Food is, undoubtedly, one of the world’s greatest pleasures. But what is even more pleasurable is the added tastes that make your taste buds go ohhh! There were so many wonderful days when a chef decided to experiment with different ingredients and flavours, producing some of the most delightful dipping sauces that our world knows today.
We all owe a great thanks to the many chefs, known and unknown ones among them, that have given our world the condiments ideas that made food play a great role in providing comfort and joy. While this is not an invitation to mindlessly stuff your mouth with dense food, it is still a great encouragement to embellish your meals with the necessary dipping sauces.
It is like there is a worldwide silent agreement that there isn’t the best sauce among all of the most popular sauces everywhere. The thing is, people can hardly agree on the best dipping sauce, given the many ones that are equally appetising and delicious. Thus, we decided to gather for you the world’s best dipping saucesd along with their recipes to try out.
Ranch sauce is one of the many yummy dipping sauces that have been agreed upon over its tastefulness. The creaminess of this sauce is just one that you cannot resist. It adds a succulent taste to both crunchy and soft meals as well. The best part is that it can go with a lot of foods, including pizza, chicken, or even crunchy veggie sticks.
Making this sauce in the comfort of your own place is quite easy and doable. Most, if not all, of the ingredients used to create this heavenly creaminess, are found in every household. The needed ingredients are sour cream, buttermilk, and mayonnaise (optional) for a buttery texture. This thick paste is then seasoned with parsley, thyme, onion, garlic, and dill, along with a generous dash of black pepper powder.
There is a funny story about how this dressing perfection has got its name. This sauce was first created in 1949 by Steve Henson. Henson left his plumbing job to become a cowboy and resided in California, where he purchased a ranch, Hidden Valley Ranch. He created this dip by trying to reach the perfect buttermilk dressing, turning it into this paradisal sauce. It became a daily staple on the ranch that was eaten almost every day, hence the name.
Gravy sauce is another dip that goes on top of the list of the most beloved dipping sauces in the world, especially in the United States. It has that thick texture that softens everything it touches and adds a seraphic taste to every hearty meal. Interestingly, you can never have enough gravy sauce. It goes best with steak, mashed potatoes, chicken, and turkey.
This sauce is often made from the juices of different food types. It could be anything from the juices of meat, vegetables, chicken broth, or even fish. These juices are then combined with milk or wine to make the sauce thicker. Cold water is added and blended with the liquids and all the ingredients are left to cook until they turn brown and get to the desired texture. Add pepper and salt for seasoning and extra flavoursome.
Although it is one of today’s most famous dipping sauces, it actually goes way back to the 19th century. It is believed that this sauce is straight from French cuisine, as it derives from the French word “gravé,” Gravé is a term used to describe the natural juices that come out of cooking and are used to roast all kinds of meats.
If you love adding a little kick to your meals, sriracha sauce is the one for you. Many people happen to have a thing for tangy flavours. Luckily, no rule says sriracha doesn’t go well with specific foods. If anything, it actually pairs fantastically with almost everything. Given it is one of the hot dipping sauces, sriracha is usually mixed with mayonnaise to add some creaminess and cool it down a bit. However, it is ranked among the low-medium spicy sauces after all.
Sriracha is mainly made out of chilies, which mainly adds a hot taste. You can easily make it at home by using fresh red peppers. You puree them into a thick paste and mix the paste with garlic powder, salt, vinegar, and sugar. Pour the mixture into a jar and leave it in the refrigerator for some time.
Many people assume the sriracha is of Mexican origin, for its spiciness and the use of red jalapeños. However, sriracha is an Asian dipping sauce, that originated in the Thai lands on an island known as Si Racha. Asians are among the populations that enjoy spicing up their food.
At some point in the history of the culinary world, BBQ sauce has taken the scene by storm. It is quite sweet with a smooth texture that sweetens up everything it touches. And, that is not even the best part. The best part is its versatility; you can easily use it to coat all sorts of meat, be it ribs, grilled chicken, steak, pork, or even chicken nuggets.
Barbecue sauce can greatly vary in taste from one manufacturer to another. However, they all agree on its sweetness and the smokey feel to it. It is also one of the easiest dipping sauces to make at home, given the availability of the ingredients used for it. While the ingredients may actually vary, some remain staple and give the sauce its unique taste.
So, if you are looking for a simple recipe to make your own barbecue sauce, here we go. You are going to need to use a base, made out of tomato paste, vinegar, and mayonnaise (optional). Those three ingredients are to be mixed with onion powder, liquid smoke, mustard, and a pinch of flavoursome spices, like black pepper. Sugar or molasses are also essential in sweetening it up.
Hot dipping sauces usually have a very light texture and dribble all over your food. Not that it is a bad thing, not at all, but sometimes the creamy texture takes your food taste to a whole different level. This is where the buffalo sauce comes in handy; it is creamy, hot, and has just the perfect taste that flavours up anything it comes in contact with.
The ingredients you are going to need to create buffalo sauce are as follows: white vinegar, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, salt, and, definitely, the hot pepper sauce, which is the main ingredient. You put all of these spices in a bowl with butter, which is responsible for thickening the texture of the mixture and making it super creamy.
Well, apparently, there are no shreds of buffalo in the ingredients that make up this sauce, but the naming goes back to the place where the sauce was first invented. Thanks to Teressa Bellissimo, this secret sauce was revealed to the world since she was using it in her restaurant Anchor Bar. The restaurant was located in Buffalo, New York, and it was named after the location.
Guacamole is the classic dip that pairs perfectly well with chips and cheesy nachos. It is a crowd pleaser that fits every mood. Want to party and invite your friends over? Prepare guacamole. Would love to chill and Netflix on your own with your pet? Guacamole is there for you. The best thing is that it is one of the dipping sauces that go with more than just chips. All kinds of crunches are welcome to dip into guacamole, whether cucumbers, toast, fries, or veggie sticks.
Guacamole is a Mexican staple that tastes like freshness and breeziness. If avocados are your thing, guacamole is going to be the heart of the fiesta of your every snack. To prepare guacamole, you need nothing more than ripe avocados, jalapeño, lime, onion, cilantro, salt, and garlic. You can also add tomatoes to thicken the texture and add some more sweetness.
Guacamole came into being during the 1500s during the Aztec Empire. Avocados were a staple fruit in Central America and existed in great abundance. They mashed their raw ripe avocados and mixed them with other ingredients and spices to spruce up the flavour. Interestingly, it turns out to be so good and travelled beyond Mexico and Central America.
The Hispanic communities have a powerful talent in creating their dipping sauces and offering the world amazing flavours that complement our daily meals. Chimichurri is another dip that came from Latin America, from Argentina and Uruguay specifically. The sauce comes in colours, either green or red, depending on the ingredient that takes over.
This sauce is made up of minced garlic, olive oil, red pepper, finely chopped parsley, oregano, and red wine vinegar. The addition of several fresh ingredients makes its flavour herbaceous. It also has a hint of spiciness given the existence of red pepper flakes. After all, Latin dipping sauces don’t count if they don’t have that tanginess and a hot flavour.
While chimichurri is a staple in Argentinian cuisine, its inventor was actually Irish. Jimmy McCurry was among the indigenous troops that travelled from Ireland to fight for the independence of Argentina back in the 19th century. He took the condiment to Argentina, where it became a daily staple and was used as a salad dressing.
Honey mustard is one of the heavenly dipping sauces that take your food to wonderful places. It has this fascinating mix of sweet and tangy tastes. Not to mention that it is creamy texture makes the food just melt in your mouth. Honey mustard is a great addition to all kinds of sandwiches or wraps. It also goes well with protein pieces, whether chicken, beef, or even fish.
The interesting thing about this sauce is how easy you can make it. No fancy ingredients here just the main one, honey and mustard, and mix them with vinegar, mayonnaise, and a few spices like pepper and salt. You can have this dip ready in a snap and leave it in your fridge to use at any given time.
It is said that honey mustard is one of the dipping sauces that has been around since ancient times. There are also claims regarding some recipes found in Roman writings that include this sweet dip in it. Although many people believe it was only around starting from the 70s and 80s. Yet, mustard remained unpopular in many places in the world for quite some time.
Tahini is among the well-known Middle Eastern dipping sauces that have an irresistibly bitter taste, yet add an appetising flavour to the food. In case you don’t know this already, tahini is made from sesame seeds that have been ground until they became that thick paste that we know. It has wide popularity in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and other countries in the Arab World.
In order to prepare tahini by yourself, you will need to grab some sesame seeds and make them seem like light peanut butter. You grind the seeds until they have that thick paste texture then add some olive oil, salt, lime juice, and a couple of garlic cloves. Now your nutty sauce is ready to have your favourite snacks dipped into it to enjoy this Middle Eastern delicacy.
The savoury sesame seeds grow in a lot of different places around the world. Some also claim it was originally invented in India at some point in pre-history times. However, it is more popular and common among the Arab communities than in any other place in the world. The word “tahini” or “tahina” is even an Arabic word that means grind, referring to the process of creating this dip.
Japan wins the dipping sauces scene with its exceptional teriyaki sauce that is used to flavour up every meal. This sauce has a mix of salty and sweet tastes, making it quite versatile to use in more than a few ways. Teriyaki is a bit of a sticky sauce that is used to marinate lots of Japanese food and somehow travelled beyond the Asian lands to accentuate the tastes of other cuisines.
Teriyaki sauce is based on soy sauce, ginger, and garlic powder. They are tossed in a saucepan together with brown sugar, honey, and a cup of water and left to cook over medium heat. A mixture of cold water and cornstarch is then added to the saucepan, allowing the sauce to get a thicker texture and be creamier.
Teriyaki sauce came to the light strongly on the Hawaiian islands. It is said that the Japanese immigrants who got into the States in the 60s were to thank for bringing their own culture and tradition to America. Japanese chefs used to add teriyaki to their grilled meats to glaze them with an additional flavour that makes the food irresistible.
The culinary world may have too much to offer when it comes to food, but we still cannot deny the impact of adding flavourful dipping sauces to meals. So, share with us which of the sauces on the list you like to use to complement your dish’s taste.
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