Everyone Has a Condiment

I have too much air in my head to fill with thoughts no one asked for.

Have you ever noticed the cross-over of similar foods regardless of cultural differences? In Oklahoma, it’s more than common to order a side of ranch for your salad, chicken wings, pizza…it’s practically a religion…and if it’s not ranch, it’s blue cheese.

Visiting Mexico proved my assumption: everywhere you go, you’re given salsa and asked if you’d like avocado as a side. They’re food staples in pantries and at restaurants. It wouldn’t be the same without them.

Another culture I love learning about: It’s not Korean if there’s no kimchi. One creator on TikTok has made a slew of videos simply highlighting her Korean parents trying international cuisine. Guess what they always stack on top? They love it, we love watching it, and everyone starts eating kimchi with their BBQ.

Dressing, pickling, sauce, whatever. Everywhere has a condiment.

Where’s the ranch? It’s on the pizza. Chipotle ranch drizzled “white” pizza at Cane Rosso’s (Ft. Worth, TX).

“Condiments have been used for thousands of years to enhance the flavor of food and preserve it.” —that’s google AI for you.

Synchronicity. Origin story. A common problem with a shared solution, revolutionized through the ages of advancement. Mexico to Korea to the US’s Midwest. It’s not so hard to understand food.

Maybe I’m lame for posting a whole SubStack about condiments, but food is more than a means to survive (even for the people who only eat to live). Food is a matter of cultural genius, creativity, innovation, problem-solving, and communication all-in-one. There’s not many ways you can make it one-dimensional.

Salsa to my ranch, they’re more alike than they taste.