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10 Condiments You Can Make At Home

10 Condiments You Can Make At Home

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If you’re a condiment fiend, then you can’t enjoy even one bite of food without that special spicy/sweet/salty/sour/whatever-your-preference-is flavor on it. It’s nice to know, should the apocalypse come, you could still have your condiments and eat them too, even if you have to do it in your bunker. Here are 10 condiments you can make at home, and probably for less than you can buy them at the grocery store.

browneyedbaker.com
browneyedbaker.com

Ranch dressing

It’s the reason you’ll eat raw veggies, and the reason your kids will eat salad. It lets you eat 10 more super-spicy hot wings and sometimes, it’s all you want to dip your fries in. Ranch is a household staple. Here’s how to make it. Recipe from SheKnows.com.

 

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried chives
  • Salt to taste

Instructions:

  1. In a small bowl, whisk all of the ingredients together.
  2. Store the dressing in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to two weeks.

seriouseats.com
seriouseats.com

 

Barbecue Sauce

If you’re a real barbecue sauce fan, then you don’t just save it for weekend cookouts. You put it on your wraps, you spread it on your pizza, you make pasta sauces out of it, and you dip your chips in it. Here’s how to make it. Recipe from Chow.com.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups ketchup
  • 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 3 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
  • 1/2 cup water

Instructions:

  1. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring until ingredients are completely incorporated. Reduce heat to low and gently simmer until flavors have melded and sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 30 to 40 minutes.
  2. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. If not using right away, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

seriouseats.com
seriouseats.com

Ketchup

If you’re a tomato lover but can’t quite stand the taste of the corn syrup and sugar in store-bought ketchup, you’ll love the robust, natural flavor from this homemade ketchup recipe, from WellnessMama.com. She replaces the sweetness from the corn syrup with some surprising ingredients.

Ingredients

  • 3 cans/jars of organic Tomato Paste (I order the jars by the case from here)
  • ½ cup white vinegar or apple cider vinegar (this will leave a faint apple taste)
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 2 tablespoons honey or cane sugar, or about ½ tsp stevia powder/tincture (or more to taste)
  • 2 tablespoons molasses
  • 1 teaspoon Himalayan or sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon dried mustard powder
  • A pinch of each of the following (to taste): Cinnamon, cloves, all-spice, cayenne
  • 1 cup of water
  • Optional: 1 teaspoon powdered chia seeds (powder in food processor or blender) for thickness

Instructions

  1. Put the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend well. Put in fridge to let flavors meld overnight or at least two hours.
  2. Use as you would the GMOhighfructosecornsyrup regular ketchup.
dineanddish.net
dineanddish.net

Tabasco Sauce

No omelet, breakfast burrito, Mexican dish or chicken drumstick is complete without it. But buying Tabasco all the time can add up. There are several steps to making the spicy, sweet stuff. But this post from WesternGardeners.com comes with great instructional photos.

seriouseats.com
seriouseats.com

 

Sriracha

This condiment has its own cult following and several social media fan pages. Top chefs are making their own spin-offs, offering them on burgers and appetizers. There have even been some Sriracha cocktails. The LaTimes.com published this easy, five-ingredient recipe for the popular sauce, which goes as follows.

Ingredients

1 pound mixed fresh red chiles, stemmed & chopped

2 to 4 garlic cloves

¼ cup cane or rice vinegar

1 ½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons brown sugar

Instructions:

Blend all ingredients into a coarse paste. Add the mixture to a pan on low heat to simmer, stirring it occasionally, for five minutes. Remove from heat and add the mixture back into the blender, blending until it’s smooth, and adding water to thin it as desired. Strain the sauce, removing the solids, and put the liquid sauce in a glass container. Cool completely in the fridge.

desigrub.com
desigrub.com

 

Relish

Relish is essential for any barbecue, but also tastes delicious on sandwiches, or spread on a cracker with tuna salad. This recipe from DaringGourmet.com is for a unique sweet pickle relish that incorporates red bell peppers and allspice berries.

Ingredients

  • 2½ lbs cucumbers, peeled, center row of seeds removed, and finely diced
  • 1 large sweet onion (such as Vidalia or Walla Walla)
  • 1 large red bell pepper, finely diced
  • ¼ cup salt
  • 3 cups white granulated sugar
  • 2 cups cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds
  • 2 teaspoons celery seeds
  • 4 whole allspice berries
  • 1 bay leaf

Instructions:

  1. Place the diced cucumbers, onion, and red bell pepper in a large mixing bowl. Combine with the salt and pour water over the mixture until covered. Let sit for at least 6 hours or overnight.
  2. Drain the cucumber mixture in a colander, rinse thoroughly with water, and drain again.
  3. In a large stock pot, add the sugar, vinegar, and spices and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the drained cucumber mixture and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
  4. Ladle the hot relish into sterile jars, leaving ¼ inch of headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars clean and seal tightly with the lids.
  5. Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
  6. Sealed jars will store in a cool, dark place for a year. If the seal is broken, the relish will keep in the fridge for a month.
pbs.org
pbs.org

Mayonnaise

Without realizing it, you probably have all of the ingredients to make your own mayonnaise in your kitchen already. The best part about making it at home is that you can control the fat content, plus you can make it a flavored mayo—like pesto or cayenne pepper—which is often overpriced in stores. Here is a super-simple recipe from FamilyFreshCooking.com.

Ingredients

  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon water
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • dash smoked paprika or any ground spice you like

Instructions:

Add egg yolk, salt, lemon juice and any spice or garlic and water to a blender or food processor. Blend on medium high speed well. Slowly drizzle the oil into the egg mixture until you have added all of it, keeping the blender on medium high speed the whole time. Blend until you have a creamy, opaque emulsion.

verybestbaking.com
verybestbaking.com

 

Tartar Sauce

If you’re eating deep-fried seafood, you need to have tartar sauce. Of course, real fans of the stuff eat it with a plain steamed piece of fish too, or plopped into a baked potato. It’s one of the easiest condiments to make at home, as proven in this BonAppetit.com recipe. You’ll notice two of the other condiments on this list are a part of the recipe!

Ingredients

1 cup mayonnaise

6 tablespoons sweet pickle relish

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

carolinaliving.com
carolinaliving.com

Chimichurri Sauce

What doesn’t chimichurri taste good on? It’s slightly spicy flavor, plus those bright, cool herbs and partly creamy, partly granular texture make anything better, from steaks to toast to roasted vegetables. The great news is that as far as appliances go, all you need is a blender. It doesn’t need to be cooked at all. We found this recipe at Epicurious.com.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (packed) fresh Italian parsley
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup (packed) fresh cilantro
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Puree all ingredients in processor. Transfer to bowl. (Can be made two hours ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.)

thecurvycarrot.com
thecurvycarrot.com

 

Mustard

Mustard is a great healthy alternative if you eat sandwiches every day but your mayonnaise habit is wreaking havoc on your waistline. There are the obvious uses like hamburgers and hot dogs, but mustard also tastes great with soft pretzels, mashed into a baked potato, or spicing up a deviled egg. We like this grainy, slightly sweet country mustard recipe from Honest-Food.net.

Ingredients

  • 6 tablespoons mustard seeds
  • 1/2 cup mustard powder
  • 3 tablespoons vinegar (cider, white wine or sherry)
  • 1/2 cup white wine or water
  • 2 teaspoons salt

Optional:

  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons grated fresh horseradish
  • 1/4 cup minced fresh herbs (really any kind)

Instructions:

  1. Grind the whole mustard seeds for a few seconds in a spice or coffee grinder, or by hand with a mortar and pestle. You want them mostly whole because you are using mustard powder, too.
  2. Pour the semi-ground seeds into a bowl and add the salt and mustard powder. If using, add one of the optional ingredients, too.
  3. Pour in the vinegar and wine or water, then stir well. When everything is incorporated, pour into a glass jar and store in the fridge. Wait at least 12 hours before using. Mustard made this way will last several months in the fridge.