Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site sdcrdcf.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!qantel!lll-crg!seismo!harvard!talcott!panda!genrad!decvax!ittatc!dcdwest!sdcsvax!sdcrdcf!dennisg
From: dennisg@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Dennis Griesser)
Newsgroups: net.cooks
Subject: Re: Re: nasty food ingredients
Message-ID: <2472@sdcrdcf.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 21-Nov-85 18:37:22 EST
Article-I.D.: sdcrdcf.2472
Posted: Thu Nov 21 18:37:22 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 28-Nov-85 03:31:55 EST
References: <279@weitek.UUCP> <24@calma.uucp> <159@aplvax.UUCP> <887@burl.UUCP> <198@Navajo.ARPA> <899@burl.UUCP> <190@circadia.UUCP>
Reply-To: dennisg@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Dennis Griesser)
Organization: System Development Corp. R+D, Santa Monica
Lines: 33

Sorry about the delay in responding...

Curtis Jackson	...![ ihnp4 ulysses cbosgd mgnetp ]!burl!rcj said:
> I mean, how many cooks do you know who say:
> 
> "Peanut butter tastes good.  Smoked oysters taste good. Guacamole tastes
> good.  Therefore, I'll mix them together and have a great dish!"

To which David Messer <190@circadia.UUCP> dave@circadia.UUCP replied:
>Well, there is Olson's Law of Combinetorial Dining which states:
>	Any two foods, when mixed together, will taste as good
>	as the least palitable one.
>
>Have you tried the above combination?  It might taste good.  I
>happen to not like oysters very much, but I bet I would like
>peanut butter & guacamole.  Could be an interesting dip.

Olson's Law has some obvious exceptions, such as:
  o lemon juice tastes great straight
  o milk tastes great too
  o so I'll mix them together...

On the plus side, I have used similar reasoning to create interesting,
novel, and occasionally edible dishes.  It goes:
  o honey goes well with peanut butter (on sandwiches)
  o I put honey in my sweet-and-sour dip
  o so let's try a sweet-and-sour dip with peanut butter!

My latest attempt in this area was a dressing for seafood salad.  My wife
liked the stuff, but was a bit put off by the chunks of peanut (I used
chunky stule) on her crab legs.
-- 
[Standard disclaimers apply.]