Condiment of the Week: HP Sauce

Quick, I say British, what food do you think of? Fish & Chips? Probably one of the few actually good British imported foods other than their various "pies". Similar to what I said about Lizano sauce, HP Sauce is like ketchup to the British. Well, actually, technically it is a "brown sauce" but it is the most popular, and pretty much all we know on this side of the pond. HP Sauce is a tangy blend of malt vinegar, spices and most importantly to me, molasses. Molasses is one of those ingredients that doesn't get nearly enough credit in cooking, and when something is made with it, man can you taste it. Ever eat a baked good and wonder, hmm what is that sweetner? That would be molasses. But I digress. There's also some fruit flavor, although I always felt that this was more of a subtle flavor than a front and center hear me roar type of flavor. HP is really good in sauces and marinades, but really excels when just eaten on it's own. I love topping burgers with it, or dipping french fries or even fried calamari! Ask a brit though, and it's really the best possible thing to eat fish and chips with.

Favorite Use: Fish and Chips. Especially if you first douse the fish and chips with malt vinegar when they are hot so it is absorbed, then dip in HP sauce and live the high life.
Strangest Use: Believe it or not, I've seen it used in mixed drinks, although for the life of me I can't find a recipe.

Condiment of the Week: Salsa Lizano

This "salsa" is really more of a versatile sauce that I have fallen in love with from the moment I've tasted it. Lizano is the ketchup of Costa Rica, and you can find it almost everywhere over there, but hardly anywhere in the U.S. of A. In fact, I have yet to find a place in NYC or nearby that sells it, and have had to order it by the case from a Costa Rican mail order company.

Lizano has a very unique flavor, and describing it will not do it justice. Greenish brown and a smooth thick liquid, it has a very earthy and somewhat salty taste to it, most likely attributed to a variety of vegetables in it ranging from cauliflower to cucumber. Not spicy at all, as most people expect from a salsa, it is rich, and a very bold flavor that stands on it's own in almost anything.

Personally, I like to tell people once you use Lizano with Mexican food like a burrito you won't be able to eat it without it. I use it with any Mexican food or other latin food, particularly with rice and beans. I've also used it as a marinade for meats like chicken, turkey and beef, or for a sauce for meat. Vegetables and more starchy food don't go well with it, but I have mixed it in with chicken salad and tuna salad as a way to give it a different flavor.

Favorite Use: Poured generously on top of a chicken burrito.
Strangest Use: Chicken Salad sandwich, instead of oil and vinegar