In recent years we've seen more and more "questionable" items be paired and personally, my jury actually has come in. Pineapple combined with meat like chicken, beef or pork does seem to fly mostly because I can wrap my mind around Polynesian or some Asian cuisine and it is a heck of a tenderizer like @panini mentioned. Even some Southern US influences have pineapple with ham or pork chops. Unfortunately, I'm not certain I would go for white chocolate and chicken even with someone telling me I can. Basically, I also don't buy into the whole Bacon and Chocolate revolution although I do enjoy candied bacon.
My thought tends to lean this way.......just because it works, doesn't mean it should be combined. Follows the same line of just because you can, doesn't mean you need to and not all good business decisions are good for business. I guess that's where I've drawn my line in the sand.
In a more grass roots point of view.......has anyone considered this being a consequence of our palettes being trained (more pushed if you eat anything involving the mainstream) this way in the last 10 years? Salty, sweet, spicy and sour all seem to be in in permanent overload everywhere you look.
Edit below and an apology if I repeat anything that's already been mentioned but I have been trying to complete a thought about the question I have been mulling over most of the night.
It's odd, in a way, we have both pears and Bleu Cheese (not gorgonzola) in the house frequently while at the same time, we keep beef and pineapple in one form or another not to mention so many other ingredients. I eat the pear and bleu cheese combined with walnuts and some other things. The pineapple, in juice form is frequently mixed with soy sauce, lime juice, cumin, garlic and pepper for a beef marinade. Mostly, as an attempt in trying to expand the DD's taste buds. She absolutely will not eat a pear but loves bleu cheese (gorgonzola too) and given some of her diet needs lately finding suitable choices and combinations can be more difficult if you aren't wrapped up in the whole creative process day in and day out. Lately, I've been almost apologetic to my family and guests for loosing some of my creative edge but it's only a natural course if you can't eat that way at the same rate. I know the quality remains high but I've settled into more of a routine of comfort and health.
It's been so very long since I had to think about the reasoning behind why with taste combinations. Some things are what they are due to tradition and what we were raised on in the business on. I can remember discussions about acids, flavor structure or profile, texture, etc, etc. Big fan of cheese and fruit as they seem to work seamlessly, most of the time. Trouble is with more the complex proteins in meats, I remember it being more than just throwing chocolate on something and discovering a new food. Unfortunately, the discussion sort of looses it's ground for me here because of time passed. I guess the best way to sum it up is this. I haven't seen the movie yet but a line in a commercial really hits home along those lines. I think it goes something like......... She comments "It's a 200 year old recipe?" and he comments "Isn't 200 years long enough?"
Now to expand on my line in the sand..........
While I try not to throw something out the window because it's new, I'm just very hesitant to look at it with taste buds willing. I believe the creative process has a great deal to do with flavor memory. It has to be tasted in the mind first and then put to the plate. It's like when I explained the two scallop dishes in the Pro forum. I haven't tasted those dishes in more than 15 years yet I could taste each component in my mind as I typed it out just as if the last time was yesterday. That said, sometimes the flavor memory is telling me no when I hear of a combination because I've thought it through in my mind.
Hope that made sense.