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.
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.
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.
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 country on Earth. Pura vida indeed.
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!
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 back while a passenger of a hijacked plane.
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.
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 Barbados national dish and recently the island nearly went to war with Trinidad and Tobago over fishing rights… Ryszard Kapuscinski would have grinned.
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.
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.
