Condiments You Can Make
Condiments can make or break a dish. We’ve grown accustomed to enjoying a turkey sandwich only with mayonnaise or a hot dog with mustard. What are you supposed to do with shrimp without cocktail sauce? While a bottle of ketchup from the grocery store is better than no ketchup at all, homemade condiments taste even better and are surprisingly easy to make. If you’re looking to learn cooking online, don’t just stop at the entrees, make these popular condiments fresh at home.
Mayonnaise: Making homemade mayonnaise is as simple as mixing egg yolks, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, vegetable oil, salt and pepper in a food processor. It only takes a few minutes and leaves plenty of room for you to customize it. Try adding garlic or herbs for gourmet-style mayo.
Ketchup: Some people enjoy ketchup that’s a little sweet, while others prefer more of a vinegar taste. If you make it yourself, you can season it to taste. With natural ingredients and real tomatoes, it’s also healthier than the processed ketchup you’ll get at the grocery store.
Ranch dressing: Ranch dressing tastes good on anything. Throw it on a salad or dip your pizza, mozzarella sticks or even chicken nuggets. It’s pretty simple to make, only requiring sour cream, Greek yogurt, parsley, chives, garlic, salt, pepper and buttermilk.
Cocktail sauce: Making cocktail sauce is even easier than going to the store to buy it. Chances are, you already have the ingredients in your pantry. All it takes is ketchup (maybe your homemade ketchup!), horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and red hot pepper sauce. Serve alongside your holiday shrimp.
Mustard: Making your own mustard is a little bit more time consuming, but if you’ve ever had any gourmet mustard, you know it’s worth the time. Mixing mustard seed, vinegar, cider vinegar, dark beer, garlic, brown sugar and a mixture of spices in a food processor will give you a mustard that’ll bring your next hot dog or Charcuterie plate to another level.
Pesto: Whether you’re making a pesto pasta dish, a pizza or want to dress up a sandwich, it’s always handy to have some pesto readily available. Pesto is very easy to make, especially if you grow your own herbs. Combine basil, cloves, olive oil, Parmigiano Reggiano, pine nuts and salt in a food processor and you have homemade pesto!
Sriracha: People who like their food spicy love sriracha sauce. All the recipe takes is chili peppers, garlic, shallots, vegetable oil, tomato sauce, fish or soy sauce, rice vinegar and sugar. The good thing about making your own sriracha is that, even if you like your dishes ultra-spicy, you don’t have to pile on the sauce. You can just use more chili peppers in your recipe.
Salsa verde: Every avid chef – or fan of Mexican food – seems to have a go-to salsa recipe, but salsa verde doesn’t seem to be a very common one. As long as you have a blender, you can make this salsa quickly and easily. This salsa just calls for parsley, anchovies, white wine vinegar, lemon, garlic and olive oil.
