THE NIBBLE Gourmet News & Views
Trends, Products & Items Of Note In The World Of Specialty Foods
Read all of our content on TheNibble.com, the online magazine about specialty food.
Archive for Condiments
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June 29, 2008 at 8:00 am
· Filed under Meat & Poultry, Condiments
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So much barbecue sauce, so little time. Our box of bottles to try for Barbecue Season 2008 was so heavy, we could hardly lift it. As in previous years, we tested our products on chicken. (See Part I and Part II for other favorites, including kosher and sugar-free barbecue sauce.)This year’s sauces that more than pass muster* are a widely-varying group of flavor profiles. Read each mini-review for details.
*The phrase “to pass muster,” meaning to be acceptable or satisfactory, comes from the military. Troops are gathered in a group to show officers that they are acceptably dressed and equipped. Muster refers to the gathering, so it is especially appropriate for our gathering of barbecue sauces.
Recognizing that preferences vary, we included some sauces this year that might not have passed our “moderate sugar standard” in previous years. You’ll see from our comments what we thought was good, and why people who look for sweeter foods should enjoy them.
-Big John’s Ol West BBQ & Dippin Sauce
-Blender’s Barbeque Sauce, Marinade & Dip
-Buz & Ned’s Real Barbecue Sauce
-One Drop Gourmet BBQ Sauce
-Smoke Master BBQ Sauce
-Taste Of Tassleberry Strawberry BBQ Sauce
Read the full review on TheNibble.com.
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Depending on your pick from our new
crop of barbecue sauces, those ribs
(or chicken, or pork) can taste smoky,
sweet, hot or like strawberries. Photo
by Ed O’Neil | IST. |
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June 27, 2008 at 9:35 am
· Filed under Fruits & Nuts, Condiments
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If you haven’t bought artisan preserved fruits before, you’re in for a treat. Just a few fruits of these wine-and-vinegar preserved delicacies on each plate turn a regular meal into a restaurant entrée, a plain scoop of ice cream into something that deserves a fancy French name. Robert Lambert, one of our favorite artisan producers, has created another all-natural hit, using the finest ingredients.
Robert Lambert is one of America’s great food artisans. He runs a boutique operation in California, the land of plenty. Within an hour’s drive or so, heritage fruits grow on trees owned by families for generations—small amounts of fruit waiting to be harvested and turned into microbatches of delicacies for those in the know. |
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Luscious black cherries, preserved in Merlot, add instant gourmet glamour to everything from plain grilled meats to ice cream. Photography by Claire Freierman. |
| Robert preserves the fruits in wine, vinegar, herbs and spices, plus a small amount of sweetener (sugar and/or honey or grape juice). He likes to serve them on the plate next to meat or fish, like a pickle or a chutney, or in a ramekin on the side with the equally delicious preserving syrup. We like spooning both fruit and syrup over the meat or fish. It’s easy to deglaze the pan with some of the syrup and some stock to make a delicious sauce. We also love the fruits on top of ice cream, sorbet and plain cakes, where they turn something simple but good into something memorable. Add a bit of Chantilly (whipped cream), a mint or rosemary sprig, and suddenly a plain slice of pound cake becomes a “gâteau” that you can name after yourself or the guest of honor. Read the full review on TheNibble.com. |
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June 25, 2008 at 8:59 am
· Filed under Top Pick Of The Week, Condiments
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Stone-ground mustard with horseradish: one of the stars of the line. Photography by Saidi Granados. |
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America’s specialty food stores are packed with gourmet condiments. Yet, as good as we would like them all to be, different brands vary in the degree of excitement they present to the demanding palate. That’s why it’s especially rewarding to discover a line that should be on the shelves everywhere: True Natural Taste Organic White Mustard. The Honey Mustard alone is the best we’ve ever tasted, and proves that you can find sophistication and layers of flavor in a product that is generally pleasant, with a one-dimensional sweetness. The rest of the mustards are so well crafted, you can taste the quality of the ingredients (where can we buy apple cider vinegar that’s this good?).
Here is an artisan at work, preparing small batches of mustard with the very best ingredients available. You’ll know it the minute you taste it, and may start eating the mustard from a spoon (as we’ve enjoyed doing over the past few weeks). There’s also an organic Atomic Horseradish, marrying horseradish root with parsnip to create a very different and earthier, more flavorful style than the prepared horseradish in the refrigerator case (or our grandmother’s own eye-opening recipe of horseradish and beets). The line is certified kosher and (like all mustard) is gluten free. |
Mustard is a terrific condiment. Low calorie, no fat or sugar (no cholesterol, no carbs), it has a spate of health benefits that are discussed in the main review. When you find a line this good, it’s worth clearing the shelf of your current inventory and trading up to a truly terrific taste. The Dijon flavor won the “best organic mustard” gold medal at this year’s Napa Valley Mustard Festival; but read about our favorites in the full review on TheNibble.com. |
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June 21, 2008 at 8:00 am
· Filed under Top Pick Of The Week, Condiments
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We taste more than 3,000 foods a year; sometimes it seems that half of those are barbecue sauces and similar condiments (in reality, we probably taste more like mere hundreds of them). While some of the sauces stand out (here are prior favorites), only one has made it to Top Pick status. Until now.
The sun is indeed shining in New Haven, Connecticut, where six varieties of Sweet Sunshine Chile Sauce are made: Sweet, Warm, Roasted Garlic & Shallot, Jamaican Jerk, Hot and Atomic. Our personal preference leans to the milder side of the chile spectrum. But the captivating thing about Sweet Sunshine is that Jamaican Jerk, Hot and Atomic all deliver wonderful, complex chile flavors instead of the simple, searing heat found in many other products. No wonder they’ve racked up 18 awards at major chile festivals. People looking for a great new sauce are urged to let some Sweet Sunshine into their lives…and onto their grilled meats, sandwiches, eggs, chicken wings, crudités and other dippers. |
What an easy way this is to spice up everyday foods—and what a great gift for anyone who likes flavor sensations. If you plan to be invited to barbecues this summer—or want to impress guests at your own—lay in a stock of these. Read the full review, and get more serving suggestions, at TheNibble.com. |
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June 20, 2008 at 8:26 am
· Filed under Vegetables, Top Pick Of The Week, Condiments
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With Rick’s Picks, you can pick a peck (or at least a 15-ounce jar) of pickled red peppers, asparagus, beets, green beans, green tomatoes, okra and, of course, that most familiar of pickled vegetables, the cucumber (including garlic dills, bread-and-butter and other pickles).
It was love at first bite with Rick’s Picks. We usually leave our specialty food store with arms aching, because we’re carrying so many jars. Rick’s, a beautiful artisan product, is no cheap pick(le), but it’s worth every nickel. Every sandwich served becomes more gourmet with a garnish of Rick’s Picks. A barbecue becomes memorable with a Rick’s Picks tasting bar. Some of the vegetables make cocktail garnishes extraordinaire. And as gifts for those who love their pickles, a sampler package—or even better, the Pickle Of The Month Club—will make you a hero. |
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We first wrote about Rick’s Picks two years ago. But Rick Fields continues to innovate (Smokra, pickled smoked okra, is a slam dunk—even for people who say they don’t like okra). With barbecue season, Father’s Day and summer guesting upon us, it’s time to revisit these gourmet pickles. There are four gourmet cucumber pickles and seven pickled vegetables for appetizers, sides, snacks and garnishes. You’ll never think of a pickle the same way again. In fact, you may even be inspired to try pickling your own! Read the full review on TheNibble.com. |
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June 16, 2008 at 9:10 am
· Filed under Top Pick Of The Week, Condiments
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Mustard is a fantastic condiment; it has no calories, fat, or sugar. The mustards and horseradish from True Natural Taste are a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week. Read the review here. |
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America’s specialty food stores are packed with gourmet condiments. Yet, as good as we would like them all to be, different brands vary in the degree of excitement they present to the demanding palate. That’s why it’s especially rewarding to discover a line that should be on the shelves everywhere: True Natural Taste Organic White Mustard. The Honey Mustard alone is the best we’ve ever tasted, and proves that you can find sophistication and layers of flavor in a product that is generally pleasant, with a one-dimensional sweetness. The rest of the mustards are so well crafted, you can taste the quality of the ingredients (where can we buy apple cider vinegar that’s this good?).
Here is an artisan at work, preparing small batches of mustard with the very best ingredients available. You’ll know it the minute you taste it, and may start eating the mustard from a spoon (as we’ve enjoyed doing over the past few weeks).
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There’s also an organic Atomic Horseradish, marrying horseradish root with parsnip to create a very different and earthier, more flavorful style than the prepared horseradish in the refrigerator case (or our grandmother’s own eye-opening recipe of horseradish and beets). The line is certified kosher and (like all mustard) is gluten free.Mustard is a terrific condiment. Low calorie, no fat or sugar (no cholesterol, no carbs), it has a spate of health benefits that are discussed in the main review. When you find a line this good, it’s worth clearing the shelf of your current inventory and trading up to a truly terrific taste. The Dijon flavor won the “best organic mustard” gold medal at this year’s Napa Valley Mustard Festival; but read about our favorites in the full review at THE NIBBLE.
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June 11, 2008 at 8:56 am
· Filed under Condiments, Tip Of The Day
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Next time you reach for some ketchup to go with your fries, try a gourmet tomato chutney instead. |
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It’s a no-brainer to substitute high-quality specialty ketchups for the corn-syrup-laden ones from the supermarket. But an even better idea is to top your burger or sandwich with tomato chutney. A savory, not sweet, chutney has deep tomato intensity along with spiciness to add real zing to that burger. Coriander chutney is another super condiment for burgers. In fact, divide your burger and enjoy half and half! To read more about gourmet condiments head over to THE NIBBLE—including our review of more than 42 gourmet ketchups. |
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April 19, 2008 at 8:12 am
· Filed under Condiments, Daily Food Holidays
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| April 19th is National Garlic Day, and we’re celebrating with three of our favorite garlic products:
- Garlic Pepper Jelly from Aloha From Oregon, a savory jelly that’s great on frankfurters and everything else (and a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week)
-Garlic Aïoli from Restaurant Lulu, a garlic mayonnaise that’s perfect for for seafood, sandwiches or dipping those frites, (and another NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week), and
- Garlic Valley Farms Garlic Juice, which jazzes up any dish (and wasn’t named a Top Pick Of The Week only because our Top Pick selections have always been a bit more glamorous than a spray-on garlic juice—but it’s amazing on salads, pizza, pasta, fish, eggs, anything)
Find more of our favorite jazzer-uppers in the Condiments Section of THE NIBBLE online magazine. |
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You won’t believe how good it is!
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January 5, 2008 at 9:53 am
· Filed under Diet Nibbles, Condiments, Tip Of The Day
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| Flavored mustards can transform a dish, adding almost no calories but intense notes of tarragon, basil, Roquefort or lemon to your sandwich, vinaigrette, potato salad or charcuterie. Or create a delicious crust on beef, chicken, fish, lamb or pork. Think of classic Dijon as vanilla, and start to expand your mustard horizons. We love the Laurent du Clos line of French mustards, and the Anton Kozlik line from Canada is a truly eye-opening experience as to the heights mustard can ascend. Read our review of Anton Kozlik mustards, and see more of our favorite condiments in the Condiments Section of THE NIBBLE online magazine. |
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Some crust! Add a rush of flavor to chicken, fish or other protein with a top coat of low-calorie flavored mustard. |
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December 26, 2007 at 10:10 am
· Filed under Top Pick Of The Week, The Nibble, Condiments, Cheese/Yogurt/Dairy, Snacks, Jam/Peanut Butter, Bread, Crackers, Muffins
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No sandwich will ever taste the same once
you switch to Ojai Cook mayonnaises. |
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Our final Top Pick of the year is actually the Top Picks of 2007, five products we wrote about earlier this year that continue to bring happiness to our table. These are not fancy boxes of chocolate or special foods for entertaining, but everyday foods that have become part of our every day life. One of our goals is to introduce you to foods you might not have discovered on your own. So if you aren’t familiar with these special products, we hope you’ll have the opportunity to try them in the coming months. You can read the Top Pick Of The Week with capsule summaries of each product, or click on the links below to read the full reviews.
- Cypress Grove Chevre, a northern California cheese maker, creates a broad variety of creative fresh and aged goat cheeses, including the popular Humboldt Fog.
- Peeled Snacks Fruit & Nut Mixes, of New York City, makes nutritious, grab-and-go fruit and nut mixes in innovative packaging that keeps the fruits moist and the nuts crisp. Better than a candy bar! |
- The Ojai Cook Gourmet Mayonnaises, of California, reinvents mayonnaise into something flavorful, fabulous and worth every calorie. Made in a variety of flavors from lemony to Latin, any recipe that these mayos touch will be vastly improved.
- Pierre Marcolini Confitures (Jam), the only import on the list (from Belgium), are jams unlike any in the marketplace. Using so little sugar that diabetics can enjoy them (20% or less), these velvety, spreadable fruits have the richness of a curd without curd’s calorie- and cholesterol-laden eggs and butter. Truly a jam miracle.
- Starr Ridge Bread Sticks, from Phoenix, are so flavorful that they require no embellishment—although a tapenade or other dip makes a splendid hors d’oeuvre. The five flavors—Asiago Cheese, Olive Oil, Parmesan Cheese With Black Pepper, Roasted Garlic and Seed—can be served at elegant dinners or for casual snacks.All of the Top Picks Of The Week (dating back to 2004) are archived on TheNibble.com. |
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