(I can hear Firesign Theater fans crying, “More Sugar!”)
I had a bad day, and so I bought a can of Chef Boy-Ar-Dee Ravioli as “comfort food.” Num num. Love the stuff.
But…it seems to me that it was sweeter than I remember it. I thought I could taste the added sugar.
Are they playing the game of adding more sugar to their sauce than in earlier recipes, to make it more attractive both to adults and to children? Shame on them, if so… (But it was yummy.)
They may have reduced the fat content - adding sugar when reducing fat is a common thing in processed food to retain flavor…
The second item listed on the ingredient label of ketchup is sugar. I’m pretty sure the “Chef” uses ketchup for his sauce, so it makes sense.
Seems to me that most processed tomato products (except straight tomato sauce) are overly sweetened any more.
You’ll notice the high fructose corn syrup in the ingredients list, too. So many American processed foods are sweeter than they used to be.
I actually bought a couple cans for the kids, but haven’t tried it yet. I’ll report back with my impressions when I do, but my memory of it from 20-25 years ago is that is was too sweet for my tastes even back then, so I’d be impressed if its sweeter than my memories of it. Salt and MSG (or similar compounds) doesn’t surprise me in any way–haven’t all convenience foods been this way since at least the 80s? I expect no less from my convenience foods. 
Here’s a label from the mid-90s, so you can compare sugars per serving, if you’d like. This particular product from the mid-90s actually has more sugar per serving than the ABCs 123s I have in the kitchen (11g v 9g for the same serving size–well, almost the same; the old serving size is 252g, the new one is 247g.) .Obviously, they are not exactly the same product, but sweetness levels are similar. ETA: And my spaghetti & meatballs is at 8g sugars for a 257g serving. ETA2: This mid-90s pasta with meatballs is 10g sugar for a 256g serving. So it doesn’t appear it’s gotten any sweeter, at least since the mid-90s.
My addiction to Kellogg’s Almond Raisin Muslix ended about a year ago when they decided to add more sugar to it.
I even phoned them up about it and was told that it will be more marketable now with the higher sugar content. In my impotent haughtiness I told them it won’t be more marketable with me, and now I hack (er I mean - I put together now) my own custom blend of granola-y nummy-nums.
Your tongue is just more sensitive to sweet now than it was when you used to eat the stuff when you were younger.
Now, if one seriously thinks Chef Boyardee uses catsup for sauce, the only explanation for that is that you flat out have a defective sense of taste. It’s not exactly gormet, but it tastes nothing like that. It also has a completely different consistency and texture. I know it’s fun to snark about cheap mass produced foodstuffs and act like they’re garbage, but come on.
That’s certainly a possibility, but I thought taste-buds grew less sensitive with time and age.
I was wondering at that post. I’m not in a position to say, “No, that ain’t so,” but…it sure doesn’t taste like catsup (or ketchup.) It has more in common with typical spaghetti sauce.
I generally find that the ravioli has a sauce less sweet than the other Chef Boyardee entrees I’ve tried, which is why I rarely try them again. Indeed, if they add meatballs to the mix, they for some reason add sugar as well, according to my taste. I can stand the sweeter sauce better in the spaghetti and meatballs, but I hope they leave some tanginess in the ravioli sauce.
Welcome everyone to the daily tribulations of diabetics…
It seems to me that if supply & demand truly drove the market we’d be seeing a lot more s/f or low sugar options. We’re headed towards 1 in 3 having diabetes by 2050, yet it’s difficult (and some cases impossible) to find s/f or low sugar options. :mad:
I agree. It doesn’t remind me at all of ketchup. I mean, first of all, it doesn’t have any of that vinegary tang that defines ketchup (along with the sweetness). It doesn’t really quite taste like normal spaghetti sauce, either, but it’s far closer to that than ketchup. It just tastes like Chef Boy-Ar-Dee sauce.
I suspect the market demand isn’t as great or profitable as you’d think.
Back in mid-2014 I noticed that Crosse and Blackwell seafood cocktail sauce had changed the recipe and increased the sugar by 1/3! Way too sweet.
A while back one of my kids had some leftover Boyardee ravioli, which I loved as a kid, so I had one. Blech! Definitely too sweet, much sweeter than I remember it being back in the 70s/80s. I don’t know which one of us changed, but that love affair is best left in my memory.