First annual condiment showcase

Totally off topic, a few condiments most people don’t know about that I’m happy to bring to your attention.

$5 each will buy you a month’s worth of delight. It’s hard to beat.

Here they are with links, but you can find them locally, I hope.

Lao Gan Ma Chili Crisps are numbing and spicy and a simple way to make just about anything taste more zingy than it used to. Tao Huabi, the founder of the company, retired a few years ago, finishing her career as a billionaire–even though she was raised in poverty, without ever going to school.

Al Wadi Pomegranate Molasses has exactly one ingredient, I’ll let you guess what it is. Put it on salad or on ice cream, or rice. Or your finger.

Lime Pickle is a miracle concoction, one that most people who don’t grow up with it will walk on by at the Indian market. I have no idea which brand is the best, they all seem different but equally interesting. How this product could possibly be produced, packaged and brought to your home for so little money is yet another miracle.

Fallot Dijon Mustard is not the mustard that is made by a vast mass marketer. It is the mustard made by someone who truly cares about mustard.

And the last one is the most basic of all. Maldon salt. I don’t know why. I just know it’s way better.

With nothing but these five condiments, I could happily eat beans, kale and rice for the rest of my days.