# Was Chef Boyardee once good? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 9, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-chef-boyardee-once-good/549717 "2010-08-09T15:15:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TommyTutone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@TommyTutone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TommyTutone)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-chef-boyardee-once-good/549717/41 "2010-08-12T03:46:29Z")
Call me an old stodger, but I don’t believe HFCS was an original ingredient in the stuff. It’s too sweet anyway, but that doesn’t help: [http://www.zeer.com/Food-Products/Chef-Boyardee-Beefaroni/000052546](http://www.zeer.com/Food-Products/Chef-Boyardee-Beefaroni/000052546) ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-chef-boyardee-once-good/549717/42 "2010-08-12T04:37:51Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > AS italian food it falls well short, as its own food category, its not bad. I’m with you. It’s not Italian Food, it’s Canned Food. It’s just not fair to compare any kind of Canned Food --whether pasta, soup, chili, or what have you-- to its homemade counterpart. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered an example of Canned Food that was even in the same league as its inspiration. ---
**Author:** ![Jormungandr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@Jormungandr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jormungandr)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-chef-boyardee-once-good/549717/43 "2010-08-12T04:49:29Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > They did the same thing to Colonel Sanders and his fried chicken. He perfected the recipe and cooking in his restaurant. From what I’ve read it really was extremely good. > > Sanders created the franchise and personally went to each restaurant to train the cooks. That approach wasn’t fast enough for the corporate types & investors behind the company. Sanders was turned into a figurehead spokesman. He wasn’t very well educated and they easily manipulated him. The suits screwed around with the cooking to make it quicker and more efficient. The stuff they sell today is nothing like the KFC I had in the late 1960’s. > > If I had a time machine I’d love to visit Sanders restaurant before it became a franchise. > > I suspect Chef Boyardee food was changed drastically too. Before the Colonel died, KFC changed the recipe for the gravy to save time. The Colonel compared it to wallpaper paste. Also, the 1980s book, “Big Secrets” by William Poundstone, stated that the only spice left in the chicken was black pepper. No herbs. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-chef-boyardee-once-good/549717/44 "2010-08-12T13:56:37Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > > [@FordTaurusSHO94](#): > > > > It drives me up the wall when people talk about pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce as ketchup. > > What should really drive you up a wall is people who really do use ketchup as pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce. This was [not at all uncommon](http://www.convergingcuisine.com/?p=28), and not particularly limited to American Depression-era cuisine. This isn’t totally crazy … many legit little-old-Italian-lady red sauce recipes have a good amount of sugar. The oddball ingredient, I’d guess, is the vinegar that’s in ketchup. Maybe the sweetness/flavor of caramelized onions helps balance out the vinegar sourness. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-chef-boyardee-once-good/549717/45 "2010-08-12T14:51:26Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > > [@FordTaurusSHO94](#): > > > > It drives me up the wall when people talk about pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce as ketchup. > > What should really drive you up a wall is people who really do use ketchup as pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce. This was [not at all uncommon](http://www.convergingcuisine.com/?p=28), and not particularly limited to American Depression-era cuisine. Ew! That sent me back to 1975 for a moment. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-chef-boyardee-once-good/549717/46 "2010-08-12T15:52:01Z")
Other than a few small instances, I car barely tolerate ketchup. I’ve never had ravioli or spaghetti in sauce that I would compare to ketchup. Shudder. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-chef-boyardee-once-good/549717/47 "2010-08-13T05:52:55Z")
My local Zellers store (which from the looks of it and others in the city will all be Target stores next year, or so) has the big Family Size can (1.13 kg.) of Ravioli on sale for a whole $2. Now, you can’t go wrong for $2, can you? I grabbed 5. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-chef-boyardee-once-good/549717/48 "2010-08-13T15:47:19Z")
> [@FordTaurusSHO94](#): > > Other than a few small instances, I car barely tolerate ketchup. I’ve never had ravioli or spaghetti in sauce that I would compare to ketchup. Shudder. Well, what do you compare Chef Boyardee tomato sauce to? It is a cloyingly sweet, runny, textureless tomato sauce devoid of any spices or herbs. No oregano, basil, or even garlic. What does it remind you of if not ketchup? ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-chef-boyardee-once-good/549717/49 "2010-08-13T16:19:11Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > > [@FordTaurusSHO94](#): > > > > Other than a few small instances, I car barely tolerate ketchup. I’ve never had ravioli or spaghetti in sauce that I would compare to ketchup. Shudder. > > Well, what do you compare Chef Boyardee tomato sauce to? It is a cloyingly sweet, runny, textureless tomato sauce devoid of any spices or herbs. No oregano, basil, or even garlic. What does it remind you of if not ketchup? Tomato soup. I’ve always been convinced that it’s little more than sweetened Campbell’s tomato soup. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-chef-boyardee-once-good/549717/50 "2010-08-13T16:26:06Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > Tomato soup. I’ve always been convinced that it’s little more than sweetened Campbell’s tomato soup. Yeah, that’s what it tastes like to me. That’s also why I didn’t like it as a kid. I _hated_ Campbell’s tomato soup, but I loved the tomato soup my mom would make. On the other hand, I did like Campbell’s canned New England clam chowder, so it’s not like I hated all Campbell’s products. ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-chef-boyardee-once-good/549717/51 "2010-08-13T17:35:58Z")
I am not ashamed to admit it - I love Chef Boyardee meat tortelini. Throw some parmesan cheese in it and I’m good to go. Unfortunately (for me), I can’t find it around here and netgrocer doesn’t carry it. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-chef-boyardee-once-good/549717/52 "2010-08-13T19:19:21Z")
The thought of ketchup on spaghetti makes me retch, but then I think about how the chili mac at Steak & Shake is basically ketchup & ground beef on spaghetti. That chili mac is awesome. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-chef-boyardee-once-good/549717/53 "2010-08-13T22:33:32Z")
Yeah, it’s more tomato soup than ketchup. ---
**Author:** ![LadyJane84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@LadyJane84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LadyJane84)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-chef-boyardee-once-good/549717/54 "2010-08-14T13:39:47Z")
> [@In\_Winnipeg](#): > > My local Zellers store (which from the looks of it and others in the city will all be Target stores next year, or so) has the big Family Size can (1.13 kg.) of Ravioli on sale for a whole $2. > > Now, you can’t go wrong for $2, can you? > > I grabbed 5. What WHAT WHAAAT!!! Are you for real? I hadn’t heard anything about Zellers being bought out by Target. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-chef-boyardee-once-good/549717/55 "2010-08-16T02:37:49Z")
> [@LadyJane84](#): > > What WHAT WHAAAT!!! Are you for real? I hadn’t heard anything about Zellers being bought out by Target. Well, actually, Zellers was bought out by The Hudson Bay Company, which, in turn, was bought out by the company that owns Target. Honestly, it was all over the news last year. From the looks of things at Zellers, all stores are going to be rebranded as Target stores next year. I do have this on some authority by Zellers managment, and currently things are in the process to upgrade the level of merchandise sold there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-chef-boyardee-once-good/549717.md?page=2)