All over society today, the most popular social media trends, such as viral dances or funny videos, are becoming more and more odd. Some of the most recent trends to go viral on social media platforms have to do with foods, and not just regular food, but many strange food combos.

From influencers on TikTok to celebrities on Instagram, many foods are trending everywhere online. After a person watches their favorite influencer try a food and hears that it’s good, many people will go out of their way to try that same food just to have a similar experience.

Social media plays a sizeable factor in the reason why food combos tend to expand and broaden out to many different people. An example of how social media influences one’s food choices is the popularity and turnout for the opening of Dave’s Hot Chicken here in Omaha.

If it is not social media that causes a person to try a strange food combo, then another main component could be family or friends. If a child sees their parent eating the strange foods time after time, and they see that their parents enjoy it, then they are likely to try the food combo as well.

Even I am among the people who are influenced by social media, family and even friends to try different foods. For example, while growing up I found myself eating ramen noodles a lot. When my mother would eat them, she would put a slice of cheese in hers. I began to add cheese to my noodles and ever since then I always eat them like that.

An article on Studyfinds goes in-depth on how parents influence their children’s habits, explaining how many children inherited their parents’ “sweet tooth.” The article states that a survey was taken of 2,000 Americans, and 53 percent believe they have the same snacking habits as their parents.

This article just goes to show how major a parent’s influence can be on their child’s eating habits. There are many food combos that are popular among citizens in the United States, and there are also some that are very rare to find people who enjoy. The rare ones are more likely to come from family members or friends who make their own strange food combos.

Some of these weird food combos consist of french fries and ice cream, pickles and ranch and even pickles and kool-aid mix. Many people may think that these combos sound strange, while to others they are perfectly normal.

After trying French fries and ice cream, I began to enjoy the sweet and savory mixtures. This unexpected mix gives me a cozy and warm feeling that feels like home. The way that the ice cream mixes so well with the fries gives me the feeling that anything is possible.

I now find myself eating sweet and savory foods more often, such as caramel popcorn or even peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

One of my personal favorite food combos would be to put cheese on my McChicken. Every time I go to McDonald’s and order a McChicken, I have the urge to put cheese on it.

Adding cheese to my McChicken is a food combo that I also picked up from my mother, and I think of her every time that I get one and she’s not around. In a way, doing this brings me closer to my mother and makes me miss her when we’re apart. Not only does this habit have emotion connected to it, but the sandwich is also just not as good without it.

This may not be considered as a strange food combo, but the pair is not commonly eaten together. Many people have their own preferences when it comes to the way that they eat their food, and it may seem normal to them simply because it is something that they are accustomed to doing.

Another food habit I have that is not necessarily considered a weird food combo would be putting either ranch or hot sauce on everything. Almost every food that I eat does not taste complete unless it is dipped in hot sauce or ranch.

For example, when my parents make spaghetti for dinner, I have to add hot sauce and Parmesan cheese to it just to give it that extra spark. The smallest amount of condiments tends to go a long way when incorporating them into your meal.

I also enjoy eating pizza and ranch, ramen noodles and hot sauce, French fries and hot sauce or ranch, and even pickles and ranch. Ranch and hot sauce are the only condiments that I enjoy using on top of my meals.

This is actually a habit that I picked up along with my older sister. I am not sure who started it first, but it is something that we both do and we are picky about the hot sauce and ranch brands as well.

I like to think of us eating the same condiments with our food as bonding in a way. We figure out what we do and don’t like to add the sauce on and then we continue to add the sauce every time after. If this doesn’t help us figure out our similarities and differences, then I don’t know what does.

All jokes aside, I would love to continue trying more strange food combos to see which ones appeal to me and feel like home. I will continue searching for more foods to broaden my horizon.