something of a shocker.
Lemon + Cinnamon = Coke
If you’ve ever read that Coke is based on citrus and spice or that Dr Pepper has 23 flavors and rolled your eyes in disbelief, I really hope you try this one. Don’t put too much cinnamon on top — you’ll have a coughing fit. Maybe add a dab of sugar, too, and remember you’ll have to pay attention to your mind’s tongue to get it, particularly the aftertaste.
Banana + Melon = Bubble Gum
It’s only a partial match, but trying this was definitely the first time I experienced understanding the roots of that flavor, reported to be the aforementioned mix of fruits and spices. Add the barest hint of menthol or cinnamon, and it might be a really interesting parallel.
Tips for Successful Tasting
Play with proportions a little. Some flavors just need a dab, while others need equal amounts.
Try to remember that what you’re focusing on is taste, not texture. If you ate a real strawberry and found it had the texture of a tomato, for instance, it would be horrifyingly past its prime, so you have to try to set aside the expectations that get in the way of the effect.
It usually takes several chews before the flavors and aromas meld enough to unify, and it might even be the aftertaste with the notes you’re looking for. Go slowly and pay close attention.
Lastly, think about how to work with your palate. Although I tried a lot of things here, I grouped similar flavors together and drank water in between. You can also try tasting a little bit of the real thing after your pairing to see if you can pick out the notes it echoes. Try a sip of Coke after a slice of lemon with cinnamon for example, or a strawberry after tomato with sugar. Can you use what you learned to tweak your ho-hum smoothie, or craft your perfect salad?
Even though some of the combinations don’t come anywhere close in my opinion, beauty is in the tongue of the beholder, and you may have a different experience. This is a hilarious and fascinating experiment to try at a dinner party, but it’s nonthreatening enough to do with kids, too.
Plus, it won’t break the bank, even if it breaks your brain a little.
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