Top Five of the Month: Condiments

****Although the contest is over and a winner has been chosen, we are still looking for your top 5 condiments… this has been a fascinating poll! Please keep ’em coming!*** 

As you might remember, last month Choosy Beggar Tina won herself the wonderful prize of a selection of English potato chips (crisps) by picking the most enticing variety of flavors in the inaugural We Are Never Full monthly top five giveaway. This month we’re focusing our attention on the vastly underrated group of foods that make up the world of condiments.

Flexible, complimentary, multi-purpose, and flavorful, condiments are the journeymen of the food world, and have been unfairly looked down on by the gastonomic cognoscenti as only good enough to disguise the taste of flavorless food or as just a topping burgers, hot dogs and fries. No longer. Condiments of all kinds are an essential part of many kinds of dishes, both as ingredients and as sauces, and we’re giving them the respect they’re due. So, go to your fridge and tell us which of your favorite condiments are clinking together in the door. The best top five will win a bottle of our latest condiment obsession, the very wonderful Pepper Plant’s Chunky Garlic Hot Pepper Sauce.

Entries must be submitted by 1:30 p.m. (EST), Monday, November 10.

Amy’s Top Five Condiments: (in reverse order)

5. hot sauce (pref. Frank’s)

4. Maille smooth Dijon mustard

3. blue cheese dressing

2. sour cream

1. Heinz ketchup and Hellmann’s real (full fat) mayonnaise mixed

Jonny’s Top Five Condiments: (in reverse order)

5. mango chutney

4. raita (yoghurt, cucumber and mint)

3. Lea n’Perrins Worcestershire sauce

2. HP sauce

1. Frank’s Original Hot Sauce

Check Out some other posts you might enjoy:

39 thoughts on “Top Five of the Month: Condiments

  1. 1. Tiger Sauce
    2. McIlhenny Co. Tabasco Brand Green Pepper Sauce
    3. Reine Dijon – Moutarde de Dijon
    4. Tuong Ot Sriracha
    5. Fair trade “Authentic Argentine Vegetable & Meat Chimi Churri Sauce”

  2. Honestly I would really go for handmade on every condiment but if I have to pick industrial ones:

    1) Coleman’s English Mustard
    2) Tabasco Habanero
    3) Fortnum & Mason Wild Mushroom Cream
    4) Lea’n Perrins Worcester Sauce
    5) Homemade mayoannaise (sorry couldn’t resist!)

  3. I just posted about the preponderance of Goya/Badia condiments that I inventory, some of which reside on those crowded door shelves. Apart from those and their neighbors, here are 5 of the ones I use most frequently:
    1. capers
    2. spicy remoulade mayo/mustard
    3. anchovy paste tube
    4. sweet chili paste
    5. pesto

  4. Hi there, thanks for stopping by Candid Food and leaving such a nice comment (and compliment, I think?!)

    Top five have to be (in no particular order) although changes of opinion are possible, even likely
    Tomato Ketchup
    Encona Hot Pepper Sauce
    HP Sauce
    Mayo
    Worcestershire Sauce

  5. Wow this could be tough. I’m going to go with things that I probably use on a daily basis:

    1. Soy sauce
    2. Honey
    3. Plain yougurt
    4. Dijon Mustard
    5. Franks (of course)

  6. This is a tough one, since I am the condiment queen.
    I just took a look in my fridge and these 5 I could never do without:

    1. HELLMAN’s full fat, REAL mayonnaise (LOVE IT, could eat it out of the jar)
    2. any type of chutney, mango or tomato
    3. my favorite mustard DELOUIS FILS taragon mustard (great in salad dressings)
    4. FIG balsamic vinegar
    5. my homemade BASIL PESTO, which is always in the freezer for sauces and sandwiches!

  7. Ah, I do love my condiments. I’m quite simple in my tastes;

    1. Heinz Ketchup.
    2. Maille Dijon mustard
    3. Mayonnaise (Pref. Delouis Fils)
    4. Encona Hot Pepper Sauce
    5. Home-made Nam Prik Pao.

  8. 1. Jalepeno mustard – unbelievable on a hot dog!
    2. Hellmans/Best Food’s full fat mayo
    3. Tapatio (I think it’s only on the West Coast)
    4. Jalepeno rings (pickled) I load them on pizza, in particular
    5. Kalamata olives

  9. Mmm. Condiments.
    Five that we think make everything better:
    1. Stonewall Kitchens Martini Mustard
    2. Tabasco with garlic (this stuff kicks)
    3. Bragg’s liquid aminos (soy sauce: healthy style)
    4. European style butter (for spreading on freshly baked bread… or toast)

    And yes, we must confess:
    5. Hellman’s Real Mayo (can’t beat it… OK, except homemade)

  10. i’m glad I waited to reply… so many yummy condiments were put out there that I love! In no particular order
    1. Mayonnaise (by itself or mixed with chili-garlic paste)
    2. Green Goddess
    3. Ponzu
    4. Mango Chutney
    5. Sweet Chili Sauce

  11. Wow, awesome post and question to answer.

    I’d have to go:

    A1
    Hot sauce (Cholula if forced to choose)
    Mustard (works on everything for me, burgers, sandwiches, dogs….will take a honey or dijon mustard if forced to narrow it)
    Salsa
    Vinegar (gotta have it for fries)

  12. I started to wonder if some items on my list are actually condiments until I realized my current status as a stay-at-home mom validates them as condiments. I’m going with these as my top 5.
    5. Plochman’s Chili dog mustard (To elevate the status of hot dog night)
    4. Chocolate syrup (to make chocolate milk)
    3. Strawberry-Pineapple jam
    2. Adam’s Peanut butter (both 2 and 3 for the staple of PB & J)
    1. Ranch dressing (to make any “disgusting” veggie to little ones more palatable.)

  13. Ooh, my fridge door has 4 shelves which are all groaning with condiments and pickles. That said, for the purpose of this contest, I will leave the pickles out of things.
    1. Balsamic vinegar reduction
    2. Harissa (which I don’t get very often because Mike hates it)
    3. Wooster
    4. Garlic Chili sauce
    5. Tabasco

  14. I’ll even drop brand names so you know how devoted I am.

    1. Ikea lingonberry preserves (I could eat this straight from the jar with a spoon)
    2. El Yucateco Habañero sauce (super-hot, but with fruity backnotes)
    3. Beaver “Spicy-Hot Stone Ground” mustard – local ma and pa operation – their prepared horseradish gets an honorable mention
    4. Maggi seasoning (the Chinese version) splashed liberally on a banh mi
    5. Jufran Banana ketchup on pancit and hamburgers

  15. 5. Ponzu
    4. Maille Dijon mustard
    3. Cutter Dan’s Widow Maker Habanero Sauce (recent discovery!)
    2. Sambal olek
    1. Thai chili sauce (freshly made at my favorite Thai place)

    I think I might like things a bit spicy. 😉

  16. Relish
    Soy sauce
    Balsamic Vinegar
    Cholula
    Mustard – any kind. Basically, any type of mustard ever created would top this list above any other brand of any type of condiment, the only exception being honey mustard which only dilutes the mustardy deliciousness and is 99% of the time disgustingly too sweet.

  17. Thanks All for your condi-mentalist selections! Any suggestions from now on will not be considered for the grand prize, unless they are somehow more remarkable than any we’ve received so far. (Note: prize may not be grand in the slightest.)

    Entries are being tallied and sorted by a very complex and tricky to use computing device and the highest ranking selection will be declared victorious on the nightly news (read: winners are being chosen at random and will be posted this evening.)

  18. Howdy. My necessary five are:
    1. Mayo. Preferably Hellman’s, as I’m not interested in making my own.
    2. Plain yellow mustard, no Dijon, nothing fancy.
    3. Soy sauce. Kikkoman has the stuff.
    4. Ketchup. We likey organic, to avoid the corn syrup found in most conventional products.
    5. Sesame oil. Too many brands to count, but only a few have a strong flavor. Essential, we have to have this one.

  19. Shoot….missed this one. Too busy researching and writing about food holidays for NaBloPoMo. I’ll just toss mine out there anyway.

    Koops Arizona Heat mustard
    Chipotle mayo
    Sriracha chili sauce
    olive tapenade
    peanut butter (the real stuff)

  20. 1. Franks Hot Sauce (the small, slim bottle when I’m broke)
    2. Franks Hot Sauce (the medium sized bottle for when I have a little extra cash, need to stock up am lugging groceries on foot)
    3. Franks Hot Sauce (travel sized bottle for the car)
    4. Fish Sauce; lime, butter
    5. Franks Hot Sauce (the Super size bottle, a distant dream, for when my bank account stops returning to 0 after I pay rent and bills every month.)

Like this post? Hate this post? Let us know!