Where would your favorite hot dog be without the right toppings? Likely not on your plate. Though condiments are rarely the star of the show, they can make or break a dish. Nowadays, the concept of homemade condiments is fueled by concerns about healthfulness and dietary restrictions — Are there preservatives? Is there gluten? — but traditionally, condiments provided vital roles in many diets.

An Okinawan pork fat-miso condiment called andasu, for instance, provided a small bit of protein to the diets of those who couldn’t afford meat.

"My grandfather grew up in a poor farming family and told me the story about andasu when I was young," said chef instructor Grant Sato of Kapiolani Community College. "He said that they were so poor growing up that they only ate one musubi with a little swipe of andasu a day. He said that they traded the vegetables they grew for scrap ends of pork fat."

Andasu is made by cooking down the fat with ginger and miso, which was salty enough to prevent the pasty sauce from spoiling, even without refrigeration, for months.

In fact, salt is one element that is fundamental to condiments. The other is acid.

"Condiments call for ingredients with longer, stable shelf lives," said Sato. "Vinegar, wine, citrus, tomato — these are acidic items that serve as usual bases. They’re complementary to lots of foods, too. Condiments are usually sweet, acidic or spicy."

A Laotion and Thai minced-pork chili jam utilizes both salt and acid. It combines cooked ground pork with chili peppers, coriander root, shallots, garlic and other ingredients, including tomatoes (acidic) and shrimp paste (salty). The jam is served as an accompaniment to vegetables and sticky rice, and, like andasu, provides small amounts of protein.

For some diets, however, shelf life is not the point. Raw food enthusiasts, for instance, eat everything fresh, including their condiments, and they like it that way.

"The shelf life of these condiments is not as long as cooked food, but they’re so good that’s not an issue," said Trisha "Mama T" Gonsalves, community outreach team leader of the Down to Earth store chain.

Raw foods are not heated beyond 118 degrees, sustaining the live enzymes within.

Gonsalves said seasoning raw food is no different than for cooked, though healthful ingredients often pinch hit for items that are less so. "For sweetness, we use dates and sundried tomatoes," she said. Store chefs also use agave and honey to replace white sugar.

Sometimes, because items are raw, flavors sustain their intensity longer. Case in point: "Raw garlic is fabulous," Gonsalves said.

Among the lineup of raw condiments whipped up at Down to Earth is a cashew mayonnaise that Gonsalves calls "amazing." It comprises cashews, miso, olive oil, Dijon mustard and honey or agave. The mayo is used in a sweet potato salad recipe chefs teach at store cooking classes.

As with most raw condiments, the mayo will keep in an airtight container for a week in the fridge.

Both experts agree that a food processor is integral to making any type of condiment at home.

In the old days, making dipping sauces was time consuming because of all the chopping, mincing and grinding with mortar and pestle that was required.

"A food processor not only cuts down the time it takes to make a sauce, the fast speed of the blade helps to emulsify oils," said Sato. "This makes for a smoother, creamier sauce, and more importantly, sauces keep longer because products are suspended in oil."

That means they are protected from most bacteria, which die without exposure to oxygen. Only botulism can survive, and that isn’t a concern unless you’re canning food, said Sato.

Nonetheless, the safest way to proceed is to cook and mix small quantities of condiments, store them in an airtight container and refrigerate.

"Make them only in amounts that you can eat within three weeks or a month," said Sato. "Make them fresh and eat them fresh."

Fresh fixings and a food processor make quick work of custom toppings

Raw condiments liven up vegetarian fare, while Asian jams make for fiery dips, pork fat and miso become a rich topping and satay enhances raw and cooked food.

RAW KETCHUP
Courtesy Down to Earth

1 cup tomatoes
8-ounce jar sundried tomatoes in olive oil
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons red onion
1 date, soaked for 20 minutes
1 tablespoon nama shoyu (raw soy sauce)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste

Combine ingredients in food processor. Blend until smooth. Serve immediately or store in refrigerator in airtight container for up to a week. Makes 2 cups.

Approximate nutritional information, per 1 tablespoon serving (not including salt to taste): 30 calories, 2.5 g fat, no saturated fat, cholesterol or protein, 50 mg sodium, 3 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 1 g sugar

CHILI JAM
Chef Grant Sato

16 large, dried red chili peppers
7 bulbs garlic, roasted
3 shallots, roasted
1 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons palm sugar
Pinch salt

Place chili peppers, minus seeds, into food processor and chop until fine.

Squeeze garlic into processor, add shallots and purée.

Heat oil in small pot on medium, add purée and cook 7 to 10 minutes.

Add palm sugar and salt. Once sugar melts, turn off heat. Let cool before storing.

May be stored up to 6 months refrigerated. Makes 3 cups.

Approximate nutritional information, per tablespoon serving (based on 1/8 teaspoon pinch of salt to taste): 50 calories, 4.5 g fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 5 mg sodium, 2 g carbohydrate, no cholesterol, fiber, sugar or protein

ANDASU
(OKINAWAN PORK FAT MISO)
Chef Grant Sato

1 gallon water
1 pound pork belly or pork fat
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 cup white miso

Bring water to boil in large pot. Add pork, reduce heat to low, simmer 1 hour.

Remove pork from pot, reserving liquid. Place pork in food processor or “suribachi” (Japanese mortar and pestle); purée.

Return pork to pot with liquid, add ginger and miso; simmer until liquid has evaporated. Stir well throughout process to prevent scorching. Makes 2 cups.

Store chilled and it will keep for a couple months.

Approximate nutritional information, per 2 tablespoon serving: 180 calories, 25 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 20 mg cholesterol, 550 mg sodium, 6 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 3 g sugar, 6 g protein

PEANUT SAUCE FOR SATAY
Chef Grant Sato

2/3 cup roasted peanuts
2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon kecap manis (dark sweet soy)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons sambal olek
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup coconut cream
Lemon juice, to taste
Salt, to taste

Combine ingredients in a blender or food processor and purée until smooth. Place mixture in medium pot and simmer until thick. Season with lemon juice and salt to taste. Makes 3 cups.

Approximate nutritional information, per 2 tablespoon serving (not including lemon juice or salt to taste): 50 calories, 4 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, no cholesterol, 125 mg sodium, 3 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 1 g sugar, 1 g protein

CASHEW MAYO
Courtesy Down to Earth

1/2 cup cashews, soaked 1 hour
2 tablespoons miso
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey or agave
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup unsweetened soy milk
Salt, to taste

Drain cashews and add to blender with miso, oil, mustard, honey, pepper and soy milk. Blend until very smooth, adding more soy milk as needed. Taste, add salt and more pepper if necessary. Makes 3/4 cup.

Approximate nutritional information, per tablespoon serving (not including salt to taste): 60 calories,
5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, no cholesterol or fiber, 125 mg sodium, 3 g carbohydrate, 1 g sugar, 1 g protein

NAM PRIK ONG 
Chef Grant Sato

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro stems and roots
5 cloves garlic
3 shallots
1/2 teaspoon shrimp paste
15 pieces dried red chilies
8 pieces red grape tomato
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 ounces ground pork
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons finely chopped green onion
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves

Place cilantro roots and stems, garlic cloves, shallots, shrimp paste, red chilies and grape tomato into a food processor and purée until smooth.

Heat medium sauté pan on high and add oil. When oil lightly smokes, add ground pork and quickly sauté until pork is cooked. Add purée and cook about 3 minutes or until most of liquid is evaporated.

Season with fish sauce and fold in green onion and cilantro leaves. Serve warm with fresh vegetable sticks or sticky rice. Makes 1 cup.

Store chilled up to 3 weeks; heat before serving.

Approximate nutritional information, per tablespoon serving: 50 calories, 4 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 10 mg cholesterol, 100 mg sodium, 1 g carbohydrate, no fiber or sugar, 2 g protein

VEGAN RANCH DRESSING
Courtesy Down to Earth

1-1/2 cups Veganiase
1 box Silken brand soft tofu
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup red onion
1/4 cup fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh dill
1 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 lemons, juiced
Salt and pepper, to taste

Blend ingredients in food processor. Serve over salad. Makes 2-1/2 cups.

Approximate nutritional information, per tablespoon serving (not including salt to taste): 60 calories,
6 g fat, 1 g protein, 50 mg sodium, 1 g carbohydrate, no saturated fat, cholesterol, fiber or sugar

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Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S.