Top 5 Affordable French Gourmet Condiments

In spirit of our huge in-store Condiments Summer Promotion — 15% off all Pantry items! — here are our top ten favourite summertime gourmet condiments. You can BBQ with these or eat them with junk food; it doesn't matter! These condiments taste great whether you're putting them on potato chips or ciabatta bread.

1. Bénédicta Sauces

Bénédicta is a very popular condiments company from France that appeals to anyone familiar with the word "gourmand". Gourmand, broadly defined as a love of eating, is a philosophy Bénédicta embraces... in moderation, of course. As do we. We carry four different Bénédicta sauces for you gourmands out there:

-Aioli (salads, finger foods, breads)
-Béarnaise (steak, grilled meats)
-Bourguignonne (steak, mushrooms, escargot)
-Tartare (salmon, seafood)

2. Tapenade

A famous purée dish of olives, French capers, and olive oil, you'll find residents of almost every Northern and Southern European country snacking on this tasty dip. But tapenade isn't just olives. Many other variations exist, and we've got five varieties (including classic black olive tapenade):

-Black Olive Tapenade
-Green Olive Tapenade
-Kalamata Olive & Fig Tapenade
-Kalamata Olive & Lemon Tapenade
-Green Olive & Almond Tapenade

Tapenade is the ultimate comfort food, despite its fancy name. It's very healthy, too, thanks to its whole ingredients and generous helpings of olive oil. If you love dip but want to cut down on sugar and calories, choose tapenade! Tapenade and celery go great together.

3. Compote

Compote is a sweet condiment from France, most often served with gourmet cheeses. It's created by cooking chunks of softened fruit in water or syrup, with herbs and spices added to the mix. Together, these ingredients produce a rich, thick, and naturally sweet syrup you can add to cakes, cheeses, breads, or eat plain. Think of compote as the upgraded version of jam. Serve with whipped cream for a gourmet dessert! Four types of compote for you to try:

-Blood Orange & Port Compote
-Fig, Brandy & Vanilla Compote
-Cranberry, Port & Pecan Compote
-Tart Cherry & Almond Compote

While these compotes are meant to be eaten with cheeses, they'll still taste great on other foods. We recommend cherry and almond compote on a stack of freshly-made pancakes, with a dollop of whipped cream on top. Yuuuummm.

4. Truffles

Not to be confused with chocolate truffles. Truffle, the most gourmet ingredient of them all! The famous and extravagantly priced fungus (fungus!) is found in the wild using dogs and... hogs! Yes, pigs are trained to hunt for truffles. The humble truffle itself has an earthy taste to it. Today, creating truffle-flavoured condiments is easier than ever. Check out our selection!

-White Truffle Oil
-Black Truffle Olive Oil (Mussini)
-White Truffle Olive Oil (Mussini)
-Truffle Cream
-Truffle Mashed Potato Seasoning
-White Truffle Mustard
-White Truffle Honey

So much truffle, so little time. Dress salads, spaghetti, pastas, pizza, and Italian foods with the oils. The truffle cream is for your charcuterie board — if that's not your thing, then eat it with potato chips or finger foods! Truffle mustard adds gourmet to hot dogs and kebabs, while truffle honey is a wholesome ingredient for a wholesome pancake.

5. Balsamic Vinegar

 Ever heard of the balsamic reduction? This method involves heating balsamic vinegar to its boiling point and then simmering it until it thickens. The final result is a unique, sweet taste. The reduction is often applied to salads, like Caprese. But you can create gourmet French fries, burgers, sandwiches, hot dogs & more out of a balsamic glaze. We carry two types of balsamic vinegar:

-Black Mission Fig Balsamic Vinegar
-Maple Balsamic Vinegar

Experiment. Create new dishes out of these condiments and show the world that North American foods go with European condiments! Share your ideas with us on Twitter and Facebook!

We look forward to feeding you,

French Lunch

Condiments for the Cottage

If you take a look at French Lunch's pantry drop-down menu, you'll discover a number of European snacks and condiments — everything from ketchup to black truffle oil and Béarnaise.

Many of these condiments are perfect for a trip to the cottage. They pair excellently with European foods like crêpes julienne and quiche. Or try them with any appetizer available at our store. But you can eat them with other types of foods too, whether as pizza dip or burger sauce. Here are our favourites!

            Aïoli. A Mediterranean garlic, salt and olive oil sauce beloved by many Catalans and Provençals, it tastes great with raw veggies. We include a helping of aioli with all of our lunch starters, and suggest you do the same for your cottage trip! Instead of dipping spoonfuls of salad into a calorie-laden ranch dressing filled with preservatives, grab a bottle of aioli sauce to go! Made with whole ingredients. Product of France.

            Béarnaise. Béarnaise is a French sauce of clarified butter, egg yolks, and white wine vinegar. European herbs like tarragon, shallots, and chervil are added to increase the sauce’s flavor. When the French buy béarnaise, they buy it for steaks most of the time. So if you’re planning on BBQing at the cottage, you absolutely need to try béarnaise sauce on your next steak! Made with whole ingredients. Product of France.

            Bourguignonne. Don’t let the long name scare you away! Bourguignonne is a perfectly affordable gourmet sauce made with red wine, meat stock, onions, herbs, a sprinkling of pepper, and a hint of butter. Bourguignonne goes well with many dishes. Steaks, escargot, tartiflette, hachis Parmentier… we recommend buying some of our Belgian Nut potatoes together with Bourguignonne sauce to pair with any steak. You’ll love it! Made with whole ingredients. Product of France.

            Tapenade. Tapenade is an extremely popular Provençal spread of puréed ingredients: black olives, Kalamata olives, lemons, capers, or other savoury fruits and vegetables soaked in olive oil. It’s traditionally ground into a paste with a mortar and pestle, and dates back to Roman times. We have five types of tapenade for you to try: green olive, black olive, Kalamata and fig, Kalamata, olives & lemon, and green olive & almond. Tapenade works for… basically anything you can dip into a sauce! Use it as sandwich spread together with roti de porc. Dip crêpes into it. Use it as a steak sauce. Use it as salad dressing. Serve it on crackers. Eat it with cod and other fish. The possibilities are endless!

Whichever sauce you choose, know that every sauce listed here is versatile! They add that extra dimension of flavor to any plain dish. They work for you, rather than you having to shape the dish to fit them. And that’s the beauty of Mediterranean, especially French, cuisine — sauces go well with nearly any meal!

Drop by 187 Cross Avenue for amazing French condiments and more. We have an entire pantry section dedicated to European condiments. Show us your Presto card and get 5% off.

We look forward to feeding you,

French Lunch