A history of condiments. Interesting. — “Today, you can tell how strongly a man or woman yearns for freedom by counting the condiments in his or her refrigerator.” — I’m not going to bother to count mine but the door shelves in my refrigerator are full. Also, hollandaise sauce is not a condiment and most hot sauces are bland. Even if they’re very hot.
I do like trying new condiments. I wish they came in smaller containers, which would make trying more of them easier. My current favorite condiment is Bronco Bob’s Bacon Chipotle Sauce.
UPDATE: Thanks, Sya, (in the comments) for the Periodic Table of Condiments. Hmmm… I have kept some condiments much longer than what’s recommended on the table.
UPDATE II: The table is way wrong, most notably regarding honey which can remain safe to eat indefinitely, depending on humidity. The owner of the website linked in the above paragraph emphatically denies any responsibility for the Table of Condiments and provides a link to this site, which also denies responsibility. It seems no one wants to claim this thing.
September 9th, 2010 - 1:41 pm
+1, as they say, on the “smaller packages” bit. It takes me a couple of months to get through a jar of taco sauce, and the last few drops are often something you want to keep well away from your face.
September 9th, 2010 - 1:56 pm
I guess I use the “ostrich” method: “Mayonnaise, kept refrigerated, keeps good indefinitely, no?” (I use mayonnaise maybe 2 times a year, when I make egg salad.)
Actually, if that comment about yearning-for-freedom also applies to spices, then I must be one of the greatest yearners there is, based on the number of tiny jars from Penzey’s that populate my kitchen counter.
September 9th, 2010 - 3:07 pm
Fillyjonk, maybe you need the Table of Condiments that Periodically Go Bad http://web.mit.edu/dryfoo/www/Info/condiments.html
September 10th, 2010 - 6:54 am
They lie. Honey can, under the right conditions, stay safe to eat for decades. (It’s true.) I think that table was actually made by the Condiment Sellers of America, to scare people in throwing out still-good stuff and buying all new, and then repeating the same thing two months down the road.
(I’ve also kept hummus more than a week. And I’m still alive.)
September 10th, 2010 - 8:46 am
Not just decades but centuries. (I hadn’t read the entire table.) After a while (a lot longer than 8 months at room temperature) it will solidify or “crystallize” but it will still be good. Just heat it, just enough to melt it.
September 10th, 2010 - 11:04 am
Yeah, people used honey to preserve things before refrigeration was invented. That’s why so many ancient recipes have honey in them. *duh*