Condiment of the Week - Cocktail Sauce

Cocktail sauce, originally known as Marie Rose sauce, is one of several types of cold or room

Two shrimp cocktails with cocktail sauce

temperature sauces often served as part of the dish(es) referred to as seafood cocktail or as a condiment with other seafood. The sauce, and the dish for which it is named, were invented by British cook Fanny Cradock.










Prawn cocktail, the dish where cocktail sauce originates, was originally served with shrimp hanging around the edge of a cocktail glass. This is the origin of the name.




In America it generally consists of, at a minimum, ketchup or chili sauce mixed with prepared horseradish. Lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce are common additives, often all three. Some restaurants use chili sauce, a spicier tomato-based sauce in place of the ketchup.



The common form of cocktail sauce in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Iceland, France, Belgium and The Netherlands, usually consists of mayonnaise mixed with a tomato sauce to the same pink color as prawns, producing a result that could be compared to fry sauce. It is so similar to Thousand Island dressing that it is commonly referred to by that name[dubious – discuss]. In Belgium, a dash of whisky is often added to the sauce. It is popularly served with steamed shrimp and seafood on the half shell.

In Australia, it is often provided in fish and chip shops.




In most American oyster bars, cocktail sauce is the standard accompaniment for raw oysters and

A shrimp cocktail served with cocktail sauce

patrons at an oyster bar expect to be able to mix their own. The standard ingredients (in roughly decreasing proportion) are ketchup, horseradish, hot sauce (Tabasco, Louisiana, or Crystal), Worcestershire sauce, and lemon juice. A soufflé cup is usually set in the middle of the platter of oysters along with a cocktail fork and a lemon slice. Often, the bottles of ketchup and other sauces are grouped together in stations every couple of feet along the counter, but in some oyster bars, patrons are served with their own ingredients.

Condiment of the Week - Chili Sauce

Chili sauce is a condiment prepared with chili peppers and red tomato as primary ingredients. Chili

Chili sauce

sauce may be hot, sweet or a combination thereof, and may differ from hot sauce in that many sweet or mild varieties exist, which is typically lacking in hot sauces. Several varieties of chili sauce include sugar in their preparation, such as sweet chili sauce and Thai sweet chili sauce, which adds sweetness to their flavor profile. Chili sauce may have a thicker texture and viscosity when compared to that of hot sauces.

Chili sauce can be used as a dipping sauce, cooking glaze and marinade. Sweet chili sauce is used in Thai cuisine, and is also sometimes used in the preparation of sushi.

Many commercial varieties of mass-produced chili sauce exist.




Ingredients typically include puréed or chopped chili peppers, vinegar, sugar and salt that are cooked, which thickens the mixture. Additional ingredients may include, water, garlic, other foodstuffs, corn syrup, spices and seasonings. Some varieties use ripe red puréed tomato as the primary ingredient.



Many commercial varieties of mass-produced chili sauce exist. Some commercially produced chili

Fritters served with chili sauce in a ramekin

sauces are canned, with red tomato that is processed into a pulp used as the primary ingredient. The H. J. Heinz Company is one major producer of chili sauces. In the United States, commercially produced chili sauces are assigned various grades per their quality. These grades include U.S. Grade A (also known as U.S. Fancy), U.S. Grade C (also known as U.S. Standard) and Substandard. Criteria in food grading for chili sauces in the U.S. includes coloration, consistency, character, absence of defects and flavor.

Sriracha sauce, a type of hot chili sauce manufactured by Huy Fong Foods, has become increasingly popular in the United States in contemporary times.

Sriracha sauce is a type of hot sauce or chili sauce made from a paste of chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt. It is named after the coastal city of Si Racha, in the Chonburi Province of Eastern Thailand, where it was possibly first produced for dishes served at local seafood restaurants.

A type of chili sauce is Thai sweet chili sauce, which is used as a dipping sauce, a marinade, and for cooking, such as in stir fried dishes. The company Mae Ploy is a major manufacturer of Thai sweet chili sauce. Most major supermarket chain stores in North America carry Thai sweet chili sauce.

Some versions of Nam phrik, a range of chili-based, hot sauces typical of Thai cuisine, are sweetened with sugar.