What's The Difference Between Sauces And Condiments?
When you think of pasta, you likely pair it with a sauce. But when you think of your favorite deli sandwich, it's probably topped with condiments, such as mayonnaise or mustard. However, these two foods have one thing in common: They're meant to enhance something else. Is there a true difference between them? The short answer is that it depends who you ask. According to Merriam-Webster, a sauce is "a liquid or semisolid food mixture used especially as a topping or ingredient for adding to or enhancing the flavor of a dish." Meanwhile, a condiment is something "that is added to food usually after the food is prepared and that enhances or adds to its flavor."
Those definitions don't show a ton of difference between these two things. But here's what we do know: Americans tend to categorize sauces and condiments based on a handful of things, including their texture (how "liquid" they are), their purpose (are they an enhancement or an essential ingredient?), and finally, at what point in the dish they're added.
Sauce versus condiment is in the eye of the beholder
According to Merriam-Webster's definition, condiments are added at the end of a dish. But here's the problem: If you coat chicken thighs or potatoes with mayonnaise before putting them in the oven (this helps them get nice and crispy, by the way), that doesn't make mayonnaise any less of a condiment, right? Let's consider the other two categories — how liquid they are and their purpose, as in, whether or not they're essential. Sauces tend to be a little more liquified than condiments. While you could get away with calling mustard and mayonnaise liquids, just know that they're thicker than most sauces. Tomato and barbecue sauce, on the other hand, have a thinner consistency.
If you cook meatballs in tomato sauce, then the sauce becomes an essential ingredient. But you most likely wouldn't cook food in a vat of chipotle mayonnaise. Rather, you'd pair it with chipotle mayonnaise when serving the dish, which complements it. So, you could argue that sauces are more of essential ingredients, and condiments are more of enhancements. Ultimately, it's up to you which is which. But if it's more of a liquid than a solid and serves an essential purpose in the dish, it's probably a sauce. If you're dunking your chicken tenders in it or spreading it on your kaiser roll, it's most likely a condiment.