# The Third Condiment - what should it be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [June 25, 2023, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-condiment-what-should-it-be/986091 "2023-06-25T19:48:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-condiment-what-should-it-be/986091/41 "2023-06-26T15:46:59Z")
Hot sauce and I can’t decide between a salty, vinegary cayenne (Frank’s, Crystal, Lousiana) and Sriracha. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-condiment-what-should-it-be/986091/42 "2023-06-26T15:50:05Z")
That article starts off by saying “Like all foods that require refrigeration…”, but mayonnaise isn’t a food that requires refrigeration, and the time limit isn’t the same for all foods that do, anyway. And it keeps jumping back and forth between potato salad (which does require refrigeration) and mayonnaise (which doesn’t), for some odd reason. They also say that it needs refrigeration because it contains eggs, but eggs are fine after weeks without refrigeration. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-condiment-what-should-it-be/986091/43 "2023-06-26T15:59:15Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > eggs are fine after weeks without refrigeration. Not once cracked open. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-condiment-what-should-it-be/986091/44 "2023-06-26T16:02:32Z")
America needs brown sauce, so I’d push for HP or Daddies to be the Official Third Condiment. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-condiment-what-should-it-be/986091/45 "2023-06-26T17:39:52Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Huh. I was going to respond that it’s the egg not the oil but did a quick search first and whaddaya know? Mayo doesn’t need acid, it’s almost all oil, and the tiny amount of pasteurized egg product used is engulfed in that oil. Mayonnaise is a pile of oil. It does not promote bacterial growth. The stuff that gets put in mayonnaise based salads often does promote bacterial growth yet somehow while people are afraid to leave a jar of mayonnaise out on their kitchen table they will take a bowl of potato, egg, and ham salad to a picnic and leave it out in the sun for hours. And then of course blame the mayo when they get sick. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-condiment-what-should-it-be/986091/46 "2023-06-26T17:52:30Z")
There’s a new contender in my house for the coveted third condiment spot. [Angry Grandma](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-chili-crisp-condiment-with-chili-flakes-garlic-etc-in-oil/), aka chili crisp. In my kitchen, the third condiment is identifiable as being the thing besides salt and pepper that gets used so much that it never gets put away. Used to be [Valentina](https://www.salsavalentina.com) hot sauce, but that’s fallen to fourth place of late. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-condiment-what-should-it-be/986091/47 "2023-06-26T18:12:10Z")
Ask yourself what you are likely to find on a restaurant tabletop or bar before your food arrives If it’s an Asian place it’ll be that chili paste. If it’s anywhere else it’ll be Tabasco sauce. But really, Cholula is better and hits all the bases. Perfect 3rd condiment. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-condiment-what-should-it-be/986091/48 "2023-06-26T18:27:57Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Garlic powder and basil. That’s what I have on my table _instead_ of salt and pepper. I like your thinking… > [@Alessan](#): > > Schug is great, don’t get me wrong, but the true jewel of Middle Eastern condiments is amba. …and I like your information. We’ve been smitten by middle eastern food recently, so this is now a priority item. Waitrose (a high end UK chain store) say they stock it, so I’ll be there as soon as I can conveniently be. It may not be the most authentic, but I’ll settle for entry level until I can track the best stuff down. j ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-condiment-what-should-it-be/986091/49 "2023-06-26T18:51:45Z")
Horseradish is the undisputed Lord of Condiments. Though I’ve also taken to chili crisp lately. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-condiment-what-should-it-be/986091/50 "2023-06-26T19:03:25Z")
Whether or not it needs acid most commercial mayonnaise have an acid in them. And googling 1 to 2 eggs in typical jar. Yes it is mostly oil. Yes the egg yolk is surrounded by oil it being the emulsifier and all. But also yes it is uncooked egg which without acid would be a good bacterial growth medium. Even surrounded by oil. Not as much so as the rest of the egg salad to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-condiment-what-should-it-be/986091/51 "2023-06-26T19:21:03Z")
Please take a look at [75 years of scientific and regulatory research](https://dressings-sauces.org/food-safety-facts/). Commercial mayonnaise is made with pasteurized egg yolks. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-condiment-what-should-it-be/986091/52 "2023-06-26T21:08:46Z")
Not sure what you see there? They specifically discuss the importance of the acid in keeping mayo a safe food. Pasteurization is great at preventing the egg yolks from being a source of the bacteria (Salmonella the specific bug of high concern there) and is of _no_ impact on how good of a growth media it is once open and left out with germs landing in it from the environment. Anyway we’ve overly digressed. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-condiment-what-should-it-be/986091/53 "2023-06-26T21:11:18Z")
Yeah, so it looks like the clear winner is cayenne. Or Tapatio, which doesn’t use vinegar. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-condiment-what-should-it-be/986091/54 "2023-06-26T22:40:54Z")
I didn’t mean my post to be condescending, sorry if it sounded that way. In the past the internet could easily dispel the mayonnaise myth but now it is reinforcing it and that just feeds my old man cranky frustration more than kids on my lawn, cars without keys, and the MAX streaming channel. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-condiment-what-should-it-be/986091/55 "2023-06-26T22:59:19Z")
[Seinfeld says cinnamon.](https://youtu.be/WNcrrwQwskw) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-condiment-what-should-it-be/986091/56 "2023-06-26T23:25:32Z")
Apropos of nothing: I’ve seen this thread over the past few days and each time I’ve read it as “The Third **CONTINENT** - what should it be?” And it did not occur to me that that didn’t make any sense. Sometimes I have no idea what is going on around me. Seriously. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-condiment-what-should-it-be/986091/57 "2023-06-26T23:31:03Z")
Maybe it’s all that lovely red hair covering your eyes. Hard to read accurately when you can’t see. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-condiment-what-should-it-be/986091/58 "2023-06-26T23:33:50Z")
I’ve heard of people, especially vegans, putting a shaker can of nutritional yeast, which tastes a bit like Parmesan cheese, on the table with their S&P. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-condiment-what-should-it-be/986091/59 "2023-06-27T00:55:53Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I’ve seen this thread over the past few days and each time I’ve read it as “The Third **CONTINENT** - what should it be?” You’re not alone, I keep misreading that way too. I suspect there are many others who do as well. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-condiment-what-should-it-be/986091/60 "2023-06-27T01:35:39Z")
My ~~sheeple~~ people!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-condiment-what-should-it-be/986091.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-condiment-what-should-it-be/986091.md?page=4)