5 mustards - Chinese hot, coney island style with tomato bits, regular yellow, honey and my homemade cranberry. We are actually a little shy on the mustards, I usually have dijon and coarse brown as well!
4 jams - raspberry, apricot, apple butter, strawberry
both mayonnaise and Miracle Whip ( low fat on the mayo, full fat on the MW) Although I am a Mayonnaise kind of gal, there is a place for MW in my kitchen. Beside my Honey is a Miracle Whip kind of guy!
2 salsas - hot red and milder green
6 pickles/olives/peppers - standard dill, sweet slices, okra, kalamata olives, green with pimento, sliced pepperincini, sliced sweet yellow peppers
2 relish - sweet and dill
Of course there is addition assorted other stuff in there also, catsup, chili sauce, oil packed dried tomatoes, salad dressings, oyster sauce, black bean garlic sauce, Thai curry paste and I am fairly certain a few other things that I have failed to list.
A refrigerator really cannot have too many condiments because, they keep a long time, they are usually a low cost investment (save salad dressing, my quest is to never purchase again and only use homemade, cause it is really easy) and they can transform a rather plain or even boring meal into something with so much more flavor. For instance......
A ham and swiss cheese sandwich on whole grain bread is good, but a ham and swiss cheese sandwich with sliced sweet yellow peppers and cranberry mustard on whole grain bread is better.
Chicken tenderloins rolled in panko and baked quickly is tasty, but chicken tenderloins dipped in a quick sauce of 1 part mayo or MW and 1 part milk, with a tablespoon of any other thing in your condiment bank stirred in for a fresh flavor, then rolled in panko; are better.
Homemade dinner rolls are always delicious, but homemade rolls that have chopped olives and minced parsley in the dough, are wonderful. Make a mild garlic and mustard compound butter and they are even better.
Variety is the spice of life, and condiments are that spice.
They are also fun to make. We devoured the rhubarb and red grapefruit jam. There are 4 jars on the pantry shelf, and they will be parceled out to last. I will make 2 batches next year.
Next on the list to make, is a rhubarb chutney, then dried apricot and honey preserves.
I have been making homemade cranberry mustard for ages. It is something I make each year and my son gets a jar. He loves it. It is a simple process because I do not start from scratch and make the mustard, I use Grey Poupon, it is tried and true.
Sunday Cafe Cranberry Mustard
1 c dried cranberries
1/4 c water
1 T honey
1 8 oz jar Grey Poupon mustard
Bring cranberries, water and honey to a simmer. Cover and set aside to cool and hydrate the berries.
Combine the berries and the mustard in a food processor bowl. Process until mustard is smooth and completely spreadable. Scrape into clean leftover jars, attach lids securely. Place in the back of your fridge to age at least a month, longer is better. Keeps forever.
Makes 2 jars, one to keep and one to give!
Enjoy your day!
M
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