Thursday, January 22, 2009
Foods Playing Ketchup: Do Brands Matter?
Posted by Carrington Fox on Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 6:03 AM
While dining at Pied Piper Eatery, the charming and family-friendly diner that is the subject of this week's review, I got to thinking about the tabletop staple of ketchup. Off the top of my head, I can only think of one brand of ketchup: Heinz. My single-mindedness is no doubt a triumph of the marketing team at the venerable ketchup company, because there are of course other brands. But--quick--can you name one? I didn't think so.
In fact, Pied Piper stocks its tables with a so-called fancy ketchup made by Monarch. My beloved La Hacienda also serves an off-brand. But as much as I hate to admit to being a ketchup snob--and as much as I don't know if I could actually taste the difference between Heinz and, say, Hunt's--I'd rather have Heinz.
I'm sure Heinz is more expensive than Hunt's or other non-Heinz varieties, but still, with 36 oz. ringing in at less than 2 bucks, is off-brand ketchup really the place to cut corners if it projects a sort of cheapness? I don't know. I'm just asking.
As in, I'm asking you, Bites readers. Homemade chipotle ketchup from Radius10 not withstanding, do you care about ketchup? Can you taste the difference between brands? Would you pay a few pennies more for a top label? Or when it comes to the subject of ketchup, do you think I should just drop it?
Comments (22)
Showing 1-22 of 22
Heinz 57 or nothing. I'm with you.
By the way....ketchup in restaurants freaks me out a little because I know they "marry" them at the end of shifts, moving ketchup from half empty bottles to fill others up. What wigs me out about it is that when a server takes ketchup to a table people sometimes use their knives to get the flow going if the ketchup moves slowly. So it's pretty easy for someone's spit covered knife to get all up in my ketchup bottle.
Once I started thinking about it, I swore it off at restaurants unless it comes in those cute little individual use bottles...that also fit into your pocketbook nicely.
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I've never been much of a ketchup person, more of a mustard girl! (I usually have at least 7 different varieties in my fridge.) However I never really noticed a difference in brands. I generally only use ketchup for fries. As far as taste, I prefer a sweeter ketchup to the ones that have a more vinegar taste (but that could be a difference between fresher and older, mixed ketchups. I agree with Barbara that restaurant ketchup can be sketchy at best. I generally only use the individual (fast food) packets or the pump kind a la Arby's or Cheeseburger Charlies.
I'm really picky now. Once I realized that HFCS was in EVERYTHING, I tried eliminating it as much as possible. I've begun purchasing Whole Food's organic natural ketchup (catsup, whatever), and I'm amazed at the taste. My first thought was "Wow, this tastes like.... TOMATOES!" The texture is different too, it's not quite as smooth & shiny as what you're used to seeing; it looks like a smoother tomatoe paste.
I once made a special trip to Whole Foods (passing 3 grocery stores on the way) for the sole purpose that I was going to make sweet potato fries, and realized I was out of ketchup. It was the ONLY thing I purchased at WF's. I kinda felt like a ketchup freak.
Heinz it is And yeah, that whole bottle filling thing drives me crazy. If these folks only understood that a bottle 2/3 full will always dispense properly. But I assure you, my knife is just out of the dishwasher. Of course you can always make an ass out of yourself and flail away until it launches all over your silk shirt...
mayo? - Hellmans
mustard? - Guldens
dijon? - grey poupon (poop on?)
I have a feeling you may have just changed my condiment future. Great tip. Separately, does anyone remember Sniglets, those made-up words for things that you never realized needed words? My favorite Sniglet ever was "Flen," the crusty red scab at the top of the ketchup bottle.
I don't eat a lot of ketchup, but there is definitely a difference. It mostly has to do with what you grew up eating and what you expect something to taste like. Off-brand ketchup tastes cheap. I agree with Erin that organic natural ketchup has a better taste, but you can't really consider it an off-brand since it's really a quality product—cheaper brands tend to go for quantity over quality.
When it comes to junk food, it's hard to beat an original. Fake Lucky Charms will never measure up to the real thing.
Kroger Private selection organic ketchup tastes like packet Heinz, which is FAR better than bottled.
And it's cheap.
But I also like to use straight tomato paste with a little cider vinegar and smoke flavoring added, so it's more like a ketchup spread.
mmmmmm.
Jeffrey Steingarten devotes a lengthy essay to this in 'The Man Who Ate Everything'. Worth reading for his exhaustive exploration of brands and their comparative worth.
I'm with Barbara Please (as usual).
Restaurant Ketchup = ICK!!!!!!!!!
Don't do it... you have NO idea what goes on with the "marrying" process.
I
I learned at a very young age the difference between Heinz and Hunt's, beyond just the words they've chosen: vinegar ratio. I'm a vinegar person, unlike Sally, and therefore gravitated to Heinz. You can typically figure out which formula is the basis for knock-offs by the word they use - if it's catsup it might be sweeter, ketchup might be tarter. Might being the operative word. The other clue, of course, is the list of ingredienets - vinegar must be second or it's no bueno. The monarch-types of the world are just sad, sad imitators whose removal from society could serve as the final purpose of gitmo.
Back in my eat anything and stay thin days, fast food joints qualified for my rotation based on their offering - Mac's (Heinz) was in, Burger King (blechy Hunt's) was out, and so forth.
If the ketchup is sketchy, I ask for salsa. In doing so I discovered a much brighter accompaniament to breakfast taters. I go with malt vinegar (if available) if it's for fries.
Only Heinz perfected their bottle shape to aid delivery - the ads are now off in a TV museum, but 3 taps on the neck when held at an angle always does the trick - and never hit from the bottom. Speaking of ads - remember the tomato going IN the bottle? what a great sound! FWUMP !
I would like to observe a giant corporate restaurant meeting where they tackle the thorny questions of Hunts vs. Heinz and Coke vs. Pepsi. What Penny McPenny Pincher says, "Yeah, let's go Hunt's and Pepsi. That sends the right message."
Heinz is ketchup. A distinct difference exists between it and all the others.
There is only Coke.
My thoughts on ketchup. I've always preferred Heinz. Every time I've tried Hunts it just hasn't measured up. And the absolute worst I ever had was when I unknowingly used Hunt's no sodium ketchup. Yuck! If you hold a glass bottle of Heinz by the end and lightly tap the 57 numbers on the side with the edge of your palm it comes out relatively easy with no mess. Now mustard is a topic. Has got to be Plochman's Mustard. Accept no substitute. And it's usually cheaper. One last thing. If you think ketchup is bad in a restaurant, just think about all the other condiments. Especially anything that involves a spoon to get it out with.
I learned early on in my relationship with my husband that he will ONLY eat Hunt's. I've never understood it, as I can't really tell the difference, but instead have added it to the list of other things about him I'll probably never understand.
People that worry about restaurant ketchup probably have hand sanitizer addictions.
Personally, I'd consider myself an authority on all dipping sauces. Is there a difference between 57 and the others. You betcha. One of my favorite ketchups is from Heintz, it's sold at the Hermitage Publix in the "imported & other strange food" section. It's ketchup with hot sauce added into it from the source, so good.
If you don't want to make a special trip, may I suggest adding a little Tobasco or other hot sauces for an added level of flavor. Freedom Fries SOOOO are much better with some fresh ground peppercorn medly + ketchup + hot sauce.
Now, I'm waiting for the chicken finger dipping sauce thread.
I know i have picked up on this thread a little late, but thought i might add a little insight into the conversation. better late than never.
We use Monarch upside down bottle ketchup. It has been produced and marketed longer than Heinz ketchup. With that in mind, is it still and "off" brand? In taste tests by independent focus groups, including consumer reports, it scores comparably in flavor profile and quality of ingredients. It is a little bit cheaper, without sacrificing quality.
We also do not ever marry our ketchup at the Pied Piper Eatery.(ewwww, gross.) it is a practice that is quickly leaving the industry, with the affordability of disposable, upside down style bottles.
Happy fry dunking, hamburger soaking, ketchup enjoying.
