Antipasto & Condiments

Antipasto literally means “before the pasta”. That will give you a hint about its cultural origin! In general usage, it means the food served first. In Canada when we ask someone to put the condiments on the table, we usually mean mustard, relish, ketchup and perhaps, pickles. From a culinary stand point, a condiment is something we add to enhance the flavour of a food, usually after we have finished cooking.  The word condiment is of French origin and literally refers to food that is “preserved and put away”.