# What condiments do other cultures and nations use that may seem odd to north Americans **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 19, 2011, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774 "2011-12-19T21:43:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/201 "2012-01-02T04:10:17Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I didn’t know that. But if everyone else in this thread did, Candyman’s quelle horreur seems quite odd, considering that the peanut butter that Americans eat with jelly is not the same thing as the peanut butter he’s having convulsions over. Guess I’m about as familiar with American peanut butter as you are with British peanut butter, then. Doesn’t strike me as odd at all. YMMV and all that. ---
**Author:** ![Ibanez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a4c791/32.png) [@Ibanez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibanez)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/202 "2012-01-02T04:47:52Z")
Wow I didn’t realize buttering sandwiches was considered an oddity in the U.S. If you haven’t had a grilled cheese sandwich with butter on the **outside** of the sandwich, I recomend you try it. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/203 "2012-01-02T05:20:36Z")
> [@Ibanez](#): > > Wow I didn’t realize buttering sandwiches was considered an oddity in the U.S. > > If you haven’t had a grilled cheese sandwich with butter on the **outside** of the sandwich, I recomend you try it. Do you mean making a grilled cheese sandwich by frying it in butter? That’s the only way I know his to make one. Or are you talking about spreading cold butter on the outside of an already made sandwich? Because that sounds messy. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/204 "2012-01-02T05:21:11Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > I think it more likely that, by local law in NYC, calorie counts for each individual item must be posted adjacent to the price label; tons of mayo sends calories through the roof and Pret sandwiches are ridiculously caloric already (seriously, how does a sandwhich made of a few slices of roast beef, some shreds of parmesan, and greens have 580 calories? WTH is in that bread?). wheat. no, I’m not (primarily) trying to be a jerk. just as an example, I took a look at Burger King’s page about “nutrition” where they let you “build” a menu item to see the calorie contribution to every component. For a hamburger, the bun has 140 calories, the meat 110. start adding cheese slices and it adds up fast. > **[Burger King](https://www.bk.com/en/us/menu-nutrition/index.html)** ---
**Author:** ![Ibanez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a4c791/32.png) [@Ibanez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibanez)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/205 "2012-01-02T05:38:50Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Do you mean making a grilled cheese sandwich by frying it in butter? That’s the only way I know his to make one. > > Or are you talking about spreading cold butter on the outside of an already made sandwich? Because that sounds messy. Yeah, buttering the outside. It isn’t that messy. But you’re right, less of the mess the other way ,and the result would be the same. You know I never thought of cooking it that way.:o Some things I watched mom do I never thought to question. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/206 "2012-01-02T06:11:40Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I’m gobsmacked. You just caused me to use the word “gobsmacked.” > > It’s peanuts, fruit, salt (if you’re using the most common kind of peanut butter), sugar and bread. I mean… what could you possibly not like about this?! How can you imagine that and think, “ew”? It’s a _natural_! I still haven’t met a Spaniard who has tried peanut butter and whose opinion of it is anything more flattering that “revolting!” Actually, un-natural is one of the words that get used. And least anybody is mistaken, we all have tried it in the US; several were taken by surprise by PBJs which, not having heard of PB beforehand, they’d thought were regular butter-and-jam sandwiches with the butter dark “for some reason”. Their reactions were so bad they were still apologizing several days later.` British PB might work, sounds like it will at least taste the way we expect peanuts to taste. ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/207 "2012-01-02T08:08:47Z")
Is any particular flavour of jam used most commonly? I’d be willing to give one a go, but not sure if any of the jams currently in my cupboard (apricot, plum and rhubarb) would work. I didn’t think I’d like peanut butter and chocolate together till I tried a Reese’s peanut butter cup, after all, and I love them. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/208 "2012-01-02T08:19:40Z")
> [@Jennyrosity](#): > > Is any particular flavour of jam used most commonly? Strawberry, IME. I’m not a fan of PB&J, to be perfectly honest, though, so… ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/209 "2012-01-02T09:18:29Z")
> [@Leiko](#): > > Not to go too off topic, but fried potato wedges are jojos. That’s a new one to me- never heard them called that in Australia, NZ, the UK, or the parts of the US I’ve visited. Might be a regional thing? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/210 "2012-01-02T09:22:14Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > Strawberry, IME. > > I’m not a fan of PB&J, to be perfectly honest, though, so… For some reason, strawberry is the “default” American jam. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/211 "2012-01-02T13:49:06Z")
> [@Jennyrosity](#): > > Is any particular flavour of jam used most commonly? I’d be willing to give one a go, but not sure if any of the jams currently in my cupboard (apricot, plum and rhubarb) would work. > > I didn’t think I’d like peanut butter and chocolate together till I tried a Reese’s peanut butter cup, after all, and I love them. > [@Alessan](#): > > For some reason, strawberry is the “default” American jam. Eh, I’d say that grape is the default American jelly, with strawberry a close second. Pre-made peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches always use grape jelly. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/212 "2012-01-02T15:29:19Z")
If you order french fries in Brazil, you will be offered (usually) mayonnaise to dip them in. If you request ketchup, you will be given some age-old little packets of thin, sour tomato sauce-probably the worst “ketchup” you will ever taste. But things are changine-there has been so much immigration of Brazilians to the USA, that their kids are now sing American-style ketchup. I sense a business opportunity-how do I market ketchup in Brazil? ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/213 "2012-01-02T15:34:55Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Eh, I’d say that grape is the default American jelly, with strawberry a close second. Pre-made peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches always use grape jelly. And we never have grape jam over here (or grape jelly or any similar preserve made with grapes). I’m English and I find PB&J sandwiches quite normal, even with British peanut butter. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/214 "2012-01-02T15:38:03Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > If you order french fries in Brazil, you will be offered (usually) mayonnaise to dip them in. In Curacao, mayo also was the norm, but peanut sauce was an option in at least one spot. (Some sort of Indonesia-by-way-of-Netherlands thing, I guess, Curacao being within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.) ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/215 "2012-01-02T15:41:24Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > And we never have grape jam over here (or grape jelly or any similar preserve made with grapes). Apple jelly is also good with peanut butter (is that available?), as is the aforementioned strawberry. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/216 "2012-01-02T17:38:20Z")
> [@Jennyrosity](#): > > As a couple of people have mentioned up thread, peanut butter in the UK is more commonly savoury than sweet - generally just a combo of nuts, oil and salt. There is plenty of unsweetened peanut butter in the U.S. It is used in exactly the same way as sweetened peanut butter. The idea that peanut butter is either suitable or unsuitable only for savory dishes (please pardon the American spelling) comes from what one is used to. If you’ve grown up with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches the idea doesn’t seem odd at all. As has already been pointed out, peanut candy is common in the U.K. Maybe what’s throwing people off is that peanut butter usually has salt in it - is it uncommon to combine salty and sweet flavors in the U.K.? Isn’t lamb with mint sauce a British dish, and isn’t the mint sauce sweet? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/217 "2012-01-02T18:00:12Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > The idea that peanut butter is either suitable or unsuitable only for savory dishes (please pardon the American spelling) comes from what one is used to. If you’ve grown up with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches the idea doesn’t seem odd at all. As has already been pointed out, peanut candy is common in the U.K. Maybe what’s throwing people off is that peanut butter usually has salt in it - is it uncommon to combine salty and sweet flavors in the U.K.? Isn’t lamb with mint sauce a British dish, and isn’t the mint sauce sweet? I think you’re absolutely right, and that it mostly comes down to what we are used to. But, maybe the “butter in sandwiches” thing comes into it – in the UK, a peanut butter sandwich is made from bread, then butter (or some kind of butter-like spread), and then the peanut butter as a filling. Adding jam/jelly to that already heady mix is what seems a bit weird. Whereas, in the states, I guess there would be no butter/spread layer, and we would proceed directly from the bread to the peanut butter. That sounds like it would be a bit dry, so I can see that maybe adding a bit of jam/jelly would help. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/218 "2012-01-02T18:20:09Z")
Butter and peanut butter sounds like a terrible combination. Wait, butter has to go on _any_ British sandwich? I can’t see how butter would enhance, say, corned beef and mustard on rye. It would tend to dull the flavors with its greasiness. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/219 "2012-01-02T18:35:21Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Butter and peanut butter sounds like a terrible combination. Wait, butter has to go on _any_ British sandwich? I can’t see how butter would enhance, say, corned beef and mustard on rye. It would tend to dull the flavors with its greasiness. It may sound like a terrible combination, but it is in fact a beautiful combination, especially on a thick slice of Hovis. Fatty, greasy goodness. Yes, any proper British sandwich must have butter, or something like it. I was always slightly puzzled by the usage of the word “butter” in “peanut butter”, but threads like this explain it - Americans use peanut butter in ways similar to how we use actual butter, or its alternatives. If peanut butter had been invented here, it would have simply been called “peanut spread”. ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/220 "2012-01-02T18:55:19Z")
I wouldn’t use butter on a peanut butter sandwich, or on one that had mayonnaise as a major ingredient (tuna mayo, egg mayo, etc) but I would on just about every other kind of sandwich. A common slang term for a sandwich in Britain is a “butty” for this reason - bacon butty, egg butty, etc. I don’t personally like mint sauce with lamb, but I don’t think it’s normally sweet. Think my grandma used to make it with fresh mint and vinegar. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774.md?page=12)