# Ketchup on Hot Dogs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [August 6, 2019, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-on-hot-dogs/838207 "2019-08-06T00:15:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Taesahnim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/taesahnim/32/84_2.png) [@Taesahnim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taesahnim)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-on-hot-dogs/838207/21 "2019-08-06T18:54:43Z")
Mustard and onions for a base. Then, depending on mood (and availability) either chili and jalapenos, or sauerkraut. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-on-hot-dogs/838207/22 "2019-08-06T18:58:02Z")
It’s a shibboleth, nothing more. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-on-hot-dogs/838207/23 "2019-08-06T20:29:53Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I can live with ketchup on dogs. I sure squirted lots of it for the lil’wrekker. But, mayo on dogs just grosses me out the back door. > And, Corndogs should only have mustard! Only. I mean it. You obviously haven’t tried them with sweet chili or bbq sauce, then. Ketchup only? never. Ketchup as part of a gloriously overstuffed combo of condiments , chili, onions, and cheese? Oh, Yes! ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-on-hot-dogs/838207/24 "2019-08-07T02:34:45Z")
I regard mustard as normal, but when I was younger and at, \*e.g.,[/] a picnic, I might have two with mustard and one with ketchup for variety’s sake. ---
**Author:** ![Mikemike2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikemike2/32/305_2.png) [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-on-hot-dogs/838207/25 "2019-08-07T02:45:26Z")
The only dog I regularly get is at Costco. $1.50 for a dog and drink. You now have to ask for onions and hot peppers in little containers for sanitary reasons. So a bit of ketchup, mustard, onions peppers, yum. Not a fan of sweet relish, and why can the relish be sweet and not the ketchup? I don’t even keep ketchup at home anymore. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-on-hot-dogs/838207/26 "2019-08-07T13:40:07Z")
Huh. The CostCo around here does not offer peppers as an option and the chopped onions are dispensed from a hand-cranked bin with a lid on it. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-on-hot-dogs/838207/27 "2019-08-07T18:36:13Z")
Ketchup is just tomato flavored corn syrup. It belongs on nothing, but if you’re going to eat it a hot dog is as good a delivery system as any I guess. I prefer hot dogs with mustard and sauerkraut. Maybe add some Huy Fong chili Garlic sauce if I feel like a spicy dog. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-on-hot-dogs/838207/28 "2019-08-07T19:19:52Z")
My philosophy is if things didn’t taste good with ketchup, it would never have been created. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-on-hot-dogs/838207/29 "2019-08-07T19:23:29Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > I now stand ready to be relentlessly mocked and ridiculed. Let me ask you a question: Which way do you put the toilet paper on the roll: Over or under? ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-on-hot-dogs/838207/30 "2019-08-08T02:02:24Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Let me ask you a question: Which way do you put the toilet paper on the roll: Over or under? There’s only two possible ways to hang the roll, and under ain’t one of them. There’s over the front, and over the back. As a tangent from the tangent, back when printed TP was common, someone tried to tell me that the side the paper was printed on was proof that you were supposed hang it over the front, claiming that it was the only way the print would show. I pointed out that it was printed on the _outside_, and that the print shows no matter how you hang it. Conversely, if it were printed on the other side it would be on the _inside_, and wouldn’t show no matter how you hung it. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-on-hot-dogs/838207/31 "2019-08-08T05:44:27Z")
The question that isn’t being asked: is there any real evidence (polls, wholesale purchasing) that Chicago is a less ketchup happy city than anywhere else? It’s getting seriously close to “no true Scotsman” territory. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-on-hot-dogs/838207/32 "2019-08-08T06:38:28Z")
Non-Chicagoan here and I’ll pass on the ketchup - I prefer hot dog toppings to be sour and spicy, not sweet. Chicago-style is good, but I’ll also go for a chili dog, or a Seattle-style dog (spicy mustard, grilled onions, hot peppers, and cream cheese). ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-on-hot-dogs/838207/33 "2019-08-08T13:58:44Z")
Ketchup does **not** belong on a hot dog any more than ranch dressing or pineapple belongs on a pizza. People desecrate (and enjoy) food in all kinds of strange ways, and I doubt they care what experts say. Nonetheless, > [@](#): > > [The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council](http://mentalfloss.com/article/66740/proper-way-eat-hot-dogs-according-national-hot-dog-and-sausage-council) also has rules about ketchup, much to the dismay of Internet commenters. According to the council, no person over the age of 18 should top their hot dog with ketchup, despite the fact that over half of all Americans use the condiment. Former council president Janet Riley (the so-called “Queen of Wien”) is shocked by this: “Ketchup’s popularity was the big surprise, considering our etiquette rules—and ketchup’s notable absence from regional hot dog favorites like the Chicago Dog and the New York Dog.” So it’s not just Chicago; it’s New York, too. And then there’s [this](https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127197228) from NPR: _Hold The Ketchup: It may sound odd to some, but all the cooks we consulted begged home cooks to (please!) skip the ketchup. Unless, that is, your guests demand it._ I try to be tolerant, so if my guests demand it, of course I’ll supply ketchup. But I will avert my eyes while they’re applying and eating it. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-on-hot-dogs/838207/34 "2019-08-08T18:10:38Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Another person baffled by the nonsense that somebody thinks they have a right to tell other people what they put on their food. Egad. > > If someone wants to put ranch dressing on their Cheerios that’s their business. > > I hate hot dogs. (Sometimes at family gatherings they’re the only food available.) Putting ketchup on them kills some of the horrible taste. So the argument that Cecil quotes against it is actually a positive one! > > And stop with the “eating pizza with silverware is bad” stupidity. No, that’s a better way. Try it, you’ll like it. I bet you eat your fried chicken with a fork, too. 😃 Jenny your humble TubaDiva A Southern Heresy. Like sugar in cornbread. (But that’s another story.) ---
**Author:** ![KMS94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ad7895/32.png) [@KMS94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KMS94)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-on-hot-dogs/838207/35 "2019-08-08T19:27:23Z")
Just in case anyone didn’t get the “Dirty Harry” reference mentioned in the column. 🙂 [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/F5JIpT4GkyM/hqdefault.jpg "Dirty Harry hates ketchup") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5JIpT4GkyM) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-on-hot-dogs/838207/36 "2019-08-08T22:57:08Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > …So it’s not just Chicago; it’s New York, too… I’m a Chicagoan, but I’ve spent a fair amount of time in New York, and I can attest that they are just as anti-ketchup about their hot dogs as we are. Personally, I don’t care what anyone puts on their food, as long as they don’t try to make me eat it. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-on-hot-dogs/838207/37 "2019-08-08T23:10:30Z")
Nobody over the age of 18 should be worried about what I put on MY hotdog. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-on-hot-dogs/838207/38 "2019-08-09T12:26:07Z")
I think it boils down to the fact that major cities like New York and Chicago are hubs of culinary civilization. In terms of variety, quality, and sophistication, they can’t be matched by anything on the culinary frontier. It’s not a moral judgment, and it’s not a criticism of people who grew up in that environment. It’s just reality. [" **It tasted like noodles and ketchup."**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja3Die31ihk) ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-on-hot-dogs/838207/39 "2019-08-09T13:53:12Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > Ketchup does **not** belong on a hot dog any more than ranch dressing or pineapple belongs on a pizza. People desecrate (and enjoy) food in all kinds of strange ways, and I doubt they care what experts say. Nonetheless, > > So it’s not just Chicago; it’s New York, too. And then there’s [this](https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127197228) from NPR: > > _Hold The Ketchup: It may sound odd to some, but all the cooks we consulted begged home cooks to (please!) skip the ketchup. Unless, that is, your guests demand it._ > > I try to be tolerant, so if my guests demand it, of course I’ll supply ketchup. But I will avert my eyes while they’re applying and eating it. As I said earlier: > [@RTFirefly](#): > > Like I’ve said elsewhere, even if it’s an all-beef kosher hot dog, it’s still the parts of the cow that weren’t good enough for anything else. Getting all purist about how to eat the not-quite-throwaway bits is absurd. > > I’ll take mine with ketchup and relish, thanks. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-on-hot-dogs/838207/40 "2019-08-09T14:36:47Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > I think it boils down to the fact that major cities like New York and Chicago are hubs of culinary civilization. In terms of variety, quality, and sophistication, they can’t be matched by anything on the culinary frontier. It’s not a moral judgment, and it’s not a criticism of people who grew up in that environment. It’s just reality. > > [" **It tasted like noodles and ketchup."**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja3Die31ihk) If they were hubs of culinary civilization then they wouldn’t be concerned with the etiquette of serving dubious-meat tubes in ghastly “bread”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-on-hot-dogs/838207.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-on-hot-dogs/838207.md?page=3)