#36: Marinara

The confusion fusion that is Sweet & Sour sauce! We learn how it became a Chinatown staple and racist immigration policies of the US from the 19th century. It's crazy. We meet Robert C. Baker the hero who invented the chicken nugget. Guess how much money he made off of that venture? It's a stunner. Emily shows off her knowledge as an unofficial McDonald's historian. We tour (via an article) the zero-rated restaurants in Swindon. Disclaimer: This is not a vegetarian friendly episode.

Henderson's Relish. The pride of Yorkshire! Hendos has a loyal fanbase for a reason: it is a lovely condiment. An institution in Sheffield, we meet Henry Henderson the inventor and namesake of the relish. People STAN #Hendos so we look at the fandom and Sean Bean can't stop talking about it at press junkets. Plus, find out why Nick Clegg had a fight in the House of Commons over Henderson's Relish. Who doesn't want to listen to this episode! People of Yorkshire - we're coming for your ears!

Mojo! A staple condiment of the Canary Island's tries to land a spot on the island. You've probably had this on holiday and didn't even know it. Get ready for a history lesson in the Canary Islands food culture and Emily talks about potatoes for a while. Tom corrects Emily's constant mispronunciation of Spanish words and talks about witches. We meet a Canarian that's bringing mojo to the UK with his company Noda's Food. AND! A PROMO CODE! Go to nodasfood.com and type in DesertIslandDips20 to and support his mojo making business. Plus we check out the Cuban connection to the condiment and why Guy Fieri, the self-appointed Mayor of Flavourtown is backing it.   

Aioli! The tastier cousin to mayonnaise finally gets it's very own episode! Tom introduces us to it's Roman roots and Pliny the Elder. We're working on our Pliny the Elder merch. Tom also informs Emily he's -shock- in a band and is a cunning linguist! Sorry. Emily's been watching too much Drag Race. He just studied linguistics. Also, Emily feels really old as she recounter her employment history. There is much debate over whether aioli gets on the island. 

Marinara. The Italian sauce with humble beginnings as a sailors dinner to pizza crust sidekick. Emily talks about the inception of the sauce and offers many Pizza Hut based confessions of her misspent youth. Tom weighs out his relationship with Papa John's. And, buckle up for one bizarre corporate showdowns in pizza history. We find out why #CaptainMarvel is packing marinara wherever she goes and meet the former Trump and current marina-heiress.   

There are a lot of Franks is the story of Frank's RedHot and one elephant named Jumbo. Tom introduces us to all the Franks and discovers how one traveling salesman from Cincinnati changed the way we eat. We take a trip to Buffalo NY to talk about the holy union of chicken wings and Frank's Red Hot and meet another Condiment good guy. But, like not a physical trip. We don't have that kind of budget. And we discover why Philadelphia has abandoned the Wing Bowl. Spoiler: It is not because they ran out of wings. 

Curry Sauce. There are so many layers to this episode. From the OG Nigella from the 18th century named Hannah Glasse where curry powder made its way into our diets, to the fish and chip shops in Salford from where Curry Sauce was created in the 1960s to the Chinese takeaways that made their own rival. We've got a lot to cover. And let's not forget German curry sauce! We meet Alan Pearce from Kerry Foods Service - the all knowing historian of Curry Sauce. And Emily goes on her first foreign pilgrimage to Berlin to pay tribute to Herta Heuwer - the woman who invented the German staple Currywurst. 

Tricky to spell, easy to eat: it's piccalilli's turn to fight for a spot on the island. Tom talks about the indian origins of this pickled wonder and it's american cousin chow-chow. Meanwhile Emily gets distracted by oversharing a story about a woman in Waitrose who was panic buying piccalilli on Christmas Eve and gets nostalgic for electric typewriters. PS: I know Emily's voice sounds weird. But I couldn't figure it out. So deal. 

Will Salsa dance it's way on to the Island? I assume that's how Salsa moves. It salsas. That looks weird. Oh right, episode description. Emily talks about a "Salsa Dynasty" that has all kinds of DRAMA. They put the picante in Pace Picante Sauce. Salsa is also a magical healing agent for Major League Baseball player Matt Carpenter. Naturally, we'll question modern medicine. AND! AND! AND! Old El Paso employees break records with stuff and stand tacos and so we gotta talk-o about that. Maybe Tom should be in charge of writing these. 

Emily goes deep into her Google search history to bring some weird condiment based news that didn't make it into the past 30 episodes of Desert Island Dips. Things like: a Long Island school district that's limited condiments to two sachets per child and a crime involving a landscaper, a sex tape and maple syrup. OH! And a Melbourne hacker space that has created a Saucebot. Then in SPORTS! Tom talks about his love of American football and Patrick Mahomes' love for Heinz ketchup.