There are many ways to play this thing called summer. You can ride it out passively for all its worth, tagging along to picnics and barbecues. Or you can dive in deliberately, with big plans to tackle a few cooking projects you haven't had a chance to get to all year. For me, that involves condiments. Lots of condiments.
Now that you know full well how to grill a juicy burger, make your own hamburger buns and jars of lemonade, it's time to think about your condiments. Sure, it's simple to grab these things at the market next time you're there. But so often, they're filled with corn syrup or fillers -- condiments truly tend to be one of those things in which you don't realize how good they can taste until you make a batch of your own.
Now obviously, most of us don't have time to whip up a batch of many different condiments, but experimenting with one or two will likely bring you a lot of joy this summer grilling season.
Condiment Recipes & Ideas from The Kitchn:
• Recipe: Homemade Agave Nectar Ketchup
• How To Make Mayonnaise: The Video
• How To Make Mustard At Home
• 6 DIY Mustard Recipes
• Recipe Recommendation: DIY Hot Sauce from Mark Bittman
• Recipe: Cherry Chutney
Other Ideas:
• Homemade Sweet Pickle Relish - Neo Homesteading
• Dill Pickle Relish - Food Renegade
• Homemade Mustard - Simple, Good and Tasty
• Homemade Sauerkraut - Nourished Kitchen
• Milk Mayonnaise - Food 52
• Argentine Herb Sauce - Good Housekeeping
• Caramelized Onions - Simply Recipes
• Super Herb Butter - Joy the Baker
Related: What The New York Times Says You Should Make, Not Buy
(Image: Sunset)
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I make a damn fine bbq sauce. That's about all I've tried. Making mustard kind of appeals to me, but I'm the only real mustard fan in my household, so it's probably not worthwhile most of the time.
@cygne - Same here (on the mustard), so I make half recipes (about 3/4 cup of finished product) and then plan meals around being able to use mustard. It's so delicious that the extra planning is worth it. It's good even just for dipping pretzels in for a snack.
I'm not a big fan of most condiments, but I love barbeque sauce and I made some homemade BBQ sauce last week that I used on chicken and burgers. It's so easy and quick, there's no reason to use bottled!
Sweet Potato Mustard and Bacon Mayonnaise! Homemade is always best. http://tinyurl.com/72zwv6e
I'm planning to try making mustard soon. But I tried mayonnaise last week and it was bomb. It turned mayonnaise from something ho-hum to something actually worth mentioning. I stirred some chipotle chiles in at the end, and used it on homemade black bean burgers and in a sweet potato / egg side salad. Delish both ways.
I found out that making honey mustard was as easy as mixing one part honey to one part mustard, plus pepper and salt. Now I'm hooked on DIY condiments :D