KIWI DIP. HELLO MY BELOVED.
[ID: An image of a tupperware bowl filled with onion dip; a single potato chip is stuck into it, and both look delectable.]
I was first introduced to Kiwi Dip by @jessikast in a thread about weird recipes; I immediately became obsessed not just with the dip but with the fact that seasonally, kiwi dip “kits” are available that come with a commemorative Kiwi Dip Bowl.
It’s made much as American onion dip is generally made, using onion soup mix stirred into a dairy product, but in Aotearoa / New Zealand it’s a very specific brand (Maggi brand) and a dairy product we don’t have in America, “reduced cream”. There are various versions of canned cream we do have in the US but I wasn’t finding some and others clearly weren’t the right thing. @miss-kitty-fantastico eventually sent me a packet of onion soup mix and some Reduced Cream to make it with, and I learned the true delights of kiwi dip; it does taste very different to regular onion dip.
@arvethli later sent me a handful of dip mix packets at my request, but reduced cream is heavy and expensive to ship from Aotearoa / New Zealand -- it’s $30 postage for a $2 can -- so I’ve used a packet with sour cream occasionally, but I’ve kind of been saving them to test Reduced Cream substitutes on.
And I finally found one! “Media Crema,” a Nestle product also called Table Cream, was suggested to me by @kruthie73 and it turns out Target stocks it in the “Mexican” aisle. It isn’t the exact same thing as reduced cream, but it’s very, very close, and it has that lovely zing of flavor reduced cream has, where there’s an almost boursin-like quality to the dip after it’s been thickened in the fridge.
Anyway just thought I’d share that if you’re looking for a taste of Aotearoa / New Zealand in America, Media Crema is a great go-to for a reduced cream substitute.
