Is this even possible? Its pretty easy to think of situations where A B is good B C is good but A C is awful... but if everything works together (including A C) then why WOULDN'T A B C be great?

Btw, from the example above, what does one do with cocoa curry???

This has been a topic of many dinner conversations between my friends and I, with the proposals getting more and more outlandish the more wine we consume. :)

I'm pretty convinced that it can't happen...there just isn't one.

i was thinking along the lines of chocolate cake sour cream guacamole.... but a c should be somewhat palatable.... doesnt work. corn bread jalapeno chunks strawberry presevers. but even then, i could see a spicy strawberry jam. hmmm. damnit!!

i was immediately reminded of Stephanie's recent concoction on Top Chef: Peanut Butter, Tomatoes and Lemon Juice. But that one is just bad in any combination!

chusmabilly - if you simplify your first list it almost works: chocolate, sour cream, avacado.

errr avocado

I was waiting for some comments.

I just found this too challenging, like my logic classes.

This is totally impossible! I was thinking potato:sourcream:chocolate, but chocolate on a potato makes no sense!

Pineapple, tomato sauce, noodles?

As in, pineapple pizza? Yes. Pineapple stir-fry? Yes. Spaghetti and tomato sauce? Of course. But add pineapple? Maybe not.

A friend and I who spent college living on pineapple stir-fries once tried to come up with anything that wouldn't work with pineapple. Our closest were spaghetti (with tomato sauce) and popcorn.

labchick, check this out:

http://www.brooksidechocolates.com/chcopoch.html

tinned sardines

tangerine slices

brie

meems, I was at a party where the 80's style salad (fennel, oranges, olives, anchovies) was untouched until the drunken end. And then it got RAVES. So while tinned sardines and tangerines sounds disgusting...who knows?

bacon chocolate apple ??? i dunno.

shit. now i'm craving bacon with chocolate and apples.

labchick... if you ever see chocolate covered potato chips in the gourmet-type food store... try them! they're delicious! chocolate with salt. yum.

Barbara,
Mo's Bacon Chocolate bar might actually work with apples, gross I know, but apparently there is a market for it:
Applewood smoked bacon deep milk chocolate

http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/product/bacon_exotic_candy_bar/exotic_candy_bars?source=053007link1

How about chicken, dill, chocolate?

Or how about asparagus, avocado, black olives?

kimchi, tuna, mustard?

cream, ice, tuna.

Tuna cream ( capers) = nice pasta sauce.
Ice cream = obviously yummy
ice tuna = chilled sashimi or something?

tuna ice cream = ick.

That's the best I can do, and I'll readily admit that it's a bit of a hack.

However, I have to say I think this is probably an impossibility since I don't see why the rule of transitivity wouldn't apply.

I think the only hope of finding such a triad is to have at least two of the pairs be strange combinations that are unexpectedly good.

As for my previous suggestion, I think ice is unfortunately more of a state/process than an ingredient/flavour.

The biggest problem I see with this whole issue is that it's unclear what the limitations are. If it was just three things with no extras allowed, that would be very different from if it's those ingredients in another recipe (along with many other things that might modify those flavours/ingredients). What degree of concentration of the ingredient is required for it to count? And who judges? I would have said that the salted cukes, yogourt, sugar counted as a win (aside from the fact that salt and cucumbers are really two separate ingredients). However, the creator of that webpage discounts tzaziki as an acceptable pairing, which strikes me as overly picky since that's a well-established dish.

Angorian, tuna ice cream has been done on Iron Chef. Chef Mori Matsumoto is always making tuna ice cream and sometimes people really like it, and others just can't get their heads around it.

Depends on if you like savory ice cream, or if in your mind ice cream is only sweet.

Morimoto, not Matsumoto!

Then, there was the time that an Iron Chef competitor made trout ice cream.

Not only did he lose, but it gets brought up on a regular basis.

Chicken, Chocolate, Cheese.

Chicken Mole. (Chicken Chocolate)
Chicken Cordon Bleu. (Chicken Cheese)
Chocolate Cheesecake. (Chocolate Cheese)

or if cheesecake isn't cheesy enough: http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/product/collezione_italiano_16pc/collezione_italiano

But Chicken Chocolate Cheese? Not today, thanks!

salted cucumbers sugar yogurt???

that's exactly what indian raita is made of, and its delicious!