Top Five Condiments: The Winner and A Prize

As last month, we got a fabulous response from you in this month’s top five – your favorite 5 condiments. So fabulous, in fact, that we were completely unable to decide whose selection should win the frankly amazing prize of the fabled West Coast treat Pepper Plant’s Chunky Garlic Hot Pepper Sauce. Fortunately, the very special website that is random.org came to our aid. A simple randomization of your entries later, and (cue drumroll)… the winner is: George @ CulinaryTravels!

Her (George is short for Georgina if you were confused) top five of: Home made mayo mixed with either garlic, lemon or harrisa, Sambal Olek, Chilli jam (home made), Balsamic vinegar, and Extra Virgin Tuscan olive oil, was by some distance randomized to the head of the list in front of such other notable luminaries as Cebca and Lo. Congratulations George! A bottle of said sauce is on its way to you now, which given your obvious proclivities for spicy condiments, we feel confident you’ll enjoy!

And speaking of a taste for capsaicin, it seems George is not alone. The vast majority of you showed your appreciation for all things spicy. From tabasco to Frank’s hot, Encona to Crystal hot, to Cholula, hot sauce was one of the few things almost everyone agreed on. That said, it seems like some of you have rather exotic tastes when it comes to spicy condiments, suggesting some which were new to us: sambal olek (spicy south-east asian condiment), sinamak (chile-infused vinegar), and sriracha (Thai hot sauce), to name a few.

We also learned about what you guys think of as condiments: olive oil, jam, guacamole, vinegar, and butter. None of which we would have thought of, but are, when you really get down to it, in fact condiments.

Above all, we learned that condiments, domestic and humble, common, or exotic, remain wildly popular, in spite of contemporary fears about “industrial foods.” Your favorite condiments, it seems, are here to stay.

17 thoughts on “Top Five Condiments: The Winner and A Prize

  1. Wow the sauce looks very promising to me. I need to look for it here in Europe. BTW it remind me of a terrific habanero sauce I used to have in Cuba. It was green, but can’t recall the name.

  2. Three cheers for the hot pepper sauces and the guacamole!

    You made an interesting observation regarding “industrial foods”. We can’t be food snobs all the time, right? 😉 Some things we’ll never give up.

  3. I, too, was surprised by some of the lists since you put it out as ‘refrigerator door’ condiments and I don’t think anyone keeps olive oil or few of the other ingredients in the refrigerator…but maybe they do. Anyway, it was interesting experiment.

  4. well, paolo, good luck trying to find that sauce anywhere outside of a small garlic-producing town in california. in fact, we just ordered a case of the stuff so we can have it for a few years to come – that’s how much we love it! If you are interested in buying some, check out the website and buy some – http://www.pepperplant.com. it’s WORTH it to spend the money on shipping. I’m telling you – you’re Italian, I’m sure you like garlic. If you love garlic you will LOVE this stuff.

    Rachel: right on! we can’t be food snobs about our precious condiments! condiments are meant to have a long shelf life… that’s pretty much the only ‘processed’ stuff i will refuse to cut out of my life!

    and joan, you are so right. we could’ve disqualified those who put condiments that wouldn’t be in their fridge door, but, then again, i put down condiments that we keep in our pantry too. it really was fascinating to hear what people consider condiments. i guess that’s the point of a poll!

  5. I’m extremely surprised to hear that sambal oelek and sriracha are new to you! Maybe it’s a west-coast thing, but those are staples here!

    I swear, I’m gonna win the next one! I’ll get you, randomizer!!

    (Oh, and grats to Georgie Porgie Puddin’ Pie.)

  6. heather, i don’t know what jonny was thinking when he wrote that, but sriracha is not new to me… we had in the apt. cupboard for a long time! i’ll have to school him later. but the sambal oelek was TOTALLY new to us. it really was interesting to learn about some of this stuff.

    also, i give you a runner’s up win because you were VERY exact in your choices… like almost anal-exact! how about i give you the anal award? Hmmmm…maybe not.

  7. Laughing at “anal award.”

    Congratulations George! I’m a little jealous, but much appreciative to A&J for providing the link to order. I’m a heat (and garlic) fanatic and I’d love to try some. Thanks guys!

  8. Congrats George!
    This was a fun exercise. I seldom think about the things that take up the space in the door of my fridge, so I appreciate the chance to wonder about the few I use most often.

    This chile head is always grateful for new places to find the hot stuff!

  9. Congrats to Georgina!! And THANK YOU, we got your package from the Top 5 Crisps this week and they look so very good….I’m dying to try them, probably all of them in one sitting, but for some reason Mike doesn’t think that chips constitute a meal even if they *are* flavored by all of the food groups…..

  10. Hi, Lori Lynn. You know I don’t know of it but I’ll try to do some research to see. If you figure it out, please let us know! Maybe another reader will know the name.

    Sounds delicious, though.

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