Alice Rawsthorn describes the form and function of the glass Heinz ketchup bottle and why it's so popular despite not being effective as a dispenser. For bottle variations, see this slideshow.... More

I just had a déjà vu. In second grade, the girl next to me at the lunch table started laughing. She laughed so hard that cherry-red Jell-O came shooting out of her nose. I thought I was going to barf What spurred this nostalgic trip down memory lane? None other than the two bad boys of condiments: Ketchup Charlie and Mustard Marvin. Charlie shoots ketchup out of his nose, like either a sweet, syrupy nose bleed, or like a little girl’s lunch Jell-O, depending on your point of view and personal history. Mustard Marvin hurls yellow mustard from his wide open mouth—spewing out what I tried to keep down. You see how the condiment twins brought me full circle. Just... More

From the guys who brought you Bacon Salt, there's now Baconnaise, a vegetarian and kosher bacon-flavored spread. It comes in Regular and Lite. Buy some today, and slather it on everything! Hell, eat it straight if you want. Seattlites will get the chance to trade in their jars of mayonnaise for Baconnaise this Thursday, October 30, at Baconnaise's Mayonnaise Wrestling Match, during which participants will wrestle in a ring filled with 200 gallons of mayonnaise. Related For the Best in Bacon News, Visit Bacon Today David Lebovitz's Candied Bacon Ice Cream I've Seen the Future, and It Tastes Like Bacon... More

So this is what condiments look like during infancy. Aw. Tina Wong (aka The Wandering Eater) came across these baby condiment jars while eating at The Little Owl in New York City. Related Photo of the Day: Solid Cocktails The Wandering Eater at Momofuku Ko Photo of the Day: Cheddar and Bacon Chive Scone... More

It's tough to explain my mayo hatred. I like eggs, lemon juice, salt and vinegar individually. I even love dijon, another key player in the pale-yellow creamy amalgam. But all together as one happy family? Ick. I'm a "hold the mayo" kinda girl, but Nicole's photos over at Pinch My Salt make a pretty good case for the homemade version. She and Orangette, who wrote her Bon Appétit column this month on the ever-baffling condiment, have been all about whisking eggs to create their own Best Foods alternative. (Still skeptical on this end.) Erin Zimmer is a new media analyst who frequently writes for Washingtonian, DCist, and other D.C. publications.... More

For those who find standard Heinz ketchup too lowly for their sophisticated palates, try Heinz's Special Blend gourmet ketchup, a new product released in the UK. Ingredients include a dozen tomatoes, spices, sea salt, Demerara sugar, cayenne pepper and lemon juice.... More

The Condiment Packet Gallery is the result of Chris Harne's attempt to collect every type of condiment packet design imaginable. If you want to help him out, send him a packet that doesn't already exist in his 700+ packet collection and he'll give you a free Condiment Gallery pin! [via Coudal Partners]... More

I've been cheating on Signore Nutella. If Nutella is like a familiar pair of comfy jeans, then lately I've been trying on evening gowns, taking it up a notch or two on the gianduja scale with crema di gianduja from some of Italy's finest confectioners. Last week, I popped over to the gastronomic emporium Volpetti in the Testaccio section of Rome on a sworn mission to just browse (the rent is due soon). Willpower dissolved when I spotted a jar of Giacometta, the crema di gianduja by Piemontese chocolate producer Giraudi. The little card attached proclaimed the percentage of Piemontese hazelnuts at a respectable 32 percent. Sold. Rent, be damned!... More

Photograph from kochtopf on Flickr The Super Bowl only comes around once a year, and you've otherwise been doing really well sticking to your New Year's resolution to eat healthier, so why not go a little crazy and make a killer blue cheese dip for your Super Bowl party? The key, of course, is choosing the right blue cheese. Zoe, the affable affineur at New York's Murray's Cheese, helped me narrow down the selection to a few great contenders. I tested three very different blues with the same base, and it may be surprising but your choice of cheese really does matter.... More

Or, 'Still on a Sour Plum Streak' The Grocery Ninja leaves no aisle unexplored, no jar unopened, no produce untasted. Creep along with her below, and read her past market missions here. You know how most of us have culinary habits that we cleave to? Like my mom would disown me if I ever battered and fried really, really fresh fish—because it would be a "waste." The Chinese, you see, believe fish is best served steamed, a gentle cooking technique that is most unforgiving of mediocrity, with only the most impeccable specimens doing well. There's no hiding in steaming. It's like donning a spandex catsuit; flaws you never imagined break into a song and dance routine. So I tend to... More