# What are the "standard" table condiments in other countries? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 30, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-standard-table-condiments-in-other-countries/545091 "2010-06-30T17:49:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-standard-table-condiments-in-other-countries/545091/41 "2010-07-01T22:01:21Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > Sriracha seems to becoming quite common at any Asian place around here. > > Re: Tabasco. It seems that at anything nicer than a Denny’s-style diner, Tabasco is skipped for some other kind of hot sauce, often Cholula. It’s almost as if Tabasco is coming to be seen as “low class.” I’m not sure why, there’s nothing wrong with Tabasco. Cholula is milder than Tabasco, so that might have something to do with it. Americans are relatively wussy about spice. It could also be (and is probably more likely, now that I think about it), that Cholula is simply making better deals with restaurants to put their sauce on the tables. Too bad. I think Tabasco is a better quality sauce. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-standard-table-condiments-in-other-countries/545091/42 "2010-07-01T22:08:17Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > …I’m not sure why, there’s nothing wrong with Tabasco. Agreed, I love Tabasco and dislike when restaurants replace it on the table with a different brand. Tabasco is wonderful in that it acts more as a flavor-enhancer and gives food nice heat, but doesn’t overwhelm the flavor of the underlying food. Most other sauces I’ve tried, while good and hot, often result in just tasting the sauce and losing the food’s flavor. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-standard-table-condiments-in-other-countries/545091/43 "2010-07-01T22:22:13Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Americans are relatively wussy about spice. I suspect that varies by region. Plenty of (very) spicy foods are available and popular here. Thai curries, hot wings, hot barbecue sauces, Mexican restaurants that feature a range of habanero sauces as condiments (often El Yucateco). And then of course the pizza places all have the red pepper shakers out for those so inclined. (Speaking of condiments.) Tabasco sauce is actually considered pretty mild in my circles. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-standard-table-condiments-in-other-countries/545091/44 "2010-07-01T22:29:17Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > I suspect that varies by region. Plenty of (very) spicy foods are available and popular here. Thai curries, hot wings, hot barbecue sauces, Mexican restaurants that feature a range of habanero sauces as condiments (often El Yucateco). And then of course the pizza places all have the red pepper shakers out for those so inclined. (Speaking of condiments.) > > Tabasco sauce is actually considered pretty mild in my circles. I’m originally from Louisiana, where Tabasco is like ketchup, but I’ve lived 20 years in the great white north now, and up here, people think black pepper is hot. I have to adjust my own cooking way down for Minnesotans. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-standard-table-condiments-in-other-countries/545091/45 "2010-07-01T22:32:07Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > They don’t have Captain D’s and Long John Silver’s down your way, **bordelond**? No Captain D’s in metro New Orleans. There are two Long John Silver’s in the N.O. suburbs, but neither are standalones – both are paired up with a KFC. LJS has got no profile here – no advertisements, not known as a place to swing by and get a quick lunch. I’d bet those KFC/LJS combo joints sell KFC fare at a 20-1 clip over the LJS stuff. In SE Louisiana, the local seafood is an institution … national seafood chains have a hard time getting a toehold. It’s considered miraculous that our one Red Lobster has stayed open. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-standard-table-condiments-in-other-countries/545091/46 "2010-07-01T22:49:47Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > Tabasco sauce is actually considered pretty mild in my circles. We put it in infant formula. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-standard-table-condiments-in-other-countries/545091/47 "2010-07-01T22:58:41Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > In SE Louisiana, the local seafood is an institution … national seafood chains have a hard time getting a toehold. Well that makes sense, I reckon. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-standard-table-condiments-in-other-countries/545091/48 "2010-07-01T23:22:16Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > False. [All the GUINNESS® sold in the UK, Ireland and North America is brewed in Ireland at the historic St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin.](http://www.guinness.com/en-us/faqs.html) The bottle I have here in Little Rock, Arkansas is labeled, “Brewed and bottled by Guinness Brewing Company, New Brunswick, Canada. Product of Canada, eh?” Ok, I faked the “eh?” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-standard-table-condiments-in-other-countries/545091/49 "2010-07-01T23:26:59Z")
Well, I’ll be hornswaggled. Guinness lied to me. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-standard-table-condiments-in-other-countries/545091/50 "2010-07-01T23:51:12Z")
In Peruvian food some sort of chili paste is a must. In the coast, a julienne onion hot “sauce” is also very common and black mint paste too. Mayo, ketchup and mustard are there in al but the most traditional restaurants. You can always get lime wedges for “empanadas” or most fish-related stuff. No coastal Peruvian home is without “sillao” (soy sauce). ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-standard-table-condiments-in-other-countries/545091/51 "2010-07-02T00:27:27Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > No coastal Peruvian home is without “sillao” (soy sauce). Is that part of your local cuisine, or an import? ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-standard-table-condiments-in-other-countries/545091/52 "2010-07-02T00:30:20Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > Agreed, I love Tabasco and dislike when restaurants replace it on the table with a different brand. Tabasco is wonderful in that it acts more as a flavor-enhancer and gives food nice heat, but doesn’t overwhelm the flavor of the underlying food. Most other sauces I’ve tried, while good and hot, often result in just tasting the sauce and losing the food’s flavor. Taste is funny, as I generally like just about ANY other brand of Louisiana hot sauce more than Tabasco, which to me is too much heat and not enough pepper flavor… My favorite brands are Crystal, Trappeys and Cajun Sunshine, all of which are every bit as ubiquitous in New Orleans bars and restaurants as Tabasco brand is, if not moreso. ---
**Author:** ![JR\_Brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JR\_Brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JR_Brown)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-standard-table-condiments-in-other-countries/545091/53 "2010-07-02T00:40:45Z")
In Mexican “hole in the wall” restaurants, the standard condiments offered are salt, chopped raw onion, whole oregano leaf, small dried red chillies, chopped green chilies (usually [serranos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serrano_pepper)), [homemade salsa](http://www.redsalsagreensalsa.com/ranchera.html), lime wedges, and bottled hot sauce of one or another brand. A rural home-cooked meal will offer some subset of the above; the minimal set would be the salt, salsa, and lime with either the dried or green chilies. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-standard-table-condiments-in-other-countries/545091/54 "2010-07-02T00:53:14Z")
> [@JR\_Brown](#): > > chopped green chilies (usually [serranos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serrano_pepper)), > [@from link](#): > > Their flavor is crisp, bright, and biting, notably hotter than the Jalapeno pepper they resemble, and they are typically eaten raw. Its Scoville rating is 10,000 to 25,000 Christ. I thought I was bad. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-standard-table-condiments-in-other-countries/545091/55 "2010-07-02T01:10:38Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Is that part of your local cuisine, or an import? Long -time import and now firmly established. Peru has an important Chinese population (since 1850s). “Chifas” (Chinese restaurants - Cantonese) are the 3rd most popular restaurants in Perú. “Arroz Chaufa” is the Peruvian style of Cantonese rice, with more soy sauce and so much freedom in the ingredients that in some house in cannot be called Chinese in good concience. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-standard-table-condiments-in-other-countries/545091/56 "2010-07-02T01:31:01Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > Long -time import and now firmly established. Peru has an important Chinese population (since 1850s). “Chifas” (Chinese restaurants - Cantonese) are the 3rd most popular restaurants in Perú. > “Arroz Chaufa” is the Peruvian style of Cantonese rice, with more soy sauce and so much freedom in the ingredients that in some house in cannot be called Chinese in good concience. Are white potatoes native to Peru? That would explain why I see a new world vegetable in Chinese restaurant menus in the USA. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-standard-table-condiments-in-other-countries/545091/57 "2010-07-02T01:33:10Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Really? From what I remember of Chinese restaurants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, they were pretty stingy with paper napkins/serviettes (i.e., we had to keep asking for more). Right? When I traveled around China, I was pretty pissed off that I had to scrounge for napkins at restaurants. In Sichuan there is always a wad of napkins or even a roll of toilet paper on the tables. Fancy places will give you there own pre-printed packets of tissue. And what is up with having to order/pay for rice by the bowl? Around here it never comes any other way but in a big vat that you can take freely from. It’s amazing how regional even basic customs are. I think Sichuan food comes with the assumption that it is going to make your cry and clear your sinuses. Even dishes like sweet cabbage come piled with red peppers. Hell, last night I had my favorite dish- a big pile of green hot peppers. You’ve never seen so much consistently spicy food. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-standard-table-condiments-in-other-countries/545091/58 "2010-07-02T01:35:39Z")
Ají de Gallina, is [this](http://southamericanfood.about.com/od/fusionfare/r/arrozchaufa.htm)an accurate recipe? ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-standard-table-condiments-in-other-countries/545091/59 "2010-07-02T08:03:48Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Usually in Scotland you’ll get salt, pepper, ketchup, vinegar, brown sauce (not a million miles away from A1 steak sauce, but different), English mustard and French mustard. The sugar will be for going in your tea or coffee. When I eat out, it’s generally in a pub – where the condiments on the table (other than salt, pepper and sometimes vinegar) come in those little sachets. There’s usually all of the above, plus mayonnaise, tartare sauce and salad cream. > [@silenus](#): > > Tabasco is in every corner of the world. Not commonly as a table condiment in the UK, though. > [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Okay, I know what dijon mustard is. Other than that the ‘default’ mustards in America seem to be german/deli (coarse grained brown) and French’s (yellow with tons of turmeric.) Do those match up with your english and lower-cased ‘french’? No. “French” mustard seems to be some sort of variation on Dijon (or vice versa). English mustard _looks_ similar to American mustard (like French’s), and may contain some turmeric (though I suspect that’s just for colour) – but it’s a _lot_ hotter. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-standard-table-condiments-in-other-countries/545091/60 "2010-07-02T22:48:14Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Are white potatoes native to Peru? That would explain why I see a new world vegetable in Chinese restaurant menus in the USA. Well, ALL potatoes are (sorry, national pride), but yes, they are. > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Ají de Gallina, is [this](http://southamericanfood.about.com/od/fusionfare/r/arrozchaufa.htm)an accurate recipe? Yeah, that’s a good one. Arroz Chaufa gets more soy sauce than Cantonese rice. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-standard-table-condiments-in-other-countries/545091.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-standard-table-condiments-in-other-countries/545091.md?page=4)