# 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:** 13
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/241 "2012-01-04T08:59:05Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > It makes **me** rage out. “Fosters” is Australian for “dingo piss.” And if you translate it into Kiwi it’s rotten horse piss 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/242 "2012-01-04T09:03:09Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > The Malaysians and Singaporeans have an interesting breakfast spread known as _Kaya_- it’s coconut jam. I’ve found it in Asian Grocery places here but it’s nowhere near as nice as the stuff you get in Kopitiams in those countries. > > Australians have Vegemite and New Zealanders have Marmite as well- they’re both savoury yeast spreads generally applied to toast, and also used on crackers and as a sandwich spread. > > The British have Marmite too, but it’s different to the New Zealand stuff-- albeit with the same application. > > Most of the fish & chip shops I’ve been in have Tomato Sauce, BBQ Sauce, Vinegar, and sometimes Soy Sauce as condiments. You can also get gravy (and sometimes mushy peas, if you’re lucky!) on chips at sandwich bars, and most places that serve wedges usually have sour cream and/or sweet chilli to go with them in my experience. Kaya Rocks 🙂 Best on toast cooked over charcoal 😃 Not sure if this really counts, but the other “condiment” we use a lot is chillipadi - red sliced red chillis in a bit of soy sauce - great for dipping meat and other stuff into… ---
**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 4, 2012, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/243 "2012-01-04T09:03:10Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > And if you translate it into Kiwi it’s rotten horse piss 😃 And the further irony is that it’s a surprisignly difficult beer to find in Australia- I can’t remember the last time I was in a pub which had the stuff on-tap, for example. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/244 "2012-01-04T09:09:13Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I thought Roti Paratha (sometimes called Prata) was Indian cuisine originally? > > It’s huge in Malaysia/Singapore where they do some really interesting stuff with it, but since pretty much everywhere that was once part of the British Empire has an Indian community I’d assume there’s localised variants (Like the Trinidadian one you described) everywhere. Dude - you and I really need to get together sometime. yep - Prata Rocks - my personal favourite is onion, Although it does also come as egg, kosong (plain) or egg and onion, cheese and many other variants. It’s always served with a side dish of curry for dipping and goes best with Teh Tarik (literal translation is pulled tea) - which is ginger tea… And closely related is murtabaque (I’m sure I’ve screwed the pooch on that spelling) Then to whoever mentioned Chow Chow and Picalilli - both go fantastic with a corned beef sandwich ---
**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 4, 2012, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/245 "2012-01-04T12:08:45Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > Dude - you and I really need to get together sometime. > > yep - Prata Rocks - my personal favourite is onion, > > Although it does also come as egg, kosong (plain) or egg and onion, cheese and many other variants. > > It’s always served with a side dish of curry for dipping and goes best with Teh Tarik (literal translation is pulled tea) - which is ginger tea… > > And closely related is murtabaque (I’m sure I’ve screwed the pooch on that spelling) Next time I’m in your part of the world I’m sure we can find a Kopitiam, eat Prata, and drink White Coffee while wondering why people who live in the tropics like hot food and drinks. 😛 The amazing thing is that I haven’t found many Indian places here that do Prata with egg and onion and cheese etc. The closest I’ve generally found are Naan breads, which aren’t quite the same thing, no matter how much delicious curry sauce you dip them in… ---
**Author:** ![Aeris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Aeris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeris)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/246 "2012-01-10T15:21:16Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I’m from the midwest and butter is definitely on my list of bread toppings, especially for cold cut sort of deals. I am from Pennsylvania and I have never ever heard of this. No offense but that seems foul to me. Do you still put lettuce and tomato on the sandwich? So I guess it’s not just condiments from _other_ countries… ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/247 "2012-01-10T16:31:18Z")
> [@Aeris](#): > > I am from Pennsylvania and I have never ever heard of this. No offense but that seems foul to me. Do you still put lettuce and tomato on the sandwich? > > So I guess it’s not just condiments from _other_ countries… It was the same in my household in Chicago, but that’s from the Polish influence. I never realized the idea of butter on a sandwich was seen as so weird by the majority of Americans. That said, we did use the butter on European-style rye bread, which is heartier and can take a spread of even cold butter without tearing up like Wonder-type breads. ---
**Author:** ![nikonikosuru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@nikonikosuru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nikonikosuru)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/248 "2012-01-10T17:11:53Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > You haven’t lived till you’ve eaten peanut butter, strawberry jam, bananas and green onion chips between two slices of bread - no butter required 😃 That sounds pretty good right about now. 😃 What are green onion chips, though? My ex and I always had this insane plan to cook the monster of all sweet peanut butter sandwiches…Marshamallow fluff, peanut butter, nutella, bananas, pretty much anything that could sound good, and fry it a la grilled cheese style. We never got around to making our behemoth, sadly. I think my arteries are grateful for that, though. 🙂 ---
**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 10, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/249 "2012-01-10T17:23:21Z")
I suspect that this is meant to be a reference to sour-cream-and-green-onion flavored potato chips ---
**Author:** ![nikonikosuru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@nikonikosuru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nikonikosuru)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/250 "2012-01-10T21:23:16Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I suspect that this is meant to be a reference to sour-cream-and-green-onion flavored potato chips That’s what I thought/was hoping. There’s a brand of chips made in Detroit (Better Made) and their chips are always a mixture of normal color, overcooked brown, and raw green and needless to say they are pretty disgusting so I was hoping he wasn’t talking about those! ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/251 "2012-01-11T01:04:57Z")
> [@Aeris](#): > > I am from Pennsylvania and I have never ever heard of this. No offense but that seems foul to me. Do you still put lettuce and tomato on the sandwich? > > So I guess it’s not just condiments from _other_ countries… That seems like an odd question to me - did you think it was going to be a butter sandwich? Is American butter really strong-tasting or something? Some of the reactions in this thread seem to be about something completely different to English butter. It wouldn’t be ‘foul’ because you’d barely taste it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/252 "2012-01-11T01:40:48Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > That seems like an odd question to me - did you think it was going to be a butter sandwich? > > Is American butter really strong-tasting or something? Some of the reactions in this thread seem to be about something completely different to English butter. It wouldn’t be ‘foul’ because you’d barely taste it. No, American butter is particularly mild (not cultured or anything like that.) ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/253 "2012-01-11T02:31:20Z")
> [@nikonikosuru](#): > > That sounds pretty good right about now. 😃 What are green onion chips, though? > > My ex and I always had this insane plan to cook the monster of all sweet peanut butter sandwiches…Marshamallow fluff, peanut butter, nutella, bananas, pretty much anything that could sound good, and fry it a la grilled cheese style. We never got around to making our behemoth, sadly. I think my arteries are grateful for that, though. 🙂 It’s a flavour of potatoe crisp offered by bluebird - another all time favourite is salt n vinegar, and of course the ever faithful bacon 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/254 "2012-01-11T02:33:03Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Next time I’m in your part of the world I’m sure we can find a Kopitiam, eat Prata, and drink White Coffee while wondering why people who live in the tropics like hot food and drinks. 😛 > > The amazing thing is that I haven’t found many Indian places here that do Prata with egg and onion and cheese etc. The closest I’ve generally found are Naan breads, which aren’t quite the same thing, no matter how much delicious curry sauce you dip them in… I don’t take coffee myself, but you gotta have the ever faithful “joy juice”:p… ---
**Author:** ![Lusus\_Naturae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Lusus\_Naturae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lusus_Naturae)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/255 "2012-01-13T12:17:04Z")
1. Butter on things is good. You’re free to not like it or think it odd or offputting, but damnit you put butter on my ham sammich or I’m going to get cranky. 2. Peanut butter! America, my homeland, has mass market crap, and decent small local brands. Eat that up, minus the cow butter, with a nice blackberry jam on toast. Nummers. 3. Based purely on this thread, I did something. I _remembered_ something. A While Back, I had purchased a jar of Marmite with the intent of seeing what it tasted like. I was curious, I had various Australian friends at the time that said it was God’s Gift to Toast, I had the extra bucks in my wallet. Bought it. And then forgot about it. My brain don’t always work so hot, so although over time I remembered I have a jar of Marmite, and I knew it was in the pantry, I kinda lost track of WHEN I had bought it. So, naturally, a thread about condiments with a sub-thread about Marmite someplace made me think of it. So I went to the pantry. “Surely,” I thought, “If it were old or disgusting I’d have thrown it out long ago.” And sure enough, there was the funny little pot-shaped jar. With the plastic seal still intact! It’ll be fine! So I set back down, remerbering how my mates said it was to be spread thinly on toast. Didn’t have toast handy, but I heeded the word of small amounts as I cracked the seal. Gave it a sniff. Reasonably inoffensive, smelled vaguely of yeast, nothing growing on it, no tentacles reaching out… Fine. Took a toothpick for a small taste. Inital observations were that it was… Okay. Not horrible. Kinda salty, kinda yeasty… A slightly larger sample made me think of shiitake mushrooms and yeast, which is an aftertaste that has lasted for about 30 minutes. Then I looked at the “Best By” date, and assessed this particular jar to be about 10 years old. So I guess my questions are: Does this stuff ever go like BAD bad? And would a newer jar give me anything more…enticing to try it again beyond a persistant mushroomy flavor? It’s not horribly disgusting like many of my North American friends have claimed, so I’d kinda like to use it, but maybe not this particular one… I suppose I can see uses for it in small amounts for things that need a little umame flavor… ---
**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 13, 2012, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/256 "2012-01-13T12:41:00Z")
A newer jar might spread more smoothly, but I don’t think the flavor is significantly different. ---
**Author:** ![nd\_n8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/439d5e/32.png) [@nd\_n8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nd_n8)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/257 "2012-01-13T18:19:26Z")
This thread reminded me of two British food “Adventures”: Marmite and Mushy Peas Marmite I found to be very tasty, especially as a pretzle dip (which is, admittedly, an ungodly salty combination). I have also noted that Pretzle Flips crackers fit quite nicely in the small, pot shaped jar. A nice snack in front of the TV. Mushy Peas I can’t speak as well about. I’ve tried them by themselves and as a condiment with “Chips”. Wasn’t too fond of either, until… After tasting the Mushy Peas I thought it might be an improvement with a bit of soy sauce (a nice Kikkoman’s, not a cheap one) and it was a whole world better. Not something I would seek out but, if I’m ever served a vile green pea-like spread with fish and fries, I’m sure a couple drops of soy sauce will get me through it. It’s probably wrong to use a condiment to enhance the flavor of a condiment isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/258 "2012-01-13T19:23:01Z")
> [@nd\_n8](#): > > It’s probably wrong to use a condiment to enhance the flavor of a condiment isn’t it? Mushy peas are more of a side dish than a condiment, so sauce them up all you like. Malt vinegar’s more traditional, though but. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/259 "2012-01-14T00:20:10Z")
American butter isn’t different from European butter. American peanut butter isn’t significantly different from European peanut butter. What **is** different is what we are raised to think of as yummy, and what we are accustomed to eating. To wit, sandwiches composed of bread, meat, cheese, etc. To most Americans, the idea of cold butter on this sounds weird, and mayonnaise sounds good. Why? Not because our mayo is different or our butter is different, but because that is what we are used to. Ditto with peanut butter and jam (which is just called butter cause it spreads like butter, just like apple butter, etc). Having eaten quite a bit in the US, England, and Germany, it cracks me up that people are trying to look at differences in the food, not the people who eat the food. ---
**Author:** ![Aeris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Aeris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeris)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-condiments-do-other-cultures-and-nations-use-that-may-seem-odd-to-north-americans/606774/260 "2012-01-14T17:24:33Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > That seems like an odd question to me - did you think it was going to be a butter sandwich? > > Is American butter really strong-tasting or something? Some of the reactions in this thread seem to be about something completely different to English butter. It wouldn’t be ‘foul’ because you’d barely taste it. Well the combination of butter and lettuce does not sound appealing to me. Neither does butter and tomato. If you can hardly taste it on the sandwich then why do you put it on there? [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=12) [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=14)