Mustard. It’s more versatile. Besides the obvious condiment uses, it’s also a useful ingredient in cooking, can alleviate muscle cramps (eaten), helps with bee or wasp stings (topical), and can be used as a dye.
Mustard’s my choice. Mayo leaves a dirty mouth feel/taste until I can brush my teeth again, good to cook with though. Ketchup is what happens when marketing and focus groups fix mustard, good of Canadians to help find it’s purpose.
All of these have more variety and nuance then you might think, at least based on what major US grocers carry.
Mustard comes in a ton of varieties, from smooth to course to whole-grain, or with extra flavors like horseradish or cayenne or champagne. I’ve even heard of bourbon and curry mustards.
Ketchup too is an entire category and not beholden to tomatoes. You can use all kinds of fruits like mango or golden berries as your base, add sauteed garlic and onions, then blend it up with some brown sugar and vinegar for a mighty fine condiment.
And homemade mayonnaise is just on another level. It’s pretty simple to make, but it doesn’t stay fresh long. Otherwise try the Polish Winiary brand, it’s 90% as good, especially on something like sweet potato fries. Mayo is also the basis for aoli and nearly every picnic/potluck “salad” (e.g. potato salad, broccoli bacon salad, etc). Stop buying the Kraft and Hellman’s crap, those are mostly flavorless soybean oil.
Rarely/never ketchup. I only eat that stuff if a friend or someone already put it on a plate/dish being served to me without asking first.
Mayo & mustard are both awesome depending on what they’re being put on. And sometimes they team up & can be used together e.g. they work well together in tuna.
PS - You should throw butter in the competition, a lot of people would vote for that over mayo :)
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