An 11-Year-Old in Montana Told Me to Put Mustard on Watermelon

I thought I had discovered the ultimate summer flavor hack with watermelon, until I met this 11-year-old from Montana.

My Watermelon and Triscuit Flavor Hack

Take fresh watermelon and pair it with an Original Triscuits cracker sprinkled with sea salt. The sweet, juicy watermelon combined with the crunchy, salty cracker somehow tastes remarkably like Fruit Loops.

I brought that discovery with me to Montana, where I recently found out that apparently my taste buds aren't nearly adventurous enough.

Montana's Ranch Obsession is Real

During a recent trip back to Billings, Montana, I couldn't help but notice just how much ranch dressing Montanans eat. Pizza? Ranch. French fries? Ranch. Hamburgers? Ranch.

And then I discovered something I still haven't recovered from: Ranch ice cream.

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At that point, I figured the taste buds in Big Sky Country must operate on a completely different frequency than those of us here in the Midwest.

An 11-Year-Old Changed the Game

While I was in Billings, I was sharing my watermelon-and-Triscuit discovery when an 11-year-old named John casually dropped a flavor hack that made mine look downright ordinary.

His watermelon hack? Mustard. That's right. John puts mustard on watermelon.

@longpartyof3 6 year old trying watermelon and mustard combo. #watermelon #watermelonandmustard #mustard #viralfoodtrend #weirdfoodcombos ♬ original sound - Traci Taylor

I'll admit, I was skeptical. But after seeing they put ranch on nearly everything they consume, I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised.

Midwest Taste Buds Aren't Ready

Maybe Montana residents have unlocked a secret food combination the rest of us haven't figured out yet.

I already get weird looks when I'm at Johnny Pamcakes on State Street and ask for mustard for my sausage links. Now I'm supposed to start requesting mustard for my watermelon?

What foods do you combine that are surprisingly good together? I want to hear your weirdest, and hopefully tastiest, food combos.

LOOK: 24 Childhood Dinners We Swore We Hated (Now We're Craving Them)

Let's set the table and look back at the meals we swore we hated — before we were old enough to know they'd be exactly what we miss most about those average, everyday days at home.

Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz