More and more people are loving artisan dips because it is a fresh, delicious, and healthier option over store-bought dip loaded with artificial flavors and ingredients. Customers love artisan dips because it is made with care. Another characteristic of artisan dips is that it is made using premium or rare ingredients. It is also common for artisan dips to use locally-sourced ingredients. People love artisan dips because of the creativity shown by artisans, resulting to new flavors and new combinations. Sometimes, artisan dips are a new take on traditional dips too.
Artisan Dip Trivia
- On 8 May 2010, Chef Ramzi Choueiri and the students of Al-Kafaat University in Beirut, Lebanon, made history at the Guinness Book of World Records by making the largest serving of hummus: 10,452 kg.
- Fit for the dip – Christopher Cumo, in the book Foods That Changed History: How Foods Shaped Civilization, wrote: “The tortilla chip is strategically shaped as a triangle to hold salsa or dip.”
- If you are in the business of making delicious artisan dips, one of your potential customers is football player Robert James “Gronk” (or simple Rob) Gronkowski. In a magazine article, Gronkowski admitted that he loves dips.
Artisan Dip Buying Guide
Artisan dips are usually made in small batches. Depending on the type of dip and the ingredients needed to make it, some artisan dips could be seasonal if the ingredient is seasonal and not available all year long.
Artisan dips are made by small, local businesses. These are made by people who genuinely love dips (and loves to make dips), or those in the restaurant or catering business that offers home-made artisan dip from scratch, sometimes using an old family recipe.
When buying, inquire about the ingredients and shelf life of the product. Artisan dips may contain little to no preservatives, but the downside is having a shorter shelf life compared to store-bought dips which are made to last longer. Inquire about the ingredients used before buying if you have certain allergies or if you are avoiding certain kinds of food for medical, health, religious, and other reasons.
Buying artisan dips is one way to support small, local businesses.
Artisan Dip Production & Farming in Texas
There are Texas businesses dedicated to making amazing artisan dips, like The Amazing Dip Company in Plano and Zubi’s Salsas & Dips in Dallas.
It will surprise you to find artisan dips in the most unexpected of places. Many wineries, for example, also sell artisan dips, like Two Brothers Winery in Keller, Lone Star Wine Cellars in McKinney, Landon Winery in Greenville, and at the Silver Dollar Winery in Bedford and McKinney.
You can find vendors selling in pop-up stands, stalls, and farmers’ markets, like in Sterling Ridge Village Artisans & Farmers Market in Magnolia. Other business that offer artisan dips in Texas include The Cherry Laurel in Athens, Profound Foods in Allen, and Local Yocal Farm to Market in McKinney.
Artisan dips made in Texas are also sold online.
Pesticides, Additives, and Chemicals
Made with natural ingredients – this is a common claim of many artisan dips. But it is also not surprising to find an artisan dip that contains one or more artificial or processed ingredients that is not good for the body.
Here are some of the artificial, processed ingredients that may be present in an artisan dip.
- Artificial color
- Artificial flavor
- DATEM (diacetyl tartaric acid ester of mono, also E472e) – This is used as an emulsifier.
- Glucono-delta-lactone (gluconolactone, E575) – This food additive has many uses – as a sequestrant, an acidifier, a curing agent, a pickling agent, or leavening agent.
- Maltodextrin – This is an artificial food additive.
- Modified corn starch –
- Preservatives
- Sodium hexametaphosphate (sodium polymetaphosphate) – This salt is used to help preserve dips, used as a chelating reagent, an adhesive, and a swelling reagent.
Geography
It has become second nature to the eating man to make and enjoy dips. This explains why anywhere on the planet you go, there is a good chance there is a local dip that the people here have been making for many years. Many popular kinds of dips are now produced by artisans. Below are some of the popular dips found in different parts of the world. A website discussed in detail 50 of the most popular dips.
- Acili Ezme (Turkish-style tomato dip) – Turkey
- Ajika – Abkhazia, Georgia
- Baba ganoush – Middle East
- Bagna càuda – Piedmont, Italy
- Bal kaymak – Turkey
- Bessara – Morocco
- Blue cheese dressing – US
- Brandade – Provence, France
- Cacik (yogurt and cucumber dip) – Turkey
- Caponata – Italy
- Chermoula – Morocco
- Chutney – India
- Dal – India
- Fasole batută (white bean dip) – Romania
- Fava (yellow spilt pea puree dip) – Greece
- Green Goddess Dressing – San Fransisco, US
- Guacamole – Mexico
- Guasacaca – Brazil
- Gzik (cottage cheese dip) – Poland
- Haydari (yogurt dip) – Turkey
- Hummus – Lebanon
- Kashke bademjan (eggplant dip) – Iran
- Kyopolou – Bulgaria
- Labneh – Jordan
- Mast o khiar – Iran
- Melitzanosalata – Greece
- Molho apimentado – Brazil
- Muhammara – Aleppo, Syria
- Mutabal – Lebanon
- Nam jim jaew – Thailand
- Naz khatun – Behshahr, Iran
- Plum sauce – China
- Ponzu – Japan
- Queso fundido – Mexico
- Ranch dressing – Santa Barbara, US
- Romesco – Catalonia, Spain
- Salată de icre (fish roe dip) – Romania
- Salată de vinete (eggplant dip) – Romania
- Salsa de palta (Peruvian guacamole) – Peru
- Skordalia (garlic mashed potato dip) – Greece
- Ssamjang – South Korea
- Tahini – Syria
- Tapenade Provenance, France
- Taramasalata – Greece
- Tirokafteri – Greece
- Thousand Island Dressing – US
- Toum – Lebanon
Packaging
Artisan dip is sold in glass, plastic, or recyclable paper-based packaging.
Enjoying Artisan Dips
Artisan dips are perfect if you are eating chicken, fish and seafood, red meat, steamed or fried vegetables, chips, crackers, biscuits, cucumber, celery sticks, pretzels, or garlic bread.
It is great to have artisan dips if you are making a charcuterie board.
Storage
Keep artisan dip refrigerated.
Cooking
You might have bought your artisan dip for the purpose of using it as a dip, as expected. But did you know that you can also use your artisan dip when cooking food? Here are some ideas. You can use it as a base when making tart. You can use it if you are making curry, or use it as pasta sauce. Use artisan dip to slather barbecue or roasted meat, or to add flavor to cooked potatoes. You can also use dip in pizzas, risotto, and bruschetta. Use your imagination! Get creative in the kitchen.
Nutritional Benefits
The ingredients of artisan dips vary from one another depending on the kind of dip. This means your expectations regarding the nutritional benefits of the artisan dip you are eating should depend on what was used to make the artisan dip.
Commercial brand dips are notorious for containing a lot of artificial ingredients and additives that could be potentially harmful to the body. This is where artisan dips distinguishes itself, since artisans use fresh, natural ingredients in making a preservative-free and additives-free artisan dip.
Overall, expect any one or a combination of these nutritional benefits from artisan dips, depending on what’s in it: helps boost fullness and metabolism, helps in weight loss, helps promote digestion, helps improve heart health, helps keep skin healthy and protects it from damage, helps improve the immune system, helps in improving the ability of the body to make wounds heal faster, and helps the body in red blood cell formation.
Artisan dips contain nutrients, protein, fiber, vitamin C, folate, vitamin B, and many other vitamins and minerals found in the ingredients used in making artisan dips, like sour cream, Greek yogurt, honey, Dijon mustard, olive oil, peanut butter, lemon and lemon juice, lime juice, almond milk, white vinegar, vanilla extract, apple sauce, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, mustard seeds, garlic cloves, chives, cilantro, ground black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, dried dill, dried parsley, rosemary, ground mustard, cinnamon, nutmeg, chili powder, smoked paprika, white beans, black beans, green peas, corn, bell pepper, avocado, meat, squash, chickpeas, lentils, cottage cheese, feta cheese, anchovies, fish roe, cod, breadcrumbs, bread, olives, split peas, fava beans, eggplant, pomegranate, apples, cumin, ginger, hot peppers, tomato, bell pepper, potatoes, plums, walnuts, almonds, nuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, cucumber, raisins, capers, tlaola serrano peppers, parsley, coriander, tarragon, turmeric, mint, basil, thyme, mayonnaise, ghee, feta cheese, milk, tomato paste, blue cheese, molasses, buttermilk, mustard, red wine, stock, sesame oil, sunflower oil, red wine vinegar, and any vegetable or fruit used in making artisan dips.
