"The mind knows not what the tongue wants." We all take variability and niche markets for granted these days, but back in the 70's and 80's, the American food industry was obsessed with the so-called platonic dish - a perfect and universal way to serve a food. Howard Moskowitz, of prego fame, helped explode the idea in the food industry and beyond. In this TED talk, Malcom Gladwell, tells you all about it and why variability matters a lot. [more inside]
posted by fantodstic on Jun 24, 2011 - 48 comments

You can tell how strongly a man or woman yearns for freedom by counting the condiments in his or her refrigerator. - Tom Nealon's series on the secret history of condiments.
posted by nickrussell on Sep 8, 2010 - 38 comments

Hot Sauce Blog (previously)
posted by Joe Beese on May 7, 2009 - 31 comments

"Gaze upon my packets, ye savory, and despair." -Saucymandias The Condiment Packet Gallery has hundreds of scanned condiment packets. You can view them by type, brand, or country of origin, or just view them all at once. (Via.)
posted by cog_nate on Mar 5, 2008 - 37 comments

The Wingdipper! A "specially designed dipping cup that allows Buffalo Wings to be evenly coated with dressing." Why do chickens hate it? Because "This innovative dipping cup design will only lead to more problems for the entire chicken community. In 2004, the average American consumed over 84 pounds of chicken. Already, Hooters sells 30 million pounds of wings every year! That's a whole lot of chicken." Crumb's right, I'm moving to France.
posted by JPowers on May 25, 2006 - 38 comments

Cub fans willing to eat Bartman's ball to end curse.
posted by tsarfan on Feb 24, 2005 - 19 comments