Dressings, sauces and condiments

Mayonnaise (from the French “mayonnaise” or from the Catalan “mahonesa”)
This is one of the most famous and popular dressings; it is creamy and smooth, generally white or pale yellow, and is eaten cold. It is a stable emulsion of vegetable oil in water, with egg yolk as the emulsifier, flavoured with vinegar or lemon juice; the use of mustard is also allowed. The ingredients are egg yolk, mustard (optional), vinegar, oil and lemon juice. When other ingredients are added, it has various other names. Optional ingredients are, for example, salt, seasonings, spices, herbs, mustard.

Mustard
This is a pasty product with mustard seeds or mustard flour as a characteristic ingredient. Other typical ingredients are vinegar, sour grape juice, grape must, fruit juice, alcoholic beverages or other liquid foods, sugars, salt, herbs, spices and flavourings. It is a condiment obtained from the ground seeds of the mustard plant, native to Asia and a member of the cruciferous family. Mustard is used in cooking and is much loved by consumers. The ingredients in mustard vary from country to country, combined to create different recipes, with a more or less intense flavour depending on the spices used.
In Italy, industrial mustard is made of a mixture of:

- White mustard seeds
- Black mustard seeds
- Vinegar
- Oil
- Salt
- Sugar

Other famous and much appreciated variations are French mustard, especially Dijon mustard which is particularly spicy and flavoursome, and “moutarde à l’ancienne” – well-known and increasingly appreciated in Italy – which is an old-style grainy mustard made in part with whole mustard seeds, giving it a particularly grainy texture and an unmistakable flavour.

Barbecue sauce
This is a widely used condiment that is used to coat meat during barbecuing. The barbecue sauce is brushed onto the meat in order to flavour it during cooking. The sauce can also be paired with French fries or fried chicken.

Tartar sauce
This originally French condiment is a “rich” version of mayonnaise, made of both fresh and hard-boiled eggs whipped with oil and then flavoured with chopped pickled gherkins, capers, parsley, tarragon and often other ingredients such as mustard, olives, raw onion or chives, etc.

Worcester sauce
Worcestershire sauce, or Worcester sauce, is a sweet and sour, slightly spicy English condiment, named after the English county of the same name. It is dark brown and suitable for meats, sauces and soups, and is an indispensable ingredient in some cocktails. The recipe hasn’t changed since its invention in 1835: the sauce is aged in wooden barrels for three years, and the ingredients include onions, garlic, salted anchovies, onion shallots and aromatic herbs. After aging, malt vinegar, tamarind, cloves, red pepper and sugarcane molasses are added.

Ragu
Ragu is a condiment/sauce made from tomatoes and minced or chopped meat that is cooked for many hours. The name derives from the French “ragout”, which in turn derives from “ragouter”, which means “to awaken the appetite”. Originally the term indicated highly-seasoned stewed meat that was then served with other dishes. In Italy it became the traditional sauce for pasta on feast days. Various ingredients are used to make it, varying according to the region. Ingredients that are always present incl