Take the Plunge: Fall Dips

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a rabid supporter of the Green Bay Packers. Professional football has its appalling sides, but I was raised in Titletown, so what can I say? My engagement calendar has game days marked in capital letters. I’m superstitiously certain we’ll lose if I miss the kickoff, or if I forget to wear my green-and-gold jersey. When we have company, I serve drinks in Packer-themed glassware. And when I’m watching the game, I get so jumpy that I have to do something with my hands—crack hickory nuts or peel pears, or, more regularly, nosh on chips and dip.

I’m not the only one reaching for the salsa bowl during football season. Listen closely: Between the “Go, Pack, Go” and the “If you wanna be a Badger, just come along with me,” you’ll hear a collective crunching sound being broadcast from living rooms and tailgate parties across the state. Why do we love dips so much? Food historians will tell you that we’ve been dunking food in sauce since practically the beginning of time, and that dips got especially popular after the Great Depression, when the newly maid-less American middle class was forced to rework its entertaining style. (Dips are quick and easy; formal dining, not so much.)

Still, when it comes to contemporary sports fans, I think something more is going on. Loyalty to the team, after all, is a kind of tribal thing. How did ancient peoples form bonds? They screamed at their enemies. They huddled around a fire to watch the action. They ate with their fingers, from the same bowl.

The party scene has changed, of course. For one thing, the food is better now. Where our ancestors wearied of the same old fermented fish sauce, we mix it up with guacamole, hummus, tzatziki, fondue, tapenade and chutney. We use every kind of local, seasonal ingredient that we can get our hands on (especially cheese).

The one thing that has not changed? Our insatiable hunger for dips.

Try some of these fall dips at your next tailgate. You never know - it might be just the tradition (ahem, superstition) that gets your team back on track!