Condiments

While I know making your own condiments sounds a little extreme for the average cook, it's actually a great way of increasing flavour in your dishes, and cutting down on the number of preservatives you consume. So are easier to prepare than others, but there's always a recipe if you look hard enough to find it.

Previous experimenting has lead to failure with ketchup due to a completely different flavour than advertised (luckily my stepson loved it), and a mediocre mustard that just kind of was, without being all that exciting. Relish is probably the most common condiment prepared in homes, but I'm not sure that making 8 L at once was the best idea in the world...especially when we only really use it on hamburgers! :p

BBQ Sauce, on the other hand, was my biggest success. A nice bold flavour and a chunky thickness made the process worth it. I tried it again today, and things went quite a bit smoother. I used an extra large can of whole plum tomatoes, which worked much better than a couple jars of homemade canned tomatoes...that needed lots of crushed tomatoes added to thicken them up. I was short an onion, which should add some extra depth next time, but I don't really miss it from the finished sauce. The standard ingredients are the same - home grown garlic, soy sauce, Worcester, olive oil, brown sugar, ginger, and spices (just no vinegar, otherwise you end up with sweet and sour sauce!). Tried to add a new "secret ingredient", in this case coriander, but it didn't add too much to the final sauce. I think I either have to increase the amount or pick something different next time. This is a blend while hot recipe too, which always makes me glad I have my immersion blender!