# Unsweet Ketchup in the US? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 1, 2015, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsweet-ketchup-in-the-us/733181 "2015-10-01T22:51:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsweet-ketchup-in-the-us/733181/41 "2015-10-05T18:58:52Z")
Safeway’s organic ketchup isn’t as sweet tasting as Heinz or Hunt’s. It tastes closer to homemade ketchup than any other store brand I’ve had. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsweet-ketchup-in-the-us/733181/42 "2015-10-05T19:00:26Z")
Anyone mentioned Aldi organic ketchup yet? It is markedly in- sweet and much more tomatoey. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_Hey_Paula)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsweet-ketchup-in-the-us/733181/43 "2015-10-06T06:15:58Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I suspect that most of those are just as sweetened, whether it’s with some sort of “natural sugars” in the ingredients or artificial sweeteners. You are correct. it contains sucralose (Splenda), a nasty-tasting artificial sweetener (it tastes like medicine to me, your mileage may vary). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsweet-ketchup-in-the-us/733181/44 "2015-10-06T12:36:33Z")
OP here. Just a reminder: The goal is ketchup with zero artificial sweeteners and very limited natural sweeteners. Thanks to all for the good suggestions so far. TJs and Aldis are both easy. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsweet-ketchup-in-the-us/733181/45 "2015-10-06T15:59:11Z")
> [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](#): > > You are correct. it contains sucralose (Splenda), a nasty-tasting artificial sweetener (it tastes like medicine to me, your mileage may vary). I always use Splenda for coffee. There are some commercial products in which it works great and some in which it’s as awful as the other artificial sweeteners. I haven’t figured out a pattern yet. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsweet-ketchup-in-the-us/733181/46 "2015-10-06T16:49:15Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > OP here. Just a reminder: The goal is ketchup with zero artificial sweeteners and very limited natural sweeteners. It shouldn’t be any harder than looking up the nutrition info for every brand you can find. The lower the sugar content, and the presence or absence of artificial sweeteners, should pretty much tell the tale. It looks as if 2g of sugar per serving (half the big-name brands) is about the floor. You might go dig into some really hippy-dippy organic vegan brands just to see if the number gets any lower. Sugar does play a part in tomato-sauce-y recipes, not always for detectible sweetness. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsweet-ketchup-in-the-us/733181/47 "2015-11-04T17:08:16Z")
Late revival by OP here … For the record … I got some Trader Joe’s Organic ketchup. The label says 2g of sugar per tbsp. The flavor is very not-sweet with the savory tang I (think I) recall all mainstream ketchups had years ago. Definitely a winner. The organic-ness is immaterial for me. The lack of sugar, sugar equivalents, or artificial sweeteners is key. And much appreciated. Thanks to all. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsweet-ketchup-in-the-us/733181/48 "2015-11-04T19:41:19Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The “secret sauce” is sriracha is sugar. It’s just fairly ordinary chili sauce with extra garlic and a boatload of sugar to round off the chili zing. Sriracha has 3 grams of sugar per tablespoon. I’d hardly call that a boatload. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsweet-ketchup-in-the-us/733181/49 "2015-11-04T22:46:54Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > Sriracha has 3 grams of sugar per tablespoon. I’d hardly call that a boatload. Seeing as it’s a lot more than the ketchup everyone is calling too sweet, I think it qualifies. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsweet-ketchup-in-the-us/733181/50 "2015-11-04T22:52:03Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Seeing as it’s a lot more than the ketchup everyone is calling too sweet, I think it qualifies. Not a lot more. Not even a little more. Regular Heinz/Hunts’ ketchup is 4g of sugar/tablespoon. That’s not to say that Rooster sauce isn’t sweet, but it’s still less sugar than your average ketchup. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsweet-ketchup-in-the-us/733181/51 "2015-11-04T23:50:24Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Late revival by OP here … > > For the record … > > I got some Trader Joe’s Organic ketchup. The label says 2g of sugar per tbsp. The flavor is very not-sweet with the savory tang I (think I) recall all mainstream ketchups had years ago. Definitely a winner. > > The organic-ness is immaterial for me. The lack of sugar, sugar equivalents, or artificial sweeteners is key. And much appreciated. > > Thanks to all. Different ketchups use different amounts of sugar. That shouldn’t be surprising. I remember some ketchup from way back when that was less sweet. It always seemed to be in those red squeeze bottles at restaurants. And when you are at a restaurant just because the bottle on your table says Heinz doesn’t mean it’s Heinz Ketchup in the bottle. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsweet-ketchup-in-the-us/733181.md?page=2)