I’m guessing that Dutch mayonnaise (and European mayonnaise in general) is less viscous (“runnier”) than the condiment we get in North America (Hellman’s, Kraft, et cetera), which is fairly stiff?
I never noticed any difference between Dutch mayonnaise and other mayonnaise, except that it is made in the Netherlands, though every brand, Dutch or otherwise, has slightly different ingredients of course. It’s supposed to be viscous and have a high fat and yolk content. But, clearly most of the sauces offered by the chips or kebab place are not pure mayonnaise, so, now that you mention it, it wouldn’t surprise me if some places thin it out more and add sugar/cornstarch etc to make it more runny. Never thought about it before.
ETA note that by law you can’t label just anything “mayonnaise”; eg in my refrigerator right now I have a jar of garlic-flavor “Dutch Gourmet” made in Holland which contains Canola oil, garlic, vinegar, water, sugar, egg yolk, salt, starch, mustard, etc and is conspicuously not called mayonnaise. Not particularly runny, though, nor is the regular mayonnaise.
Ketchup for fries and on bologna sandwiches, but that’s about it these days as far as ketchup goes. Unless it’s one of those designer ketchups that taste a lot different from the Heinz product.
Oh, it’s good on scrambled egg sandwiches too, but tapatio is better.
ETA: great fries don’t need ketchup, but there’s a dearth of convenient great fries in my area.
I know the mayo I’ve had in East Europe and Russia is much runnier than the stuff sold in North America. I usually comes in squeeze packets (seldom in jars) and often contains olive oil. It’s labeled “Provençal” and is sometimes made with quail eggs.
Nowadays, I mostly use sriracha sauce for all of the things I used to use ketchup for. The one exception is fries, and then only sometimes: If they’re really good fries, from a place that doesn’t slice the potato until you order, then malt vinegar and salt. If they’re lesser fries (like from most fast-food places), but still fresh from the fryer, then just salt. Only if they’re not-so-fresh (like, if you’re bringing them home from the fast-food place before eating) do they get ketchup.
I still use ketchup on French fries, but that’s possibly the only thing I still use it on. If I’m making a burger at home I’ve recently switched from ketchup to a combination of mayo and a good spicy mustard. If I’m having a burger at a restaurant I’ll just go with whatever their default sauce is, and I’ve noticed at non-fast-food places that’s usually mayo unless they have their own special sauce. On bratwurst, mustard and sauerkraut. On hot dogs, ok, I admit sometimes I might still put ketchup on them as well, but other times I’ll use mustard and sauerkraut there, too.
I’m not a fan of ketchup and use it rarely. My wife will glob it onto hot dogs and even breakfast sausage, which is nearly criminal. A simple sauce that I like with some foods is mayo with some curry powder and a little salt mixed in. I prefer my fries with salt only, but on occasion like mayo with them. Sausages of any kind demand mustard.
Or ground horseradish mixed into ketchup. My go-to steak condiment.
The only thing I still put ketchup on is onion rings, but only if there isn’t BBQ sauce available. The last time I used ketchup at home was as an ingredient in a meatloaf glaze.
Back in the nineties I worked in a bakery/grill, alongside a girl who always ate her fries with a ketchup/Tabasco mix. I tried it once, and never looked back: to this day, I don’t really want fries unless I can have 'em with ketchup/Tabasco. No, not Texas Pete, that’s ridiculous; not Sriracha, c’mon. It’s gotta be Tabasco. The deep funk of the ferment is so good with the ketchup’s bright sweetness.
But no ketchup on my burger, thanks. There, I want lots of mayo and strong mustard and veggies, and maybe some hot sauce.
A couple months ago on a whim I bought a bottle of Peri Peri sauce, and oh my god that’s delicious. Folks around here have raved about it in previous threads, but I didn’t really pay any attention. For folks who haven’t tried it, it’s intensely lemony, along with the hot pepper flavors. So good!
I’ve become a big fan of horseradish sauce. I keep a mild one (woebbers) around for dipping fries and such, or to replace mayo on sandwiches, and a strong one (inglehoffers) for replacing and/or combining with mustard on hot dogs, hot pretzels, knishes, etc. or for steak.
There’s only a few things I put either hot sauce and ketchup on (which come to think of it isn’t odd because there aren’t very many things I put ketchup on.) Hash browns and eggs over hard are the two I can think of. But then again the only other things I eat with ketchup are fries and sometimes a little bit on a burger (but not enough to order it as a topping rather than put it on myself since I don’t want too much.)
But I do like Taco Bell’s Fire sauce. I haven’t had the Hot sauce in awhile but Fire has some really good roasted taste to it as well.
I can’t say I dislike ketchup. But its primary place is on french fries, and I happen to prefer the Whataburger brand ketchup. It’s better than Heinz or Hunts.
But I also like mayonnaise on fries and other stuff- Duke’s is my brand of choice. It’s a little bit more vinegary than others, which works better when mayonnaise is called for.
I also like Sriracha on a lot of stuff- usually straight up, but sometimes as Sriracha mayonnaise. Gochujang is another condiment I like sometimes on grilled stuff.
I’ve gone to A-1 sauce for my burgers. It’s also great on roast beef sandwiches and on cheap or overcooked steaks (but a horrible sin to use on good, appropriately cooked steaks).
I forgot about onion rings. Yeah, I still use ketchup there.
Not only will I not eat ketchup, I won’t eat fries that have been near ketchup. I just can’t.
I don’t like mustard, mayo, relish, etc., but the worst by far is ketchup. I have an irrational hatred for it.
My wife loves it, and I love her. So we just have to keep her ketchup away from my fries, and it’s all good.
Thick & Rich type when I can find it. Which is not very often anymore around here. And I prefer my steaks “overcooked”.
If I ever have an extremely hearty breakfast with chicken fried chicken, steak, and home fries, I’m going to put hot sauce on the fries, ketchup on the steak, and A-1 sauce on the chicken so that the meal contains the “standard” toppings for each item but they’re all on a different thing (yeah, hot sauce is more typically on chicken wings but work with me here.)
ETA: yeah, I forgot I put ketchup on steak also, but only for breakfast. For a nice steak other times of day, I use A-1 but only on the side and dab a very bit onto each piece.
Straight it is pretty much just fried potatoes and scrambled eggs, though as noted by others not even that always on either.
But honestly these days I use it more as an ingredient in sauces and marinades. Things for which all that sugar actually is useful. I do like a ketchup-based glaze on my meatloaf.
I’ll dip French fries and corn dogs in ketchup. I eat both very infrequently, however. I actually can’t remember the last time I ate French fries – its been years, I’m sure. One thing that is really good for French fries / steak cut fries / tater tots is a kind of homemade fry goop: two parts ketchup to one part sour cream, mixed well until it’s a uniform pink color. Let sit for 10 or 15 minutes, then dig in. But again, I haven’t had fries in years. If I didn’t have kids in the house I likely wouldn’t bother keeping ketchup around.
I’ll also put ketchup on scrambled eggs if there is no hot sauce available, but in my house hot sauce is always available: Tabasco green, Tabasco chipotle, and Tapatío are all guaranteed to be in the cupboard. Sometimes other ones, or local concoctions as well. Regular Tabasco does nothing for me. A good homemade salsa – I recently did a thread about salsa recipes – is usually on hand also.
I like my burgers cooked medium, with a slice of cheddar, a pile of caramelized onions, and a bigger pile of dill pickle chips or slices. Rarely do I put condiments on a burger unless I’m at a BBQ and the host is a fan of basse cuisine and has no idea how to prepare a proper spread. Then I’ll usually use ketchup and mayo, but a decent BBQ sauce is good, too. Sometimes I put BBQ sauce on my burgers at home as well (I confess the original KC Masterpiece is my go-to sauce, which I know makes me something of a philistine among BBQ lovers).
Fish gets fresh lemon juice, unless it’s breaded and then tartar sauce is best. Breaded halibut with a not-quite-freshly made tartar sauce is to die for. If I have some reason to use a condiment with chicken, I’ll use sweet and sour or ranch. Actually, two parts ranch dressing to one part bleu cheese dressing is… omg ::drools:: That’s also a good dip for pizza, if you’re into that sort of thing.
I remember a decade or so ago there was this big craze with putting ranch dressing on or in every kind of food imaginable. I’m glad I never got caught up in that, but the 2-1 ranch dressing / bleu cheese mix is pretty damn good.
In general, I prefer the taste of my food rather than condiments. I’m a big fan of brining my poultry, using rubs, smoking big cuts of beef and pork, and seasoning my burgers, meatloaves, and similar instead of just dumping some sauce on the final product. Therefore, other than hot sauce and a bottle of BBQ sauce, I rarely keep condiments in the house for myself.