When Food Trend Combinations Go Too Far Even For The Bravest Of Eaters

Pumpkin spice is an American comfort food known for its domination as soon as the leaves begin to turn because 1) pie and 2) lattes. Ramen is a Japanese/Chinese comfort food that dominates year-round, but especially in the fall and winter because 1) hot soup and 2) noodles.

Pumpkin spice and ramen are also beloved because they lend themselves to numerous food combinations and preparations.

But should they go together? The good people of Nissin (the brand behind Cup Noodles and Top Ramen) thought they should. You might find a container of the company's pumpkin spice cup noodles at select Walmarts. 

Ah, Flamin' Hot Cheetos - nothing like the feeling of spicy orange dust staining your fingers and burning your throat. Ah, Rice Krispies Treats - nothing like the feeling of marshmallow and cereal glued together with butter hitting your teeth. Ah, Flamin' Hot Cheetos Rice Krispies Treats … or maybe more like “argh.”

Rice Krispies Treats are kind of blah, but they don't need to be reddish-orange, or taste like a taco.

Somehow, appetizers look more appetizing, stylish, and Instagram-friendly when distributed artfully over a wooden cutting board. The trend started with cheese boards, graduated to charcuterie boards (cold meats, cheese, fruit, and crackers), then went culinary master's-degree level to butter boards (butter spread on the board as a base, with toppings mixed in, and bread for scooping it all up). 

The next level of board couture swaps savory for sweet: buttercream boards. Essentially, the board is covered in frosting that is mixed or topped with more sugary treats like chocolate and candy. You then use small pieces of cake to scoop it all up. 

It's basically a cupcake already cut up for you - that you have to share with other people and their fingers.

Macarons, French cookies made of almond flour and meringue, are notoriously difficult to make, and usually come in a rainbow of solid hues that look really pretty in photos. The name is pronounced mah-kuh-RONE, not mac-uh-ROON (a coconut cookie).

Sriracha, a Thai hot sauce made of chili peppers, sugar, garlic, vinegar, and salt, pours easily from a bottle with a green top and a white rooster printed on the container (if it's the Huy Fong brand popular in the US). It is pronounced see-RAH-chah. 

Macarons can be made in nearly any flavor, but Sriracha Macarons, with the hot sauce as part of the filling, might be a trend French and Thai chefs would both look at with disgust, pronounced dis-GUST.

Every year, county and state fairs brag about the bizarre deep-fried foods they have created that seem to get weirder each year - Oreos, PB&J, mac and cheese, pickles, hot sauce, guacamole, etc.

Meanwhile, on TikTok, some cooks, scared off by high grocery prices and perhaps a desire to churn, are creating their own version of a creamy and delicious dietary staple: homemade butter.

Let's consider a few basic definitions and some logic. A fried food is something cooked in hot fat or oil. Butter is a fat.

Deep-fried butter (basically a stick of fried butter) is therefore just grease.

Nutrient-powered kale (vitamins A, K, and C galore) is the dark green leafy star of salads, soups, and slaws. Nutrient-powered avocados (vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats galore) are the light green silky stars of salads, smoothies, and toast (as a topper).

Kale plus avocado, however, makes a nutrient-powered concoction that is mostly just… green.

Yes, kale guacamole is just what you think it is - you  make a guacamole base, then add a good helping of kale.

Enjoy those vitamins.