Condiment culture

From Chicago Tribune:

Did you know that ketchup, that all-American dunk, was created in Asia, with nary a tomato in sight, at least for a century or two.

These flavor boosters add the taste of home to everyday meals around the world:

Dijon mustard - Made by mixing powdered mustard or mustard seeds with a liquid, often vinegar, water or wine, and adding herbs, spices.

Olive oil

Pickapeppa sauce - Called "Jamaican ketchup," it is aged one year in oak barrels for a taste.

Fish sauce - As ubiquitous in Southeast Asian cooking as salt is in the West. Made from fermented, salted fish, the sauce is intensely briny and smells pungent.

Hot red pepper sauce - Latin hot sauces give heat to all sorts of dishes, from chili stews to tamales.

Harissa - From North Africa, a spicy blend of oil, chilies, garlic, cumin, coriander, caraway and other spices.

Piri-piri sauce - from the small, incendiary bird's eye chilies of Africa. That gives you a clue to the fire in the sauce.

Major Grey's Chutney - Salute Major Grey, whoever he was, for though the sun long ago set on the British Empire, this Raj-era condiment remains popular around the world.

Sriracha sauce - A thickish hot chili sauce from Thailand.

Worcestershire sauce

References:
Jazz up your cooking Condiment crazy Condiment culture. Chicago Tribune, 10/2010.