Ketchup or Catsup if you must

[Harbinger]

I love ketchup. My dad loves ketchup even more than I do. You know, one of those guys who puts it on eggs, steak, whatever. My son loves ketchup with his ketchup. I am very loyal to Heinz Ketchup. Hunt's has gotten better in the last ten years, but my wife is under strict orders that nothing but Heinz is to enter my house.

McDonald's used to serve Heinz in the little packets and I used to eat it on their fries, but some 15-17 years ago they started making their own ketchup. I hate it- too vinegary to me- but at least they spell it right. Now if I eat their fries, I eat them plain, unless I'm at the mall where I greatly appreciate being able to get Chick Fil-A nuggets with Mickey D's fries and Heinz ketchup.

Now my mom has become one of these New Age organic health nuts. She talks about feelings and has shitty condiments. I bought a bottle of Heinz last time I was home because of her horrible organic ketchup and she threw it out after I left to keep my step dad on the organic stuff. I was thinking that I was just going have to steal a bunch of little packets from the nearby Wendy's. Which I wouldn't mind doing because they are so chincy with them.

Anyway, what this little narrative is leading up to is that I found a great recipe for organic ketchup. Trust me, it's not replacing my beloved Heinz, but I plan to turn my mom onto it.

Lynn's Organic Ketchup Recipe
3 cups canned, organic tomato paste
¼ cup whey (liquid from plain yogurt)
1 Tbls sea salt
½ cup maple syrup
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
3 cloves peeled & mashed garlic
½ cup fish sauce fish sauce (find in most any market)

Just mix together in a wide-mouth glass jar, leave at least an inch below the top and leave it at room temperature for 2-3 days before putting into the refrigerator.

Recipe makes a whole quart.

If you try it, I hope you like it. It beats the hell out of the nasty stuff my mom pays big bucks for at Whole Earth or wherever!

[Menolly]

I was a loyal Heinz girl for years.
And if I am away from an area that has Publix Supermarkets, I still am.
But I have found Publix Organic Ketchup to be nearly indistinguishable from Heinz's in flavor.

...and Heinz itself sells an organic ketchup.



Perhaps your mom will allow that to remain in her house?

I love that both brands are made with sugar, rather than corn syrup.
I can now have decent tasting ketchup on Passover.

...no, neither brand is certified k4p, but the ingredient list falls within my level of keeping Pesach.

The Publix Organic store brand runs nearly half the price per ounce as the Heinz Organic. And I truly do not taste a difference. But then, I have not done a side-by-side comparison...

[Sunbaneglasses]

Is it just me or is Burger King ketchup extra sweet?

[Menolly]

It is.

[Worm of Despite]

Is it just me or is Burger King ketchup extra sweet?

But even the sweetest Burger King ketchup isn't as sweet as you. *bats lashes*

[dlbpharmd]

Now my mom has become one of these New Age organic health nuts. She talks about feelings and has shitty condiments.

[stonemaybe]

Don't forget the lycopene!

The lycopene in tomatoes is barely digestible, but the cooking process involved in making ketchup makes it much more bio-available.

One of the greatest moments in history, must be when this



was replaced by this



Ketchup should NOT be frustrating!

[Vader]

If Granny Fanny Nesselrode could have lived to see that.

[Damelon]

Ketchup on a good steak is a crime. Heinz is the best but it generally goes to waste in my house. Aside from occasionally putting it on fries, I don't use a lot of it. There are few tastes as bad as crappy ketchup though.

The upside down bottle is a great idea for ketchup, but kind of surprisingly, not so for Miracle Whip. The last bit can't be forced out the bottle it seems.

[DukkhaWaynhim]

This reminds me of my favorite food story -- a page from the history of ketchup packaging. Elohimfest attendees may have already heard this (I'm a one-trick pony).

I am a food process engineer (well, that's what one of my college degrees says -- I have never had a job in the food industry -- screw you, college placement services!), and one of the anecdotes from the annals of Food Packaging 101 was about ketchup, specifically why ketchup bottles have a paper ring at the neck.

If you are lucky, your ketchup is made from tomatoes, which grow in fields. Bugs like to eat tomatoes. Inevitably, some of these bugs will accompany the tomatoes when processed into ketchup. Back in the old days, like 30+ years ago, homogenization equipment (a fancy term for industrial-size food processors) was OK at doing its job, but not great. So, when bottles of ketchup sat too long on the shelf, *things* rose to the top level of the ketchup as it tended to separate back into its ingredients. Clever manufacturers hid the top level of the ketchup with a paper ring to prevent gross-outs (lost sales) from seeing bug legs in their ketchup.

Bugs still like tomatoes, but equipment technology has improved. Food companies are required by law to list everything that is in their foods.... which is why the last ingredient on your ketchup label is always 'natural flavoring'. Mmmmmmmm - taste those beetle feet....

dw

[Orlion]

This reminds me of my favorite food story -- a page from the history of ketchup packaging. Elohimfest attendees may have already heard this (I'm a one-trick pony).

I am a food process engineer (well, that's what one of my college degrees says -- I have never had a job in the food industry -- screw you, college placement services!), and one of the anecdotes from the annals of Food Packaging 101 was about ketchup, specifically why ketchup bottles have a paper ring at the neck.

If you are lucky, your ketchup is made from tomatoes, which grow in fields. Bugs like to eat tomatoes. Inevitably, some of these bugs will accompany the tomatoes when processed into ketchup. Back in the old days, like 30+ years ago, homogenization equipment (a fancy term for industrial-size food processors) was OK at doing its job, but not great. So, when bottles of ketchup sat too long on the shelf, *things* rose to the top level of the ketchup as it tended to separate back into its ingredients. Clever manufacturers hid the top level of the ketchup with a paper ring to prevent gross-outs (lost sales) from seeing bug legs in their ketchup.

Bugs still like tomatoes, but equipment technology has improved. Food companies are required by law to list everything that is in their foods.... which is why the last ingredient on your ketchup label is always 'natural flavoring'. Mmmmmmmm - taste those beetle feet....

dw

So that's the secret ingrediant of Mac Sauce!

[Harbinger]

Quote:
Now my mom has become one of these New Age organic health nuts. She talks about feelings and has shitty condiments.l

Oh yeah, don't even get me started on the organic mayo. Disgusting. My sister actually said that sperm was more palatable.

[Zarathustra]

Heinz is without a doubt the best. McD's now tastes like school lunch going-bad ketchup.

I don't use it very much, except on french fries and hamburgers. But it has become an essential backup ingredient when I add too much of something or other to my homemade BBQ sauce. I never measure, and I add about 15 ingredients, so it's always a little unpredictable (but always fantastic!). Having Heinz on hand allows me to mellow out some sauce that has too much of an ingredient or two. It's already perfectly balanced, so it is great at hitting that sweet/acidic ratio.

[Sunbaneglasses]

Ketchup is great on tacos!

[aliantha]

Someone once told me that the way Heinz got away with its old "thick and rich" deception was by putting the product in a bottle with a narrow neck. The ketchup blocks up the neck of the bottle as it's coming out, not letting any air inside to equalize the air pressure inside and outside the bottle. So you get a vacuum inside the bottle that holds the ketchup inside, making it look like it's really thick as it glugs slowly out.

[Menolly]

A little heel of the hand pounding on the raised embossed 57 at the neck of the glass bottle always got it to flow again though...

[Harbinger]

My old trick was to fling the bottle down as hard as I could and then shake it straight up as hard as I could. Then quickly turn it upside down and pour. Always worked for me.

You gotta make sure the cap is on tight though. I did it once on a first date at a nice restaurant when I was a senior in high school. The cap shot across the restaurant and some ketchup got on the people at the table behind me, and some ketchup got on my shirt. The girl had a camera and kodachromed the moment. Fortunately, I had a wife beater on under my shirt. The people behind me were pretty pissed. All in all, a pretty funny experience.

[aliantha]

A little heel of the hand pounding on the raised embossed 57 at the neck of the glass bottle always got it to flow again though...

Well, yeah, it would. You were jarring the ketchup loose from the side of the bottle enough for a little air to get past it into the bottle.

Harbinger --

[matrixman]

I'm fond of that "You're the Top!" Heinz commercial from the '80s.