January 2009
17 posts
3 tags
54. El Yucateco
Pretty much started the habanero craze. Both the green and red versions owe their brightness to artificial coloring, the Kutbil-ik version is naturally colored and hot as hell. The Scoville test involves diluting pepper extract into sugar water until five testers can no longer detect the burn. Chiles are fruits, not vegetables. Yucateco has its own pepper fields down in the Yucatan and was quite...
2 tags
53. Henderson's Relish
This cult fave from Sheffield is not a relish at all but a vinegar based sauce that can be found in local fish and chips shops. The Yorkshire dialect is not slang and goes back to Old English. Sheffield is England’s musical ground zero and has produced countless bands of international stature. It’s all in the sauce, apparently.
52. Gaucho Ranch Chimichurri
Easy to make, silly to buy. The etymology is fuzzy and somewhat sad. Jimmy McCurry? James C. Hurray? “Give me the curry?” More likely is some Italian bastardization since the sauce’s roots are firmly planted in northern Italy. Gauchos suffer more existential angst than your average cowboy and prefer red wine to whiskey.
2 tags
51. Cholula Hot Sauce
Made in Mexico for the gabacho market who gladly pay double for the wooden cap. Could be blamed for the cute marketing of hot sauces along with that certain poster by Jennifer T. Thompson; no surprise that she has since turned her attention to microbrews. Yawn.
2 tags
50. Sarson's Malt Vinegar
Not to be confused with the cheaper “non-brewed condiment” vinegars popularized by killjoys back in temperance era England. Regardless of religion, fish and chips is a traditional Friday night meal throughout Britain. Bradford, Halifax and Keighly form the “Haddock Triangle”, cod is an increasingly rare find everywhere else. In a fit of Victorian branding the...
1 tag
49. Durkee Famous Sauce
Allegedly went west in covered wagons and was loved by Honest Abe. Like many other condiment makers, Eugene R. Durkee started as a druggist and wound up in Brooklyn. Durkee got ahead of the competition by registering his trademarks, not common at the time. Durkee’s hexagon shaped chili sauce bottle is the holy grail for bottle collectors.
1 tag
48. Ballymaloe Country Relish
Straight outta East Cork Ireland. “Country” relishes run the gambit ingredient-wise but in Ireland they are generally tomato based. Ballymaloe’s celebrity chef Tim Allen was convicted of downloading kiddie porn back in 2003 but has made a nice comeback with a recent spread in Town & Country. The Holy Joes are not amused.
1 tag
47. Flor Do Pereiro Piri-Piri
From Angola/Mozambique to Portugal to Brazil to Newark’s Ironbound, the African birdseye is one hell of a pepper. Nandos, a South African chicken chain has done much to popularize “peri-peri” but their food is mediocre at best. Most Portuguese and Brazilian restaurants make their own piri-piri, often with an opening that only allows a dribble; feel free to unscrew the cap and let...
2 tags
46. Baxters Mint Jelly
Mint jelly or sauce was originally used to mask the dank foulness of mutton, not lamb. The serving of mutton to US soldiers destroyed any chance of America developing a taste for lamb after the war. Scotswoman Ena Baxter, developed many of the company’s products straight from her garden; she is also an accomplished painter. Well done lass.
1 tag
45. Vegemite
As Aussie as roos or surfing, not to be mucked with. Like the Brits’ Marmite which it replaced, the dun colored paste comes from leftover brewer’s yeast, a byproduct of making beer. Oddly, Kraft has owned the brand since the 1920’s, yet the FDA bans imports of Vegemite due to some of its healthier additives. Four times as salty as seawater. Yum.
1 tag
44. The Gentleman's Relish
Much easier to say than patum peperium. Anchovy based secret recipe goes back to England’s John Osborn in 1828 but has been reversed engineered by several kitchen labcoats. All European fishy condiments can be traced to the Roman’s beloved garum. One can imagine Hillary taking a tin up Everest or Churchill spreading it on toast. Refined.
2 tags
43. Island Heat Crushed Chili Pepper Sauce
Made by Tropical Pepper Co. down in Costa Rica for the Caribbean market, look for the Toucan logo for other fine products. The scotch bonnet gets its name from the tam o’ shanter cap which itself was named for the subject and title of Robert Burns’ epic poem. Costa Rica has the highest Latin American ranking on the Life Satisfaction Index and plans to be the first carbon neutral...
2 tags
42. Cracovia Horseradish With Beets
A match made in Polish heaven. The Cracovia brand itself goes back to 1990 with the vacuum created by perestroika. They initially imported a lot of booze and currently wheel and deal throughout Eastern Europe as well as France and Canada. Philadelphia’s Polish mob is known as the Kielbasa Posse, NY’s Greenpoint Crew was taken down in 2006. Na zdrowie!
1 tag
41. Dynasty Chinese Duck Sauce
No quack involved, the name comes from bastardized Chinese restaurants in the USA serving the sweet jam like sauce with Peking Duck. Hoisin would be a better choice to spread on the steamed pancakes that accompany the bird. The first Chinese joints in the States appeared in the 19th century and followed the railroads with their coolie labor. In real life, Bonanza’a Hop Sing was shot in the...
1 tag
40. Hunt's Tomato Ketchup
Hunt’s is Miller to Heinz’s Bud, the perpetual red headed stepchild. The debate picked up traction in 2004 with the right demonizing Teresa Heinz Kerry yet conveniently forgetting the altruistic liberalism of Hunt’s late great Norton Simon. Anyone who seriously gives a shit one way or the other can be found at either McDonald’s or Burger King drinking Coke or Pepsi.
2 tags
39. Lottie's Traditional Barbados Hot Pepper Sauce
Barbados is known for its yellow, mustard based hot sauces. The Carribean’s scotch bonnet pepper is related to the habanero and has similar heat. No one knows exactly why the Portuguese named the island “the bearded ones” or why the Brits didn’t change the name later on. Lottie used to sell life insurance before starting the business in 1985. Flying fish with cou-cou is...
1 tag
38. Jufran Banana Sauce
No, not juice. Banana sauce or ketchup is a Pinoy staple and a main ingredient in Filipino spaghetti: a stoner’s dream but a diabetic’s nightmare. Banana ketchup is also popular in the Carribean where it is less sweet and more complex. Red Dye #40 has been linked to everything from migraines in adults to temper tantrums in children. Questionable all around.