Tamari: The Original Soy Sauce
Tamari is a kind of soy sauce made with soybeans but little or no wheat, unlike regular soy sauce. Originally, tamari was the term for the liquid that flowed to the bottom of the barrel as miso was compressed and …
Condiments
Soy Sauce: The Most Important Chinese Condiment
Soy sauce’s origins are in China where it began as a soy paste called jiang. Jiang was made from fermented soybeans but in the Zhou Dynasty, the term included all kinds of preserved foods including meat, grain, and seaweed. Later …
Fish Sauce: An Ancient Vietnamese Condiment
The purest form of fish sauce has two ingredients: salt and fish. In most cases, the fish in question are anchovies but mackerel or salmon are used in some variations. Fish sauce dates back to Ancient Greece and Rome. In …
Mustard: A History Of Sharp And Tangy Flavor
Mustard comes from the mustard plant, which is a member of the Brassicaceae family along with cabbage and broccoli. The mustard condiment is a combination of mustard seeds and a liquid. Mustard seeds do not become pungent until they are …
Ketchup: A Vietnamese Condiment
Ketchup is often cited as the all-American condiment, especially when compared to other popular ones like salsa, but how American is it? It turns out its origins aren’t American at all. Ketchup was invented in Asia. Its name is the …