Grating Ratings: Condiments
Condiments — what would we do without them? Eat our food plain? Enjoy the taste of the food we're eating??? Imagine the horror!
- Hot Sauce: C Hot sauce earns a middle-of-the-road grade because it can go either way. The name of the condiment itself promises only to be hot, so many hot sauces do not have a particularly good taste. In the end, its best uses are for novelty purposes and practical jokes.
- Ketchup: B+ Ketchup is one of the standard condiments, and it has earned that status. It's the standard condiment for America's classic food, the hamburger. It's so good, some people even like to use it on eggs. Plus, we've somehow got dozens of varieties of ketchup.
- Mustard: A- Mustard is another standard, typically for topping off a hot dog. Face it — who really wants to taste their hot dog? Mustard helps the nation ignore the actual meat between the condiment and the bun. Summer picnics wouldn't be the same.
- Relish: D This is the most overrated condiment of all time. Relish breaks one of my primary food rules by consisting of something pickled. Another broken rule is that it's a condiment in which you can pick out the various pieces of the food that created it. I don't want to see poor Larry the cucumber's sad face staring up at me from my food! Another problem with relish is that you never know if it's going to be sweet, hot, or whatever. If you're going to be a chunky condiment, you should still have more sauce than chunks and you better taste as delicious as tartar sauce!
- Tartar Sauce: A There's just something about tartar sauce that awakens my taste buds. I'm no fan of relish or mayonnaise, but tartar sauce takes two awful ingredients and turns them into a super-flavor. I've always said it: Fish is a great excuse to have tartar sauce.
- Worcestershire sauce: D- Based on taste alone, Worcestershire sauce would quickly fail with an F–. I think I'd rather eat raw radishes than spread any of this on anything I'm about to eat. The only reason this one gets bumped up to a D- is that it's one of my favorite fun words to say.
Please feel free to leave a comment. What do you agree or disagree with, and why? Which condiments do you wish were included that I didn't cover here?
This entry was posted
on Saturday, July 28th, 2007 at 10:55 by Novac and is filed under All, Blogathon, Blogathon 2007, Charity, Food, Fun, Health, Ratings.
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July 28th, 2007 at 11:08
I just wanted to say hi and good luck with the Thon today.
July 28th, 2007 at 11:24
Where is the Honey Mustard? I'm about to get some nuggets and that is a very important addition.
July 28th, 2007 at 11:25
To be honest, honey mustard is one of my favorites, especially alongside chicken nuggets. In fact, I've overdosed on honey mustard lately. Perhaps that's why it isn't present here?
July 28th, 2007 at 17:23
A nice, tangy sweet and sour sauce makes almost any chicken product (eggs included) into a culinary delight. Pork, lamb, beef, and goat also benefit. It is also hoarsely whispered in dimly lit alleys in certain neighborhoods that "other" mammal flesh also benefits from this overlooked but potent condiment.
July 28th, 2007 at 17:49
I would have to give ketchup or catsup an A. Maybe not an A+ only because I don't know whether to call it ketchup or catsupl. Honestly, if you don't have ketchup or catsup, I prefer to pass on the hamburger, unless of course it has lots of cheese on it, then I probably could tolerate it. Mustard would be an A- regular yellow or spicy brown. Who can eat a hot dog without it? And I probably would give hot sauce a B. But- I seldom eat hot sauce.. .sometimes it's just too hot.
July 28th, 2007 at 17:52
Oh, I forgot the worcestershire sauce. I normally only use this when I try a new recipe that specifically calls for this. I have gone many years without using it.