Regarding Condiments

[Domestic Goddess]

When it comes to condiments, do you buy the brand name, or another store brand because it maybe be on sale or because you think they all taste the same?

For me, it doesn't matter when it comes to ketchup. I feel they all pretty much taste the same, and I buy whatever is on sale, or what ever is cheaper cost-wise.

When it comes to mustard, especially yellow prepared mustard, it doesn't matter what brand I choose, and again, I feel they all pretty much tastes the same, and I buy what's on sale, or which is the cheaper brand. But... when it comes to honey mustard or Dijon mustard, I only buy the brand name such as French's or Grey Poupn, as I think they do taste better than the other brands.

When it comes to barbecue sauce, I prefer Sweet Baby Ray's, but I have been known to also purchase Hunts, KC Masterpiece, and Kraft's Barbecue Sauce, as they are nice and thick and tangy like Sweet Baby Ray's is. Our stores always seem to have the Sweet Baby Ray's on sale more than all the other brands, so I'll stock up on it.

As for salad dressing or mayonnaise, I usually buy Hellmann's, as one of our stores always has an in store coupon for the product (2/$300) several times a month, so that's when I purchase it. I seldom see Kraft's Mayonnaise on sale anywhere, but when it is I buy it, as I like how it tastes, and I have found it's not as oily as the Hellmann's is. But... as for Kraft's Miracle Whip Salad Dressing, that's one condiment both my husband and I dislike (taste-wise), and I much prefer the Burman's Salad Dressing which I purchase at the Aldi's store.

 

[Smokeydoke]

I always buy Hellmann's (it's called Best Foods here). I don't think the others are even close.

 

[blissful]

I make our mayo or I buy what is on sale. It just depends on if I need it, if it needs to be made with olive oil or not, if I'm not feeling that energetic, and whether I need more than a cup for a recipe, or if it has to last in the refrigerator (as my homemade stuff only lasts a week).
Our Ketchup is made by the Bliss Co.
Our salad dressings also made by the Bliss Co.
Our mustard, which I've tried to make, wasn't that good, so I buy what is finely ground and on sale.
Our bbq sauce is made by the Bliss Co.

I used to work at a company that bottled KC Masterpiece, the company sent us the recipe, the ingredients, the times and temperatures, and it was mixed in a HUGE caldron, boiling away, about 15 feet up. The guys that stirred it used these huge wooden paddles, like canoe paddles, and they were dressed in white, hats, beard and mustache protectors, very hygienic. Then it was piped into the bottling machines, down hill, put in bottles and a label was smacked on it before the cases were filled. Quite the operation.

(the Bliss Co. is a very small operation headed by me, bliss heh)

 

[medtran49]

We use Kraft mayo unless it's something special and then I'll make mayo. Mustard, we have Frenchs for things like hot dogs or a couple of recipes we make that call for it specifically. We also have Grey Poupon plus a couple of variety mustards that are made by some German name sounding company. I have made specially flavored mustards for a charcuterie plate on occasion. Ketchup is whichever of the 2 big national brands is on sale since it doesn't get used much here.

 

[Steve Kroll]

With the exception of Heinz ketchup Worcestershire, and a few specialty Asian products, pretty much every condiment in my fridge is homemade. Looking in the fridge right now, I've got homemade salad dressings, hot sauces, salsa, pickle relish, mustard, BBQ sauce, sour cream, and mayo.

Mayonnaise, in particular, is one of those things I will never ever buy again. If people only knew how easy to make and delicious homemade mayo is, I'm convinced there wouldn't be much of a market for the commercial stuff. It's a completely different taste experience: creamy, light, and tangy, without any of the cooked egg-iness of Hellman's or Kraft. I could honestly sit down and eat it by the spoonful.

Sour cream I just recently started making. 1 cup of cream and a quarter cup of existing sour cream (or buttermilk, if you don't have that) is all it takes.

 

[Cheryl J]

Mayo - Best Foods only

Mustards - French's yellow, Grey Poupon Dijon, and Inglehoffer stone ground

Pickle relish - Heinz sweet, but I've made my own

BBQ sauce - Bulls-Eye Hickory Smoked, but don't use it much and sometimes I make my own

Salsa - I make pico de gallo, haven't bought salsa in years

Ketchup - none

Typically in my fridge are Asian bottled sauces, Worcestershire, Tapatio hot sauce, chili sauce, cocktail sauce, etc...etc...


Steve....I'm interested in the process you use to make sour cream using cream and existing SC....how long does it take and how do you do it? TIA.

 

[Andy M.]

Hellmanns Real Mayonnaise
Heinz Ketchup
French's Yellow Mustard
French's Brown Mustard (I used to buy Gulden's but their squeeze bottle sucks).
Bullseye Original BBQ Sauce, or SBR's
Cain's Sweet Relish
Old El Paso Pickled Jalapeños
Lea&Perrins Worcestershire Sauce

 

[blissful]

I know a condiment joke, anyone want to hear it?

 

[Andy M.]

I know a condiment joke, anyone want to hear it?

I'm running a little behind. Can you wait until I ketchup?

 

[blissful]

I smiled, that was pretty good! I'm especially fond of lame jokes, thinking jokes (where people actually have to think), puns, math jokes, and musical jokes. I tell lame jokes, and I like the other kinds.

 

[Dawgluver]

Heinz ketchup, Hellman's reduced fat mayo
Plochman's, Boetje's (regional brand), Grey Poupon mustards
Clausen baby dills and Heinz sweet relish
Frank's Red Hot (that reminds me, I'm out), Shark Sriracha, along with various and sundry other hot sauces, and Pace Picante sauce
Lea and Perrin's worchestershire
Kikkoman's low sodium soy sauce along with a bunch of other oils and sauces from the Asian grocer
Sweet Baby Ray's, Trader Joe's Seafood sauce
HV Ranch and Kraft Catalina dressings

There's more in the fridge, but the light hasn't been working.

 

[Cheryl J]

LOL Andy!

------------------------

Every time I hear Sweet Baby Ray's, I think of my grandson Tyler. He was excited about learning to read a year or so ago, and I was busy in the kitchen, so I let him read the labels on my condiments in the fridge door.

He asked me..."Grandma...what is Sweet Baby Ray?" Appealing to his little boy sense of humor, I told him it was a sauce made out of babies, and did he want some? He knew I was kidding and cracked up, and every now and then he gets in a silly mood and asks me if I still have that sauce made out of babies.

 

[Andy M.]

I smiled, that was pretty good! I'm especially fond of lame jokes, thinking jokes (where people actually have to think), puns, math jokes, and musical jokes. I tell lame jokes, and I like the other kinds.

We have a "Today's Funny" thread. Make us laugh!!

 

[blissful]

Yeah, but this is a discussion about condiments. I told the joke in 2008 on here, it originated in someone's signature line, on here. No one laughed then, except me.

Practice safe lunch, use a condiment.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

We have a couple of brands we are loyal to. We have tried house brands on all the usual condiments, but if there is a difference, we go with the flavor we prefer. In the named instances below, we are loyal to the brand mentioned after attempts to find an off-brand favorite.

Ketchup - Heinz, with OnSale close behind.
Mustards - Plochman's (yay, Dawg!), Grey Poupon, Maille Dijon, Gulden's, Woeber cranberry-honey, Bertman Ballpark, The Original Stadium (I think I need a mustard intervention...)
Mayo - Hellman's (Best Foods), although Aldi's Burman brand runs a really close second. That said, I would rather pay full price-no coupon for Hellman's than a sale price for any other mayo.
horseradish - Ba-Tempe jarred. In Cleveland, I always bought Silver Springs fresh ground, but they don't sell it up here.
BBQ - Whatever OnSale brand with less sugar. I forget which brand has only 8 grams, but it IS good. Since we don't use it often, I don't pay much attention.
dill pickle relish - house brand
sweet pickle relish - What is this "sweet" you speak of? IF a recipe calls for sweet relish, I usually mince up less than half a measure worth of baby sweet gerkins (used to be Vlasic's, but I think they might make Market Basket's house brand, so that is my go-to now)
Worcestershire sauce - Lea & Perrin's
hot sauces - more than you want me to list, brand names and house brand
Soy and Teriyaki - Kikkoman's

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Yeah, but this is a discussion about condiments. I told the joke in 2008 on here, it originated in someone's signature line, on here. No one laughed then, except me.

Practice safe lunch, use a condiment.

Now that right there is funny!

 

[CraigC]

Hellmanns Real Mayonnaise
Heinz Ketchup
French's Yellow Mustard
French's Brown Mustard (I used to buy Gulden's but their squeeze bottle sucks).
Bullseye Original BBQ Sauce, or SBR's
Cain's Sweet Relish
Old El Paso Pickled Jalapeños
Lea&Perrins Worcestershire Sauce

Andy, I used to get them whole, now they are only available sliced locally. They are my "go to" commercial brand, but I really miss the whole ones.

Some homemade BBQ sauces call for Ketchup and they are the only recipes where we use large amounts of it. Our "go to" commercial BBQ sauce is offered in the local Publix stores and is a product of a local BBQ joint, Tom's (Jenkins). There are mild and hot versions. They are not those sickly sweet sauces that are available in most grocery stores.

Karen forgot to mention we use creole mustard which is only offered locally by Zatarain.

Like many of us on DC that have expanded heavily into Asian cuisines, we have many condiments/ingredients where we couldn't pronounce the brand name if our lives depended on it.

When I buy commercial mojo criollo, I prefer Kirby brand.

 

[dragnlaw]

In some places they are 5 bottles deep and there a some double stacked. I also have stuff in the fridge too and another cupboard.
I hate not having something on hand for a recipe...

have both white and dark miso in the fridge - will probably have for many years to come... in the same containers

 

[Andy M.]

Andy, I used to get them whole, now they are only available sliced locally. They are my "go to" commercial brand, but I really miss the whole ones...

Craig, I use the sliced ones on my super delicious, juicy cheeseburgers.

 

[Steve Kroll]

Steve....I'm interested in the process you use to make sour cream using cream and existing SC....how long does it take and how do you do it? TIA.

Hi Cheryl, my grandmother taught me this many years ago, and it's just about the easiest thing in the world to make.

To make the first batch, start with 4 parts of heavy whipping cream and 1 part buttermilk in a bowl. Stir them together lightly (don't overmix), then cover with cheesecloth and leave sit at room temperature for 24-48 hours before refrigerating. The longer time will make it thicker and more sour. Natural sour cream tends to be somewhat thinner than the commercial product, which often has a thickening agent added. If yours comes out too thin you can let it drain in a strainer lined with a coffee filter or several layers of cheesecloth (do this in the fridge). It will keep for a week, maybe longer, although it will continue to sour further over time. I actually like mine a little more on the sour side.

Note that you must use plain pasteurized cream, not ultra-pasteurized. If you have access to raw cream, even better, but you can't buy that in stores.

Once you make a batch you can use some of the existing sour cream to culture a new batch.

I almost always have some of this in the fridge. Along with homemade mayo, I use it as a base to make creamy salad dressings, so I don't really care that it's not as thick as commercial sour cream.

Try it as a base for blue cheese, green goddess, or ranch dressing. It actually enhances the flavor of the blue cheese. Awesome stuff!