Hybrid foods - What are they?

What are hybrid foods?

Hybrid foods bring together the best of both worlds in a novelty food item. You may have heard of some of them, such as the Cruffin and the Duffin, the Cragel and the Cretzel, the Macaringue and the Crookie. And, of course, the infamous Cronut.

What is a cronut?
The Cronut is a hybrid pastry invented by New York City pastry chef Dominique Ansel in 2013; its name is a portmanteau of croissant and doughnut. So while the Cronut may be shaped like a doughnut, the pastry inside is like that of a croissant.

What does a Cronut taste like?
Unsurprisingly, a Cronut tastes a lot like a croissant but you can imagine you’re eating a doughnut.

Can you make a cronut?

The Cronut’s creator, Dominique Ansel has released the official recipe but it’s not for the fainthearted. Home baking a Cronut will take you about three days. But if you are committed and you absolutely cronut be dissuaded, doughnut start baking until you have read this article by Ariel Knutson on thekitchn.com.

If you’re looking for slightly less demanding ways to confound your taste buds, there are lots of other hybrid foods available such as the Chocolate Éclair Hot Dog and The Luther Burger.

The Chocolate Éclair Hot Dog

The Chocolate Éclair Hot Dog is either a viscous culinary insult or a gift of gourmet goodness depending on your gastronomic bent. Bringing together two famous foods, it is basically a hot dog in an éclair bun with chocolate and cream. Umm, we still can’t decide if we want to try one or not. If you’re curious, you could always try making one yourself, maybe with a nice juicy Jolly Hog Jolly Dog - then again, maybe not.

If you are planning to have sausages in a more traditional meal, The Jolly Hog offers a range of sausage and bacon products, which as well as being delicious, are also 100% RSPCA Assured like all of their products. So when you choose The Jolly Hog you can be sure you’re supporting higher welfare.

The Luther Burger

Whether this creation takes its name from the legend that it was the favourite food of music producer Luther Vandross or not remains a mystery. Another, and perhaps greater, mystery is why would anyone want to subject themselves to this epicurean ordeal. If you are tempted to try the Luther Burger yourself, you’ll need organic hamburgers and sweet, glazed doughnuts.

There ain’t no stopping us now.

RSPCA Assured hybrid cooking

Not to be outdone, we’ve put together a few hybrid cooking ideas of our own for you to try. They all involve classic recipes from our website but with an interesting twist and one which can help you cut down on your meat and dairy.

If, like millions of other people in the UK, you are trying to eat less, eat better, you can download our free two-week meal planner.

Mushronnara

Our vegetarian take on the classic Italian Spaghetti carbonara involves swapping out the pancetta for mushrooms. It’s a great way to cut down on your meat intake while still enjoying this delicious comfort food.

Simply chop your mushrooms and cook them in the oil for about ten minutes, then follow the standard carbonara recipe.

Sprouts in blankets

This might just make those Christmas Brussels sprouts a little more palatable. Instead of wrapping a chipolata in bacon to make your pigs in blankets, switch the RSPCA Assured sausage for a Brussels sprout. You’ll need to boil your sprouts first, then take them out of the water and wrap them in RSPCA Assured bacon.

Quick tip: you can use wooden toothpicks to hold the bacon in place while your sprouts in blankets cook.

Scotch sprouts

Scotch eggs are a classic English lunch box filler for summer picnics but our hybrid food version might be more suited to Christmas. Instead of an RSPCA Assured egg, you place a boiled Brussels sprout at the centre, which is then wrapped in minced turkey meat instead of pork. Finally, coat your Scotch sprout in a layer of stuffing and bake it as normal.

Still prefer the more traditional variety (we don’t blame you), so why not give our Scotch egg recipe by the Fabulous Baker Brothers a try?