A dip or dipping sauce is a common condiment for many types of food. Dips are used to add flavor or texture to a food, such as pita bread, dumplings, crackers, chopped raw vegetables, fruits, seafood, cubed pieces of meat and cheese, potato chips, tortilla chips, falafel, and sometimes even whole sandwiches in the case of jus. Unlike other sauces, instead of applying the sauce to the food, the food is typically placed or dipped into the sauce.
Dips are commonly used for finger foods, appetisers, and other food types. Thick dips based on sour cream, crème fraîche, milk, yogurt, mayonnaise, soft cheese, or beans are a staple of American hors d'oeuvres and are lighter than spreads, which can be thinned to make dips.
Dips in various forms are eaten all over the world and people have been using sauces for dipping for thousands of years.
Contents
List of common dips
A non-exhaustive list of common dips:
Artichoke dip
Bean dip, dip made from refried beans
Blue cheese dressing, commonly used as a dip for raw vegetables or Buffalo wings
Brine, saltwater used as a dip for food, similarly to vinegar or soy sauce
Cheese sauce
Chocolate, a dip for various fruits, doughnuts, profiteroles and marshmallows
Garlic butter sauce, used for dipping seafood, chicken, beef and pizza; plain clarified butter or drawn butter are more common with lobster, crab or clams
Hazelnut butter or hazelnut spread, commonly used as a dip for crackers and cookies
Honey, a common dip for chicken and biscuits
Honey mustard
Hot sauce or chili sauce, a spicy dip made from peppers
Ketchup (also called catsup or tomato sauce), often used with French fries, onion rings, and a variety of other foods. Tomato ketchup is the most common, originates in United States, and is now used worldwide. Other varieties exist, such as mushroom ketchup, banana ketchup, curry ketchup, and fruit ketchup.
Marinara sauce, a tomato sauce served with breadsticks and pizza, among other foods. Widely used in Italian-American cuisine; known as alla marinara in Italy.
Mustard, ground seeds of the mustard plant. Used worldwide, variants are used in Eastern European and Asian cuisine.
List of regional dips
Regional varieties of dip originate in, and are used in particular places of the world, while many have spread worldwide:
Africa
Matbucha, a North African dip consisting consisting of slow-cooked tomatoes, bell peppers and garlic
Asia
Chili oil, used as a dipping sauce for meat and dim sum.
Chogochujang, a variant of gochujang; a dip for seafood including hoe, oyster, and wakame, or for raw vegetables
Chutney, eaten with snacks like deep-fried samosas and pakoras, dosa and idli
Fish sauce (garum), or nam pla, used in southeastern Asian cuisines as a dip for snacks and other foods
Oyster sauce. Popular in South-East Asia.
Plum sauce, used for dipping fried noodles, dumplings, and other foods. Originates in Cantonese cuisine.
Prahok ktis, a sauce made with prahok, minced pork, kroeung, and coconut cream eaten with fresh vegetables. Originates in Cambodia.
Sambal, for fish, chicken, etc. Originates from Indonesia.
Soy sauce, often served in small saucers for dipping a variety of East Asian foods; for sushi and sashimi, prepared wasabi is mixed in
Tentsuyu, a Japanese dipping sauce
Banana ketchup, a Filipino condiment made from bananas; used similarly to tomato ketchup
Fish paste or bagoong, fermented fish paste, used in southeastern Asian cuisines as a dip for rice dishes
Toyomansi, a Filipino meat or fish dip made with soy sauce and calamansi juice; chilis may also be added to create "silimansi"
Nam chim, Thai dipping sauces which most often contain chili peppers
Europe
Horseradish sauce, often made of horseradish mixed with sour cream or mayonnaise. Common in UK and Denmark, and Eastern and Central Europe.
Au jus, a salty beef broth or gravy, especially used for dipping French dip sandwiches
Bagna càuda, a regional dish of the Italian Piedmont
Curry ketchup, also called Currygewürzketchup in Germany; a spicier form of ketchup. Although curry itself originates in the Indian subcontinent, curry ketchup is from northern parts of Europe, and is common in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and Scandinavia.
Fondue, a blend of melted cheese and wine in which bread is dipped
French onion dip
Fritessaus, a leaner form of mayonnaise from The Netherlands
Hollandaise
Mayonnaise, the basis for many dips; on its own a dip for cold chicken, vegetables, French fries, and seafood. Originates in France and Spain, used worldwide.
Mint sauce, made with ground mint leaves and vinegar or yogurt. Popular in the UK.
Pinzimonio, an Italian dip based on olive oil
Remoulade, often used with fried foods such as fish, or chips (french fries or fries). Originates from France.
Romesco, used as a dip or as a condiment for other dishes. Originates from Catalonia.
Tartar sauce, commonly used with seafood. Originates in France. Common in UK, Commonwealth, and North American cuisines.
The Caucasus
Ajika, a spicy, subtly flavored dip in Caucasian cuisine, based on hot red pepper, garlic, herbs and spices. Caucasian ajika is very hot, while lighter varieties have emerged in the Baltics.
Mkhali (colloquially pkhali), Georgian vegetable purées thickened with walnut paste and often rolled into balls
Satsivi, a walnut dip in Georgian cuisine
Tkemali, a cherry plum sauce in Georgian cuisine
Middle East
Baba ghanoush, a dip made from eggplant, common in the Eastern Mediterranean and parts of South Asia
Gravy, used as a dipping sauce for bread, such as in Maghrebi cuisine
Haroseth, Jewish dipping sauce based on local Israeli ground fruits and spices
Hilbeh, Yemenite condiment made from ground fenugreek seeds
Hummus, a Levantine dip of ground chickpeas and sesame tahini with spices and lemon juice
Muhammara, a Near Eastern hot pepper and walnut dip
Tahina, a Middle-Eastern condiment made from toasted ground sesame
Latin America
Ají, a spicy sauce popular in Latin American cuisine, often served as a condiment to complement main dishes
Chimichurri, a dip from Argentina made of parsley, garlic, and oregano
Guacamole, avocadoes mashed with lime juice, onions, tomatoes, and herbs; commonly eaten with tortilla chips
Nacho cheese, for dipping tortilla chips
Pebre, a Chilean mix of tomato, onion, chile, and coriander
Pico de gallo
North America
Barbecue sauce, often used for grilled and fried meats in the United States
Buffalo sauce, often used as both a coating for Buffalo wings as well as a standalone dipping sauce for other foods
Chile con queso, used in Tex-Mex cuisine with tortilla chips
Clam dip, a condiment for dipping crackers and chips. Originates from United States.
Cocktail sauce, a dip for seafood made from ketchup or chili sauce and horseradish. United States.
Comeback sauce, a dip for chicken fingers made from mayonnaise and chili sauce. Originates in central Mississippi.
Crab dip, a thick dip popular in Maryland usually made from cream cheese and lump crab meat
Duck sauce, a modern variation of plum sauce in American Chinese cuisine.
Fry sauce, a dip eaten with French fries, onion rings, chicken strips, and other deep-fried foods. Originates in United States.
Pimento cheese
Ranch dressing, buttermilk flavored salad dressing popular in the United States
Salsa, used often with tortilla chips. Originates in Mexico, and popularised in Mexican-American cuisines. Tortilla chips in salsa are ubiquitous in Mexican-American restaurants, but not in Mexico itself.
Seven-layer dip, a dip containing ingredients common to Tex-Mex cuisine
Oceania
Kiwi onion dip, a New Zealand snack food served with potato chips, crackers, or chopped vegetables
