Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Weird Flavors

You have to give food manufacturers credit. They have the nerve to give the public any flavor possible. Some of the work like Dunkin Donuts adding caramel to their mocha lattes. Some don't, yet they're still around. Sometimes it just takes an acquired taste to get these down.

One of th e ones that took me by surprise was Target's Market Pantry Banana Split Instant oatmeal. It sounded good and I thought "Give it a try. It'll be fun." It would have made a nice dessert but breakfast was another story. The banana smell was off putting at first as was eating the melted chocolate chips in it for the first meal of my day. After four or five days I finally became used to it. I 'd recommend it as a low calorie snack but will stick to my maple or fruit flavored oatmeal for breakfast. Another is salt and pepper popcorn. Buttered popcorn and even the cheese flavored ones are perfect. They have the right amount of salt and tastiness. However add pepper to the mix and this favorite snack takes on an ominous spin.The kernels becomes too hot and it makes then almost impossible to eat.

Potato chips are the perfect example of odd flavors. There's nothing wrong with the barbecue and sour cream flavors. Those have been around for decades. However some of the newer flavors coming out take a while to get used to. We have the Brits to thank for the ketchup and salt and vinegar flavors. These have been much loved by the English for years however to the American palate they're strange and almost foreign. There are also ones that taste like feta cheese and hamburger. Whatever happened to just the plain ones where all they tasted like was good , earthy spuds?

Weird flavors abound these days thanks to manufacturers trying to be creative and competitive. Some succeed, some don't. It all depends on taste or the need to explore news flavor combos.

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