From the garum fermented fish sauce used in the cuisines of Phoenicia, ancient Greece and Rome, to the simple but beloved ketchup, using condiments to enhance our food has a long history.
Right now we are in a golden era of choice, and some of the biggest culinary trends, innovations and obsessions in recent years have centred on the flavour combinations of the sauce or garnish that spruce up the main dish.
Dima Sharif, author of Plated Heirlooms, launched Mooneh Foodstuff Supply Services in 2013, as the UAE's first dedicated fermenter. "Back then people were not talking about fermentation, but now we do pickles, relishes, spreads, sauces and jams," she says.
Jams, especially, have gone beyond the basics. Even market advisory company Mordor Intelligence – more used to advising stock market investors – says: "Jams, jellies and preserves are experiencing an increasing demand all over the world."
Mooneh's beetroom jam, says Sharif, "works in chocolate cakes, or orange and lemon sponges. It goes especially well with sugar cookies and also gives them a lovely colour". The brand's red chilli jam, meanwhile, can elevate a simple rice pudding, and its green chilli sauce pairs with sugary Middle Eastern treats to balance out the sweet and savoury experience.
"Spicy condiments are a good addition to chocolate cakes and work especially well when you're making truffles," says Sharif.
Hot sauces, too, have also experience huge growth in the past decade. While the famous Sriracha brand has developed a near-cult following, with more than $20 million being spent on bottles worldwide every year, local artisans are also creating varieties to bring out new flavour combinations.
Dubai's Zafi Artisanal Hot Sauce is made from the famously fiery Scotch bonnet peppers and comes from a family recipe that dates back more than 70 years, while Mooneh makes six varieties of Arabian hot sauce called shatta, from fermented organic red and green chillis using traditional woodchip smoke.
Uwe Micheel, a former saucier at the Michelin-starred London restaurant Le Souffle and culinary advisor to the Radisson Blu in Dubai, explains some of the key elements that creators need to look at. "To get the perfect balanced dish, you need to have all textures and flavours, soft and crisp, sweet and sour, salty and bitter, but most of the time you just have to add some acid, which could be wine, vinegar or citrus juice, and it will change the profile of the dish completely. The key is not to add too much."
We buy from the local organic farmers and use seasonal produce
Micheel also makes his own condiments and jams. “My last homemade jam had figs and dates as the key ingredients, and was rounded up with ginger, red chilli and lime. I pair this with a slow-cooked pulled-beef burger.”
Other interesting flavour combinations include strawberries with balsamic vinegar; Tabasco sauce on grilled pineapple; peanut butter with goat’s cheese; Golden syrup on cheddar; mango salsa and brie; and, for a big umami hit, British favourite Marmite with cheddar in a grilled toastie.
A range of interesting additions are being sold by local artisans at places such as Ripe Market, while restaurants such as The Lime Tree Cafe makes tomato aubergine and cumin relish, an Arabian date chutney, and a zaatar and onion marmalade.
Ripe Market vendor Corinne Sfier, who runs Emm Daniel, has a vegan, gluten and dairy-free range that includes celery pesto, broccoli pesto, almond butters, caramel sauces, sauerkraut, cranberry peanut butter and Coco Choco, a healthier alternative to chocolate spread.
“Our natural nut butters go well with apple slices or sauerkraut for breakfast or a snack; we have a recipe for peanut butter and Asian soup on our website,” Sfier says.
Most UAE suppliers also opt to support local producers. “We buy from the local organic farmers and use seasonal produce,” says Sharif. “At the moment olives and olive oil are in season, so we are making Kalamata olive and sun-dried tomato tapenade. We’ll even dry the tomatoes ourselves to create the tapanade.”
The specs
The specs: 2019 Audi Q8
Price, base: Dh315,000
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 340hp @ 3,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 2,250rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km
If you go:
The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxes
The tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 (Dh67)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre. Tickets need booking significantly in advance
Entrance to the Harry Potter exhibition at the House of MinaLima is free
The hotel: The grand, 1909-built Strand Palace Hotel is in a handy location near the Theatre District and several of the key Harry Potter filming and inspiration sites. The family rooms are spacious, with sofa beds that can accommodate children, and wooden shutters that keep out the light at night. Rooms cost from £170 (Dh808).
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Profile of RentSher
Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE
Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi
Based: Bangalore, India and Dubai, UAE
Sector: Online rental marketplace
Size: 40 employees
Investment: $2 million
More on animal trafficking
India squad for fourth and fifth Tests
Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rahul, Shaw, Pujara, Rahane (vc), Karun, Karthik (wk), Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Pandya, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Thakur, Vihari
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WIDE%20VIEW
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The bio
Studied up to grade 12 in Vatanappally, a village in India’s southern Thrissur district
Was a middle distance state athletics champion in school
Enjoys driving to Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah with family
His dream is to continue working as a social worker and help people
Has seven diaries in which he has jotted down notes about his work and money he earned
Keeps the diaries in his car to remember his journey in the Emirates
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
The Bio
Favourite place in UAE: Al Rams pearling village
What one book should everyone read: Any book written before electricity was invented. When a writer willingly worked under candlelight, you know he/she had a real passion for their craft
Your favourite type of pearl: All of them. No pearl looks the same and each carries its own unique characteristics, like humans
Best time to swim in the sea: When there is enough light to see beneath the surface
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The specs
Engine: 0.8-litre four cylinder
Power: 70bhp
Torque: 66Nm
Transmission: four-speed manual
Price: $1,075 new in 1967, now valued at $40,000
On sale: Models from 1966 to 1970
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3ECompany%20name%3A%20EduPloyment%3Cbr%3EDate%20started%3A%20March%202020%3Cbr%3ECo-Founders%3A%20Mazen%20Omair%20and%20Rana%20Batterjee%3Cbr%3EBase%3A%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Recruitment%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%2030%20employees%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20Pre-Seed%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Angel%20investors%20(investment%20amount%20undisclosed)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
