Heinz v. Hunts

OxyMoron · April 29, 2002, 4:28am

From Cook’s Illustrated, August 2000:

…we had 13 kinds to try in a side-by-side tasting. They included the big three national brands, Heinz, Hunt’s and Del Monte; organic…or otherwise all-natural brews from Muir Glen… [etc.]; specialty and mail-order ketchups…; and a homemade version…

It wasn’t much of a surprise that the winner was Heinz. For all tasters but one Heinz ranked either first or second…Del Monte took second place, ranking among the top three choices of most tasters. Hunt’s earned an honorable mention as the top choice of two tasters.

As a group, the “natural” ketchups struck tasters generally as overly thick and grainy in texture with a muted, unbalanced flavor…The specialty ketchups did not fare much better…Even our homemade ketchup fell short…

In color, consistency, and flavor, none of the interlopers could match the ketchup archetype, Heinz.