Chippie Sauce is a condiment used in Edinburgh, Scotland on chips (aka “French Fries” in North America.) A rival to the traditional salt and vinegar, it is still pretty much unique to Edinburgh and is held by fans to be a defining cultural mark of the city. A “chippie” or “chippy” is a shop that…
Condiments
Chiri-zu Sauce
Chiri-zu Sauce is a Japanese dipping sauce used for fried seafood, for sashimi, and for white fish. It is mildly spicy because it has Shichimi Togarashi in it. Cooking Tips 4 tablespoons lemon juice 4 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari 4 tablespoons grated daikon 2 tablespoons sake ¼ teaspoon Shichimi Togarashi 1 thinly sliced green…
Chutney
Chutney is a savoury relish made with fruit and/or vegetables. It can be preserved or made fresh, served raw or cooked. It usually has a combination of sweet and sour tastes. Commercial varieties may include ingredients such as ginger, mangoes, raisins, spices, sugar, tamarind and vinegar. Though generally the version thought of as Indian started…
Cider Vinegar
Cider vinegar, sometimes called by its full name “apple cider vinegar”, is a light amber coloured, inexpensive vinegar made from fermented apples. It has a real tang, which is a bit much for delicate vinaigrettes or sauces, but it holds its own well against stronger tastes in chutneys and marinades. It is the most popular…
Coconut Vinegar
Coconut Vinegar © Denzil Green Coconut Vinegar is made from coconut water, found inside the coconut shell. The coconut water is filtered, sugar is added, and then it is brought to the boiling point to pasteurize it. After this, it is cooled, and yeast is added. It is let ferment for a week, then the…
Condiments
Condiments are edible food items which are additions to a dish or meal. These items are not strictly necessary in themselves to the dish or meal, but add to the enjoyment by enhancing or contrasting with the main food. It is a very broad term.
Coronation Sauce
Coronation Sauce is a dead product. It was a light-coloured creamy sauce with a mild curry flavour and a fruity taste. Made by the Heinz Company (its full name was “Heinz Coronation Sauce”) and sold in 10.6 oz (315ml) bottles, it was meant as a shortcut way to make Coronation Chicken — you just poured…
Cranberry Sauce
Cranberry Sauce is a sweet condiment based on cranberries. It’s used along with savoury meals. There are two types of “Cranberry Sauce”, even though we often refer to both as just Cranberry Sauce: one is — well, sauce, and the second is a jelly, which is just a firmer version of the same sauce. Very…
Cream Gravy
Cream Gravy is a very thick, light coloured gravy flecked with crisp bits from the pan, made particularly in the American south. To make Cream Gravy, you leave a couple of tablespoons of the oil, lard or drippings in the frying pan along with the brown bits from the frying. You stir in some flour,…
Creamed Horseradish
There are two types of Horseradish Sauce, Creamed and Pickled. The pickled is more popular in North America; the Creamed is more popular in Britain. The Creamed tends to have a milder taste. To make creamed horseradish, grated Horseradish is mixed with a double-cream, white sauce or mayonnaise, or any combination of the three. If…
Cumberland Sauce
Cumberland Sauce is an English sweet and sour sauce used as an accompaniment to savoury meals. It is traditionally served with cold meats, especially venison, pork, lamb or turkey. Based on red currant jelly, it also has in it orange and lemon peel, orange and lemon juice, pepper, mustard, a dash of salt and port…
Date Vinegar
Date vinegar is made from date juice. The juice is allowed to ferment into alcohol. Then, vinegar starter is added and it is allowed to stand to convert into vinegar. Both red and white date vinegars are available. Popular in the Middle East, particularly in Iran. Cooking Tips Particularly nice splashed over tomato slices. History…
Drawn Butter Sauce
Drawn Butter Sauce is not the same as drawn butter (aka “clarified butter.”) In fact, it doesn’t even use drawn butter. It’s a light-coloured sauce, made from butter, white wheat flour, water, lemon juice and salt. Fannie Farmer, in her Boston Cooking School cookbook, added a pinch of pepper. If you were to do this,…
English Sauces
The English love their sauces just as much as the French love theirs, both savoury sauces and dessert sauces. Gravy is the most common sauce made at home, with variants such as onion gravy being popular. Other than gravy, perhaps the most common sauce made at home is a white sauce (which the French call…
Espagnole Sauce
Despite its name, Espagnole Sauce (“Spanish Sauce”) is not Spanish, but rather a brown sauce in classical French cooking used as the basis for many other sauces, such as Poivrade Sauce. There are three versions of it. Sauce espagnole graisse In a frying pan, soften up a mirepoix along with lean diced bacon in lard….
Fennel Vinegar
Fennel Vinegar is fennel-flavoured vinegar. It can be made from white wine vinegar infused either with fresh fennel leaves, or with fennel seed. Cooking Tips Fennel Seed Vinegar 2 cups (16 oz / 500 ml) white wine vinegar 1 ½ tablespoons of fennel seeds Sterilize a jar or bottle. Crush the fennel seeds, add them…
Fermented Black Beans
Fermented Black Beans are beans that have been transformed into a condiment for cooking. They will look a bit like small, black raisins and are slightly moist. They have a very salty, pungent flavour. To make Fermented Black Beans, cooked black soybeans are fermented in the water they were cooked in, then drained and mixed…
Fig Vinegar
Fig Vinegar is a bit like balsamic vinegar, in that it’s thick and sweet, and has a sweet and sour taste to it. It is sometimes called “balsamic fig vinegar” or “black fig vinegar.” It is quite expensive, about £10 / $20.00 US per 250ml (8 oz) for some brands (2005 prices.) The most expensive…
Finadene Sauce
Finadene Sauce is a sauce made in Guam. It is made from equal parts of soy sauce and lemon juice with chopped hot pepper and onion. It is meant to be fiery. Some versions for fish leave out the soy sauce. It is used as a condiment sauce to dip things in or to sprinkle…
Fish
Fish are aquatic animals that, with very rare exceptions, live their entire lives in the water. They can live in fresh or salt water. As far as the kitchen is concerned, there are two main types of fish: white fish, or blue fish.
Fish Sauces
A Fish Sauce is generally defined as a sauce made with fish as a main ingredient in the sauce, rather than as a sauce to be served with fish. Though versions have been made since Ancient Greece, most people now think of Fish Sauce as a fermented sauce made from fish throughout Asia, with regional…
French Sauces
Most of the Western world’s cooking is based on French sauces. Before the French Revolution, France had a highly-developed aristocracy. These had homes with great kitchens and great chefs who had lots of helpers, so the aristocracy got used to very labour-intensive sauces. And not just them: the wealthy merchant class with upper-class aspirations and…
Fry Sauce
Fry Sauce is a thick, smooth, pink-coloured condiment used sometimes as a burger sauce, but now primarily for dipping French Fries into. It is very popular in the American state of Utah. A basic recipe for it is one part ketchup, two parts mayonnaise. Other ingredients are then added: seasonings such as spices and /…
Garum
Garum was a fermented fish sauce in classical times. It used fresh whole mackerel, sea salt, herbs, fermented in the sun for 20 days, then 40 more days after that with daily stirring.