  We explore the possibility that QCD may undergo a phase transition as a
function of the strange quark mass. This would hint towards models with
``spontaneous color symmetry breaking'' in the vacuum. For two light quark
flavors we classify possible colored quark-antiquark, diquark and gluon
condensates that are compatible with a spectrum of integer charged states and
conserved isospin and baryon number. The ``quark mass phase transition'' would
be linked to an unusual realization of baryon number in QCD$_2$ and could be
tested in lattice simulations. We emphasize, however, that at the present stage
the Higgs picture of the vacuum cannot predict a quark mass phase transition -
a smooth crossover remains as a realistic alternative. Implications of the
Higgs picture for the high density phase transition in QCD$_2$ suggest that
this transition is characterized by the spontaneous breaking of isospin for
nuclear and quark matter.
