They say variety is the spice of life, but I live my life literally, and I get my diverse kicks from actual spices, seasonings, and condiments. This is why various jars and squeeze bottles take up half my fridge, but it’s also why I eat at home almost every night.

Preserved lemons are something special. They somehow manage to bring all five flavours to the table. With only two ingredients — lemon and salt — their primary flavours are (obviously) sour and salty, but after hanging out at room temperature for a while, the citrus mellows, developing a gentle sweetness with just a bit of bitterness and a hint of umami.

But lemons shouldn’t have all the fun; you can achieve very similar results with Buddha’s hand citron.

At least once a year I buy the first crop of supermarket tomatoes that look even vaguely ripe. They are never anything but a total letdown, which means I end up regretting my purchase — and resenting those subpar tomatoes for suckering me in.

It seems that, in an attempt to rebrand mayonnaise, various hip food establishments insist on calling all sorts of creamy condiments “aioli”. I refuse to stand idly by, letting this go unchecked. Aioli is not, as some would have you believe “fancy mayo”. Aioli is its own, very specific thing, and it is amazing.

The success of a meal plan can only be judged by the percentage of it that’s consumed. It may sound obvious, but the execution of a good meal plan requires planning meals you are excited to eat. Picking the right proteins, vegetables and sides is important, but picking the right condiments — I’m talking sauces, marinades and pickled things — is even more so.

I want to know what a burger means to you.

When it comes to burgers, I prefer to keep things simple. A thin, smashed patty; a good melty cheese; maybe a little onion, tomato and pickles. I don’t need fried eggs, avocado or super thick bacon. I am, however, very into the idea of cheese mayonnaise, which frankly streamlines my already simple burger even further.

I want to talk about something I believe to be a scourge of group barbeques - homemade, or otherwise fancy, sauces. Just stop, already. Nobody is impressed.

I am not what one would call a "healthy eater." When my mother attempted to introduce grain bead to the household, teenage Claire simply quit eating bread. Still, my mum's love of health food stores did lead to me discovering three of my favourite kitchen staples which I'm now urging everyone to add to their pantry.

I really like mayonnaise. As someone who has eaten more than her fair share of church suppers, I think it's a condiment that goes beyond the sandwich. Making my own was a real game changer, but duck fat mayo refuses to play the game at all.

All "hot" sauce possess a certain amount of heat, but it can be hard to know exactly how much fire you're going to get before tasting. The below chart from Sriracha2Go, which ranks sauces by Scovilles, can give you a glimmer of what you're getting into.

Hello, and welcome back to What's Cooking?, the open thread where you get to share all of your brilliant thoughts, advice, recipes and opinions on all things food-related. This week I want to talk about how you stock your fridge, with a focus on those foods, beverages and condiments you are never without.

Welcome to this week's edition of Will It Sous Vide?, the weekly column where I usually make whatever you want me to with my immersion circulator. I spent the earlier part of this week working on a super secret and exciting sous vide project, so I decided to try a quick and easy experiment for this week's column, and see if I could whip up a sweet and sour condiment that usually takes several weeks to make.

Like all roasted vegetables, roasted mushrooms are pretty glorious. If you've ever made them, you've most likely noticed a bit of liquid pooling in the pan. This liquid should be drained to encourage browning, but it should not be tossed, as it makes a delicious, savoury condiment.

I love ginger, and use it in every dish I possibly can, both sweet and savoury. I thought I knew all the ginger tricks -- I even make my own sushi ginger -- but there was one preparation that was missing from my life: roasted ginger.

I know some people are perfectly content to munch away on a big ol' stalk of raw broccoli, but I need a little more encouragement in the veggie-eating arena. Luckily, Lucky Peach has compiled a list of twelve flavour-blasted pantry items to add depth, texture, and taste to all of your favourite vegetables.

Mosto cotto is an aged grape syrup with tons of nuanced flavour. This Italian condiment is not only super easy to make -- it requires literally only one ingredient (grapes) -- but most of "work" is just waiting around.

I have long loved IKEA, not just for the LACK units of my college days or the little table I'm sitting at right this moment, but I love them for their food. No trip to the Swedish superstore is complete without a helping of meatballs, but their pre-packed food section is equally worth checking out.