Heinz, Hunts, or generic?  We all use ketchup, but in a blind taste test can you tell the difference?  I assembled a panel of 9 friends and co-workers and put them to the test.

Ketchup or catsup is a delicious red sauce made primarily of tomatoes, vinegar, and sugar.  Generally used as a condiment for hot foods such as French fries and hamburgers, it can also be used as an ingredient to add additional flavor when cooking.

The first form of ketchup (I’m not calling it catsup) was originally made in 17^th century China, where it was a brine for pickled fish.  The sauce was discovered by English explorers a century later and then made it to the new colonies in the United States.  The Chinese pronounced it kay-chap, but when the English got a hold of the sauce, it was changed to our common word, ketchup.

While there are many variations on the recipe, the American tomato version was first created and published by Sandy Addison in 1801.  The English version used at that time contained anchovies!

As the 19^th century went on, the popularity of ketchup skyrocketed.  Being made and sold by local farmers, Americans could eat the sauce without having to worry about the shelf life of tomatoes.

In 1876, the Heinz foods corporation was the first to launch a mass produced ketchup to stores and advertised it as “Blessed relief for mother and other women in the household.”  Years later, after concerns over sodium benzoate, Heinz changed the recipe to remove the controversial preservative.  Ketchup now has an additive, usually xanthan gum, which gives it a thinning property.  The harder you slap or shake the bottle, the more liquidity it will become, allowing it to be removed easily.  Once it is no longer in motion, the ketchup will return to a more solid, thicker state.

Heinz ketchup main rival in the United States in Hunts.  Hunts started out as the Hunts Bros. Fruit Packing Company of Sebastopol, California in 1888.  It wasn’t until the 1930’s after a company takeover they decided to focus on canned tomato products and prepared tomato sauce.

As with most common household products, most stores have their own private label generic brand products.  For this taste test, I went with Shop-Rite brand generic ketchup, but the store name was not disclosed until after I finished the test.

I placed a small serving of each in secretly labeled clear plastic cups and then gave one cup each to my panelists.  7 of them tried the ketchup with standard French fries, 1 with sweet potato fries, and 1 ate some off a knife because we ran out of fries.

I asked three simple questions:

1. Pick your favorite
2. Tell me which is Heinz, Hunts, and the generic brand
3. What brand do you usually buy?

They each first picked their favorite.  The brand was not disclosed at this point, but here’s what they chose:

FAVORITE KETCHUP

Heinz                            3

Hunts                           3

Generic                        3

It was split right down the middle.  Not even the lottery has these kinds of odds!

“I was really stuck between Hunts and generic,” said Mike from Jersey City, New Jersey.

But, when I asked them what brand they usually buy:

BRAND USUALLY BUY

Heinz                                   5                      2 incorrect

Hunts                                  0                      2 incorrect

Generic                               3                      1 incorrect

Doesn’t buy ketchup     1

Three of the panelists missed identifying their favorite brand in the blind test.  One Heinz buyer picked generic and one picked Hunts.  One generic buyer picked Heinz as their favorite.  One Hunts buyer picked generic, while the other picked Heinz.  The third Hunts panelist said he usually doesn’t buy ketchup.

That means that 33% of those taking the taste test could not identify their favorite brand.

“Heinz is the gold standard in ketchup,” said Max from Cranford, New Jersey.

When asked to name which brand was which, based on flavor, here’s how many out of the 9 panelists got the brand correct:

CORRECTLY IDENTIFIED

Heinz                            5

Hunts                           4

Generic                        5

More than half of the panelists correctly picked both Heinz and the generic brands.  3 panelists got zero correct, while 4 guessed all three correctly.

Many of the comments they made stated that Heinz has a distinct flavor and texture.

The ketchup taste test underway.

“You can tell one is sweeter and one is saltier,” said Jeremy from Bayonne, New Jersey.

“The generic is watered down,” said Michael from Los Angeles, California.

Our test can conclude that the generic brand is pretty darn close to as good as Heinz, the most indefinable product.  When I did the test, I felt that the generic had a very strong flavor and I was surprised when I mixed it up with Hunts in my blind taste test.  I always buy Heinz and was able to easily identify that.  But, the generic really did have a strong flavor and I did like the taste of all three brands.

But, when you look at the ketchup aisle in the store it can be a bit overwhelming.  While there may be only a few select brands to choose from, there are dozens of different varieties.

On some bottles ketchup is labeled as “fancy,” meaning it contains a higher amount of tomatoes and solid concentration, beating FDA standards.

In the Philippines, ketchup is actually made from bananas and has been since World War II, when there was a shortage of tomatoes.  To compete with tomato ketchup, it is dyed red.

The number 57 on a Heinz bottle means nothing.  Founder Henry Heinz simply thought the number was lucky.  There are more than 60 Heinz products on store shelves.

Should you refrigerate ketchup?  An open bottle will last one month in the cupboard, but an open bottle in the refrigerator will last up to six months.

Most ketchup sold in stores contains a large amount of sugar.  Something may people forget when they are on a sugar restrictive diet.

For quick comparison, according to the bottle, 1 tablespoon of ketchup from each the three tested brands contains:

Calories:

Heinz                                  20

Hunts                                 25

Shop Rite generic         15

Fat:

Heinz                                  0g

Hunts                                 0g

Shop Rite generic         0g

Sugar:

Heinz                                  4g

Hunts                                 4g

Shop Rite generic         4g

THE 411

Name: ketchup or catsup

What: tomato based condiment popular in the United States

First recipe in US: 1801

First sold commercially in US: 1876

JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS

It’s Heinz all the way for me and I was easily able to identify it during my blind taste test.  (Yes, I admit I got the other two confused…)

However, you may want to try this test yourself and see if you are purchasing what you and your family really like.  You could even collect some sample packets that are given away at restaurants and see which you like best.

Image credit – David Copeland