December 2008
18 posts
1 tag
37. Pickapeppa Sauce
Mix it with cream cheese and you got the “big easy”. Although owned by the Jamaican-Chinese Lyn Kee Chow family, the sauce was originally brewed by Norman Nash in his kitchen. Nowadays, this sublime mango/tamarind/raisin elixir is aged in oak barrels for a year. Located in Shooters Hill, the company employs 42 people. Vegetarian, rasta approved.
3 tags
36. Woeber's Cranberry Horseradish Sauce
Just one of many in Woeber’s “Sandwich Pal” series, a true gift to humanity and appropiately squeezeable. German founder Carl Woeber wound up in Springfield Ohio; there are 34 Springfields in the USA. The suffix “wich” in English placenames means there was salt produced nearby. The fourth Earl of Sandwich liked to eat his while playing cribbage, a game very popular...
2 tags
35. Sambal Oelek
Just as sriracha refers to a style of hot sauce, sambal is a generic name for ground chili paste with many different varieties. The oelek refers to the ancient mortar and pestle used to make it. In the States, Huy Fong’s rooster rules the roost just like with sriracha. Burns going down and coming out, but not unpleasantly so. The Sambals were fierce natives of the Philippines who executed...
1 tag
34. Cains Tartar Sauce
A New England stalwart that’s found in many seafood restaurants of good reputation. It’s “tartare” everywhere else and the French served it with the raw shredded meat and egg that sends chills down vegetarians spines. One shouldn’t confuse the Mongols with the Tartars in learned company.
2 tags
33. Monari Federzoni Balsamic Vinegar of Modena
Lots of confusion here, encouraged by the Italian producers of which Monari Federzoni is the most guilty. Unless it’s aged 12 years, you haven’t had the real McCoy. Despite huffy protests, Joe Queenan’s “Balsamic Dreams” is an accurate assessment of Boomer values and their hipster progeny.
1 tag
32. Maille Dijon Originale
Owned by Unilever, but still classy and good. Developed by condiment genius Antoine-Claude Maille back in 1747, the Dijon area had already been famous for its mustards for centuries. The French Pope Paul XXII added a “moutardier” to the Vatican payroll. The American version is made in Canada; the old Dijon factory will close in 2009 to the tears of many.
2 tags
31. Trappey's Red Devil Cayenne Pepper Sauce
Accused of treason by the Avery Island bunch, B.F. Trappey had ten sons to help him get the business going. After a century long legal battle, the McIlhenny’s actually controlled the brand in the 90’s before selling it off. Trappey’s is still a very working class hot sauce found throughout the south, mild yet Lucifer approved. The original Anchor Bar wing recipe calls for Franks...
3 tags
30. Veri Veri Teriyaki
Courtesy of Soy Vay, Asian fever straight out of Humbolt County. Teriyaki is strictly a marinade in Japan. The teriyaki burger is a worldwide phenomena. The founders first marketed Veri Veri as a “chinese sauce”, the inventer is from Hong Kong. Kosher, naturally.
29. Le Phare du Cap Bon Harissa
North African godhead but particularly associated with Tunisia. Like Mexican salsas, most natives make their own. The last man to be guillotined in France had tortured women by smearing harissa on their vaginas. Like wasabi, harissa is available in a tube. Several brands of harissa were recently recalled due to their containing Sudan 1 red dye, a known carcinogen.
1 tag
28. Maple Grove Farms Maple Syrup
A “sugar shack” is a building where syrup is collected and boiled, the hit song was recorded in Clovis, New Mexico in 1963. It takes 10 gallons of sap to make a quart of syrup. Maple syrup is graded based on strength and color. In Quebec, they joke that imitation syrup is tapped from telephone poles. High Fructose Corn Syrup is evil, period.
2 tags
27. Sushi Sonic Real Wasabi
If necessary, wasabi can be used as a very expensive toothpaste. Wasabi is related to but distinct from horseradish. Most wasabi served in restaurants or sold in stores is a fraud due to the expense and difficulty of growing the real deal. Traditional graters are made from sharkskin. Like crack cocaine, wasabi provides an initial rush that fades quickly leaving one desperate for more.
2 tags
26. Tapatío Salsa Picante
Although made in Southern California, Tapatío is very much a Mexican hot sauce and is similar to Valentina or Cholula. While a bottle of salsa picante sits on every table in Mexico, salsa crudas or frescas are almost always freshly made, only north of the border are bottled “chunky” salsas popular. Tapatío refers to a native of Guadalajara.
1 tag
25. Colman's English Mustard
True mustard heads prefer the superfine dry powder which has countless medicinal uses as well as in the home and garden. Cultivated in India circa 3000 BC, mustard came to Britain with the Romans. Colman’s uses both brown and white mustard, the former for the heat and the latter for flavor. Tumeric is often an ingredient of but not essential to prepared mustards. Queen Victoria loved...
1 tag
24. Valentina Chili Powder
Made in Guadalajara, the Spanish label says “salsa en polvo”. Although Valentina is better known to gabachos for their excellent salsa picante, the chili powder is fantastic sprinkled on soups and stews such as cocido, menudo, pozole or consomme de chivo. The Japanese share this dried chili enthusiasm with their own mixtures shaken on udon soups. Carl Jung would be pleased.
1 tag
23. Koon Chun Hoisin Sauce
So head and shoulders above other commercial brands, Koon Chun has resorted to laser etching technology to prevent counterfeiting. While previous generations of westerners were introduced to hoisin as a dipping sauce for Peking Duck or char siu, the current crop of foodies are more likely to encounter it while eating pho, often mixing it with chile sauce or paste. Like soy sauce, cheap brands...
1 tag
22. Crystal Hot Sauce
Baumer Foods desertion of New Orleans after Katrina is shameful. Modest in heat and price but rich in flavor, Crystal is the true Louisiana hot sauce, or at least was. The iconic neon sign that hung over I-10 will be restored and preside over new apartment complexes built on the site of the former factory. What the renters will do for employment has not been determined.
21. Gulden's Spicy Brown Mustard
Definitely a gateway condiment that leads to better and stronger amusements. Another Lower East Side success story, Gulden’s is now owned by ConAgra and manufactured in Pennsylvania. For a time, a fine imported spoon was attached to each bottle. Mustard Gas has nothing to do with the plant or seed and is so named because of its smell.
1 tag
20. Maggi Seasoning Sauce
Big with the clog wearing truckers of Germany and Holland. With different versions available in Europe, Asia and Latin America, Maggi scratches everyone’s itch. One of the first processed products to address the nutritional needs of the working poor by imitating a meat based broth. Basically pure HVP/MSG, use sparingly.