I want to talk about something I believe to be a scourge of group barbeques – homemade, or otherwise fancy, sauces. Just stop, already. Nobody is impressed.
Now, I’m not talking about the packets of “Fancy Ketchup” that you get from McDonald’s; those are fine. I’m talking about the too thick, too tomato-y, not sweet enough catsup that people seem to insist on making and bringing to eating events. (I must admit that I did this in my early twenties in an attempt to impress those around me. No one was interested.)
And home cooks are not the only ones at fault, here. I cannot tell you how many restaurants – even so called “dive bars”! – insist on serving their fries with fancy, artisanal, too-tomato-y sauce, but I can tell you how much I hate it. I hate it a lot.
Tomato sauce is not something that needs to be elevated. Commercially made tomato sauce or ketchup is a perfect condiment that is a genre unto itself. Though it contains tomatoes, it’s not tomato flavored. It should be sweet (HFCS is non-negotiable, in my opinion), tangy, and impossibly smooth. Homemade ketchup is rarely all of these things (or any of them to the proper extent), and I wish people would quit making it.
Anyway. I would love to hear your opinions on homemade and fancy ketchup (assuming they align with my own beliefs), but let’s use this opportunity to talk about the state of condiments in general. As always, I have some questions:
- What condiment is totally worth making yourself? Mayonnaise is the only condiment I routinely make myself, and then I make duck fat mayonnaise.
- Do you have a favourite brand? H-E-I-N-Z.
- What should, and should not, be put on a hot dog? I know everyone will disrespectfully disagree, but I enjoy the trinity of ketchup, mustard, and mayo. I started eating hot dogs this way when I was about eight, and I have no intention of stopping just because society isn’t ready.
- What do you spread on your burger buns? Mayo and/or mustard, mood depending. Tomato sauce is for fries in this context.
- Have you made your own mustard? Did it have an impact on your life whatsoever? I have and I do not remember the experience very vividly.
- What about BBQ sauce? In the words of the Contessa herself, store-bought is fine.
- How many hot sauces do you currently have in your fridge? What are they? I have four – Huy Fong sriracha, Trappey’s Louisiana, some fancy brand ghost pepper stuff someone gave me (and I’m never going to use), and a jar of sambal oelek.
- What condiments do you like mixing together? In college, my friend Matt and I used to put ketchup and mustard on a plate together side by side, then gently swirl each individual fry through them, never completely mixing the two. Each bite was a different ratio of sweet and aggressively vinegary. It was good.
Per the usual, feel free to leave any ramblings related to our topic at hand, even if they don’t directly answer the above questions, and especially if they are anti-fancy ketchup ramblings. I am a big fan of those.
Comments
7 responses to “Nobody Wants Your Stupid Homemade Sauce”
What an ignorant and arrogant article.
It’s okay Firilla. I’ll try your sauce.
Firilla has a point, what is the purpose of this article besides being mean and obnoxious? The whole “nobody cares about your X” trend is just rude and usually poorly reasoned. Amusingly, nobody cares about these “nobody cares” articles.
And for heaven’s sake don’t turn around and say “it’s just a joke, bro”. Surely you’re not that bloody oblivious.
only thing i can assume is that a lot of people didnt grow up with home made sauce or relish in the cupboard. some dude brought some to work for everyone to use and i ended up taking it home and going through it in a fraction of the time of a normal sauce bottle because i wanted to have it on all my food.
What condiment is totally worth making yourself? – HOT Chilli Sauce because finding something “hot” that still retains flavour rather than spicing up with extract isn’t common enough. I’m talking about those that have Nando’s “extra extra” hot and it doesn’t touch the sides “hot”. Then theres the sugar and preservatives that always gets added in. No thank you. I take my hot sauce with full flavour, no sweetener and no preservatives, thats why I bring it with me. I care not to impress, I just now how I like my meat.
Do you have a favourite brand? – I’m going with Nandos, because they try, they really do.
What should, and should not, be put on a hot dog? – Should – chilli. Should not – tomato/bbq.
What do you spread on your burger buns? – I’m going with a fairly common theme here and say chilli.
Have you made your own mustard? – I have not.
What about BBQ sauce? – Too sweet for my liking.
How many hot sauces do you currently have in your fridge? What are they? – Aside from the homemade stuff, theres some Nando’s extra hot (for the kids) and miscellaneous Chilli Festival sauces that opt to heat up with extract instead of flavour, or add in way too much sugar than necessary… will probably both expire.
What condiments do you like mixing together? – I dont
What should, and should not, be put on a hot dog? Whatever the hell you enjoy. Chilli, tomato, mustard, bbq, sauerkraut, whipped cream, peanut butter… if you enjoy it go nuts.
I don’t have any problem with people who make their own sauces as long as they respect my choices. If I try the sauce and don’t like it don’t expect me to slather it on everything. You get some amazing varieties of hot sauce and bbq sauce especially so I’m all for trying different variations that people come up with.
I currently have a jar of mustard relish that my Mum gave me and it’s great. Way chunkier than the store bought stuff.
I wasn’t sure what the purpose was of the article: 1. stop creating sauces, 2. stop sharing sauces with friends, 3
entertaining rant? Stifling kitchen creativity: disagree. Not sharing with friends: somewhat agree. Entertaining rant: mildly entertaininh and too much on the rant.
Nobody wants your stupid article…
I think they’re still hurting from when their homemade sauce was rejected.
Besides, who brings sauce to someone else’s event??? Never seen it.