A couple weeks ago, Mr. Diva and I were watching Hell’s Kitchen.  The contestants were blind folded and had to identify ingredients by taste only.  The failed pretty miserably but the task looked like a lot of fun.  The following weekend, we each headed to the grocery store to set up for our own blind taste test.  It was a lot of fun finding interest foods to feed one another.

Being that I’m the nice one, I decided on a nice mix of fresh fruit and veg (to use a Gordon Ramsay word), olives, sharp white cheddar and rice pudding.  All foods I knew he would enjoy being fed.  Mr. Diva, on the other hand, took this as an opportunity to turn it into Fear Factor.  I’m very particular about meat and one of his secret ingredients was a big ol’ mouthful of VIENNA SAUSAGES.  Blech.  Blech.  Blech.

That was probably the most foul thing I’ve ever had the displeasure of putting in my mouth.  AND since I haven’t ever eaten this “food” I didn’t even have a fighting chance of guessing.  Luckily, he was kind with his other choices and he was happy to see my incredibly mellow dramatic over reaction.

Want to try this at home as a couple, family or with friends?  Having tried this little experiment once, here are my tips for a fun blind taste test event:

1.  Choose foods that are easy to cut into small bits.  You don’t want the size and/or texture to give it away.

2.  Choose foods that overly hot or cold.  Extreme temperatures can make it shocking for the taster and difficult.

3.  Keep water close by to rinse between foods!

4.  Single ingredients are better to really test the palate.  It’s easier to guess macaroni and cheese but chopped up macaroni alone is more difficult.

5.  Canned meats should be band from the competition.

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