Kevin's Watch

I was going to put this into Sunbaneglasses' thread on cultural foods, but it doesn't really fit, though it was SBG who mentioned Branston Pickle originally.

Wherever you find ketchup in the UK, you will also find this....



HP sauce, or simply 'brown sauce', is an institution. As a kid, I remember we has a choice of two sauces at home- tomato ketchup and HP. It was too spicy for me as a young kid, but when i was about 10yo, I got the taste for it. Now, I wouldn't consider it at all spicy!

A couple of years ago, HP sponsored a sporting icon, Jimmy White, in one of the big snooker competitions, and Jimmy changed his name to 'Jimmy Brown'. Unfortunately it didn't work out for HP as well as it could have, because the snooker was on BBC (a non-commercial channel), and Jimmy is so famous, that the commentators just called him 'Jimmy' the whole time. It was quite funny at the time.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i_EWHQ18Gs

I just saw HP sauce on the shelf at Publix for the first time this week Stoney. It's packaging reminds me of A1 sauce, which is considered a steak sauce here, although I do know some people who season their hamburgers with it before cooking them. I didn't take the time to compare ingredients though.



What is HP most commonly used on?

By iconic, do you mean foods that sponsor various celebrities or events in return for promotion? Or do you mean foods that are everywhere, like Tabasco is in N'awlins?

Like Tabasco in New Orleans (but is tabasco a brand, or a type?). Foods that everyone would know by the brand name, not necessarily by description. So if you were eating in a cafe here, and the waitress asked if you wanted sauce, if you replied 'HP' there would be absolutely no chance of her not knowing what you meant. I have no idea how to describe HP, other than 'brown', it's just HP!

Tabasco is the brand name, although the ingredient list says it's made with "tabasco" peppers. But there are other brands of similar sauces, like "Texas Pete's" or "Louisiana" brand, that you will get in place of Tabasco if the establishment doesn't carry Tabasco brand, and their ingredient list usually says "sport" peppers.

Hmm...well OK. Of course here there's "Coke." Although in certain parts of the country, asking for a "coke" will bring the reply, "what kind?" Meaning it is used interchangebly for "soda," "pop," "soft drink," what have you.

I guess Sweet 'n Low used to have that status, but with the introduction of Equal and Splenda you run the chance of getting one or the other of those when you ask for it.

As a person originally from New York, I would say mayonnaise only means Hellmans and ketchup only means Heinz. I know Kraft is a strong contender for mayo and Del Monte has made ketchup for years, and here in the south Duke's is a pretty big brand of mayonnaise, but Hellmans (Best Foods west of the Mississippi) and Heinz mean mayonnaise and ketchup to me. Although I will admit Publix's store brand of organic ketchup is darn tasty!

I can't think of anything else really offhand that has the status you're talking about. Maybe Oreos? I look forward to others input!

BTW, I really like the change to your oxymoron signature. Wasn't that what it was before Undine?

BTW, I really like the change to your oxymoron signature. Wasn't that what it was before Undine?

yup.

Even after the word 'oxymoron' I have trouble putting 'too much' before 'garlic'! I mean, how could you ever use those three words together?

And there you go, we share an icon! Ketchup over here (though 'ketchup' is rarely used, more often 'tomato sauce' or even 'red sauce') means Heinz. And Heinz also have baked beans. Everyone makes baked beans now, but really, if you ask for baked beans, you'd better get Heinz or there'll be trouble!

Stonemaybe wrote:

BTW, I really like the change to your oxymoron signature. Wasn't that what it was before Undine?

yup.

Even after the word 'oxymoron' I have trouble putting 'too much' before 'garlic'! I mean, how could you ever use those three words together?

Agreed!!!

Stonemaybe wrote:And there you go, we share an icon! Ketchup over here (though 'ketchup' is rarely used, more often 'tomato sauce' or even 'red sauce') means Heinz. And Heinz also have baked beans. Everyone makes baked beans now, but really, if you ask for baked beans, you'd better get Heinz or there'll be trouble!

Even this Jewish girl (who has never kept kosher, although she knew enough about doing so to host the AOL Kosher Cooking board when such boards had board hosts) was raised on Heinz Pork and Beans. They're still my favorite, although Hyperception prefers Bush's.

Beorn won't touch any...*sigh*

Ketchup = Heinz. 'Nuff said.

dlbpharmd wrote:Ketchup = Heinz. 'Nuff said.

*nod*

However...

If you have Publix in Tennessee, Tennessee, you really should give their store brand organic ketchup a try. It's pretty darn close to Heinz's organic and about 2/3s the price.

dlbpharmd wrote:Ketchup = Heinz. 'Nuff said.

Heinz 57 Sauce would make a slug taste good.

I love HP sauce. Best on bacon and eggs.

As for the tomato sauce though...this is the only decent one in the world:



I'll accept Heinz as a poor substitute that's better than most attempts, but only if bereft of choice.

--A

yummm-mmmy

Good choice, High L-rd!!

That, Prebear, is Kraft Blue Box!!

Truly, I prefer my home made baked macaroni and cheese casserole, but I make blue box much more often, and I think Beorn still prefers it most of the time.

Heinz ketchup is certainly the penultimate ketchup - if such a thing can be.

Heinz 57 sauce is also very distinctive - maybe it's the raisin powder?

Has everyone here heard my little ketchup factoid by now? [I'm a food process engineer by training - when I first graduated from college, I had dreams of making the next Cheez Whiz, but now I work with computers ]

dw

DukkhaWaynhim wrote:Has everyone here heard my little ketchup factoid by now? [I'm a food process engineer by training - when I first graduated from college, I had dreams of making the next Cheez Whiz, but now I work with computers ]

*preparing to cringe*

No...

It's not that bad... just don't ask for my hot dogs story [only buy Kosher dogs - Hebrew National dogs rock! - that's all I will say]

DW's Ketchup Trivia - [in his best Andy Rooney voice] - Did you ever notice that little paper ring at the neck of your typical ketchup bottle? It's always there, but why is that, do you think? Well, back in the early days of ketchup-making, back before they had super-powered blending machines, if a bottle of ketchup sat on the shelf for too long, you might notice "things" rising to the top of the bottle to greet you. I'm talking about bug legs and other buggy parts - ketchup, after all, is made from garden tomatoes, and humans aren't the only critters that love to eat them. So, unless there were something there to block the sight of that buggy bonus - say, a little paper ring at the neck of the bottle, positioned just over the top level of the condiment - well, you wouldn't buy a bottle of anything if you could see bug legs floating in it, would you? I certainly wouldn't.
Today, of course, that isn't a problem - the mixing machines are so good that almost anything could fall into them and you'd never be the wiser. So why still with the paper ring? Well, a ketchup bottle just wouldn't look right without it, not after so many years of cover up.
Now the only way to be sure you are getting that extra buggy burst from your favorite french-fry topping is to check the ingredients. It's always listed last - 'Natural Flavorings' - Is that PC or just good marketing? I have to admit, it sounds a lot tastier than Beetle Splat.
[sounds of stopwatch ticking]

dw

DukkhaWaynhim wrote:It's not that bad... just don't ask for my hot dogs story [only buy Kosher dogs - Hebrew National dogs rock! - that's all I will say]

...the only problem with Hebrew National is that technically, they're not kosher. At least, they didn't have a hechsher the last time I looked...

We buy Best Kosher at Sam's Club, or will go non-kosher and get either the Boar's Head, Sabrett, or Nathan's all beef in natural casing when we are splurging. And no, I do not want to hear your hot dogs story, thankyouverymuch.

DukkhaWaynhim wrote:Now the only way to be sure you are getting that extra buggy burst from your favorite french-fry topping is to check the ingredients. It's always listed last - 'Natural Flavorings' - Is that PC or just good marketing? I have to admit, it sounds a lot tastier than Beetle Splat.
[sounds of stopwatch ticking]

AIYEE!!!

...athough I've known of bugs and bug eggs in food for awhile, especially flour-type products, but still...

*cringe and shudder*

...and my favorite french fry topping is lots of salt and malt vinegar...