# Heinz Tomato Ketchup **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 2, 2009, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-tomato-ketchup/498510 "2009-06-02T21:33:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-tomato-ketchup/498510/21 "2009-06-04T01:05:51Z")
Follow up question: I was at Applebees today with my wife, and the Heinz ketchup bottle said, “Grown, not made,” in regards to the tomatoes they use. What is that supposed to mean? Here is a somewhat OK photo: [http://www.doobybrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/heinz-ketchup-old-and-new-bottles-compared.jpg](http://www.doobybrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/heinz-ketchup-old-and-new-bottles-compared.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Taters](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/taters/32/2845_2.png) [@Taters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taters)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-tomato-ketchup/498510/22 "2009-06-04T01:17:57Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Hunts [IS](http://www.trendsetters.com/wp-content/images/hunts-ketchup.jpg) [ketchup](http://images.google.com/images?btnG=Google+Search&safe=off&filter=0&q=hunt%20ketchup) > > I noticed a slight difference in Heinz ketchup in a bottle, in the packets or the big resturant types. I think the packets do taste a bit sweeter. I am not sure if it’s true or just a perception. Perhaps you use less so the sweetness shows. Hmmm, I stand corrected. Thank you.🙂 I guess I was remembering the bottles from the 70s and early 80s. They did say catsup back then. I remember it clearly. I wonder when they changed it to ketchup? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-tomato-ketchup/498510/23 "2009-06-04T01:44:05Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Follow up question: > > I was at Applebees today with my wife, and the Heinz ketchup bottle said, “Grown, not made,” in regards to the tomatoes they use. > > What is that supposed to mean? > > Here is a somewhat OK photo: > > [Herman Yung](http://www.doobybrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/heinz-ketchup-old-and-new-bottles-compared.jpg) Organic with natural fertilizer, as opposed to hothouse tomatos, I’m guessing? ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-tomato-ketchup/498510/24 "2009-06-04T01:52:32Z")
Does Mickey D’s use Heinz these days? For a long time I think they made their own due to a dispute with Heinz. If Heinz is back in McD’s good graces perhaps they get their own recipe made for them by Heinz, knowing how clinical McDonald’s approach is I wouldn’t be surprised if they specifically requested a sweeter recipe because it tested better with their fry recipe. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-tomato-ketchup/498510/25 "2009-06-04T04:28:30Z")
I notice the packets say “fancy” ketchup my guess is the fancy might be extra sugar. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-tomato-ketchup/498510/26 "2009-06-04T14:51:10Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Follow up question: > > I was at Applebees today with my wife, and the Heinz ketchup bottle said, “Grown, not made,” in regards to the tomatoes they use. > > What is that supposed to mean? > > Here is a somewhat OK photo: > > [Herman Yung](http://www.doobybrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/heinz-ketchup-old-and-new-bottles-compared.jpg) If you look on the label on the back it explains that “every tomato in every bottle of Heinz Ketchup _is grown from Heinz seeds_. Grown not made” Whatever that means. ---
**Author:** ![Rattlehead02](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rattlehead02/32/3944_2.png) [@Rattlehead02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rattlehead02)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-tomato-ketchup/498510/27 "2009-06-04T17:17:39Z")
I believe it was Modern Marvels I was watching where they showed ketchup packets being made. I don’t recall if it was Heinz or not, but the narrator did say that McDonald’s has their very own recipe. I’m pretty sure it was the Fast Food episode of Modern Marvels I saw it on. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-tomato-ketchup/498510/28 "2009-06-04T17:52:35Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > If you look on the label on the back it explains that “every tomato in every bottle of Heinz Ketchup _is grown from Heinz seeds_. Grown not made” > > Whatever that means. Yes, I read that as well and still don’t get what it means. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-tomato-ketchup/498510/29 "2009-06-05T02:06:00Z")
A few years back one of the major companies had a “carb options” ketchup, it may have been Heinz. It was basically the same as their normal recipe except it didn’t have like 8 cups of sugar in it. Weird at first, but I grew to like it a lot. Can you still get that stuff anywhere, or maybe is there another brand where there isn’t twice as much sugar as tomato in their ketchup? There was a whole line of these products from a major food company - with different sauces, cheese dips, etc. I haven’t seen them around for years. I’d like to get my hands on that stuff again. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-tomato-ketchup/498510/30 "2009-06-05T02:57:25Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > A few years back one of the major companies had a “carb options” ketchup, it may have been Heinz. It was basically the same as their normal recipe except it didn’t have like 8 cups of sugar in it. Weird at first, but I grew to like it a lot. Can you still get that stuff anywhere, or maybe is there another brand where there isn’t twice as much sugar as tomato in their ketchup? > > There was a whole line of these products from a major food company - with different sauces, cheese dips, etc. I haven’t seen them around for years. I’d like to get my hands on that stuff again. Heinz had low carb catsup. Still do but they changed the name to reduced sugar. Same ingredients though. I’m still doing the low carb thing and it’s really hard to find packaged anything specific to my needs. I miss the KC Masterpiece bbq sauce without sugar. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-tomato-ketchup/498510/31 "2009-06-05T03:23:15Z")
Yeah, unfortunately the “craze” from the low carb stuff died down and you can’t get the food anymore at regular grocery stores- I don’t know if there are specialty shops. Some of the low carb stuff was frankenfood, but a lot of it was just the stuff you’d normally by, with the same brands even, that was pretty much the same thing without all the added high fructose corn syrup. It was not only healther (even if you weren’t trying to low carb) but some of it actually tasted better - it wasn’t drowned out with sweetness. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-tomato-ketchup/498510/32 "2009-06-05T19:48:16Z")
> [@GildedLily](#): > > I believe it was Modern Marvels I was watching where they showed ketchup packets being made. I don’t recall if it was Heinz or not, but the narrator did say that McDonald’s has their very own recipe. > > I’m pretty sure it was the Fast Food episode of Modern Marvels I saw it on. Well, I just compared Burger King’s ketchup packets with my bottled, and to me they are exactly the same. Tomorrow I will go to McDonald’s. I’m sure the foodie world is waiting on pins and needles for my report. ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-tomato-ketchup/498510/33 "2009-06-05T23:37:16Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Follow up question: > > I was at Applebees today with my wife, and the Heinz ketchup bottle said, “Grown, not made,” in regards to the tomatoes they use. > > What is that supposed to mean? > > Here is a somewhat OK photo: > > [Herman Yung](http://www.doobybrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/heinz-ketchup-old-and-new-bottles-compared.jpg) Developed in the old-fashioned style, not genetically modified? Just a guess. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-tomato-ketchup/498510/34 "2009-06-06T00:48:02Z")
I never buy ketchup or catsup. I buy Heinz _chili sauce_. I’ve never understood why it’s called that, as it doesn’t taste like chili and isn’t hot. It just seems like a better grade of ketchup–I think it has a thicker, pulpier texture and may be less sweetened. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-tomato-ketchup/498510/35 "2009-06-07T05:25:30Z")
> [@Joe Frickin Friday](#): > > The stuff at McDonald’s, despite saying ‘Heinz’ on the packet Unless your local Mickey D’s is one of the few rogue franchisees that’s serving Heinz, I think you’ll find no such thing on the packet. [Cite](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2237/1697968791_4a5593085b.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-tomato-ketchup/498510/36 "2009-06-07T06:27:11Z")
I’m gonna be the one crazy in the thread who likes Hunt’s. [I’m not alone](http://www.americastestkitchen.com/tasting/overview.asp?tastingid=398&iSeason=), though > [@](#): > > This “cherry red” ketchup scored the highest for both taste and texture and was the overall winner. Tasters praised the “inviting, smooth” texture and “tangy,” “fresh” flavor. Some commented that this “well-balanced” sample tasted “exactly as it should.” vs. > [@](#): > > The standard bearer fell to the middle of the pack in our taste tests, losing points for being “bland” and “too sweet.” Tasters were more positive about its “fry-dipping texture” and “smooth,” “thick” consistency. Overall assessment: “unremarkable.” ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-tomato-ketchup/498510/37 "2010-10-26T15:48:01Z")
Hunt’s rocks. Was going to do a thread asking if anyone liked Hunt’s better. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-tomato-ketchup/498510/38 "2010-10-26T17:00:44Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > The New Yorker once had an article about ketchups. It seems that many people try to make a boutique ketchup better than Heinz - and they all fail. Heinz is as close to perfection as a food is going to get. [I think this might be the one you mean.](http://www.gladwell.com/2004/2004_09_06_a_ketchup.html) ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-tomato-ketchup/498510/39 "2010-10-26T17:14:17Z")
> [@Taters](#): > > Hunts is NOT ketchup…it’s _catsup._ Just look at the bottle. It’s also an abomination. > > If one must eat ketchup, it must be Heinz. > > Yes, I’ve noticed the packets taste nothing like the bottled. I wonder if that has to do with how old the packets might be. Ketchup and catsup are the same thing. [The only difference is the spelling.](http://www.google.com/search?q=difference+between+catsup+and+ketchup&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-tomato-ketchup/498510/40 "2010-10-26T17:24:40Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > [I think this might be the one you mean.](http://www.gladwell.com/2004/2004_09_06_a_ketchup.html) [A Consumer Reports review may debunk the whole Gladwell “Heinz is perfect” meme…](http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/brainiac/2010/09/consumer_report.html) > [@](#): > > In its latest issue, however, Consumer Reports–boring, reliable Honda to the sexy Porsche that is The New Yorker–compares store brands of various products to their more expensive name-brand competitors. As it happens, they examine ketchup. And, as it happens, they declare a tie between Target’s Market Pantry brand and the supposedly perfect Heinz. The magazine’s tasters liked them equally. > > Might this be because Target has mimicked the Heinz formula perfectly? Well, no, says Consumer Reports… …and: > [@](#): > > With that conclusion, summarized briskly in workmanlike prose by journalists you’ve never heard of, Gladwell’s Grand Unifying Theory of Ketchup–which he was allowed to present in painstaking detail (and 5,000 words) in the nation’s most prestigious magazine–simply turns to air. Another shot at Gladwell, the boy at the top of the hill ([link to early SDMB thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=539942)) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-tomato-ketchup/498510.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-tomato-ketchup/498510.md?page=3)