So I got dragged shopping last weekend and was really noticing not just dumb products, but ones that I could not figure out why they were ever made. For example:
Green and purple ketchup: Is there an issue of kids not eating enough ketchup? They already eat it with practically every meal? Is different colored ketchup supposed to make people buy/use more of it?
Caffeine free diet coke: C’mon, if you want no caffeine and no calories, drink water, it tastes better anyway.
I have a three-year-old. He thinks green ketchup is just about the coolest thing ever invented. (He hasn’t seen the purple stuff yet – it’s a race to see which grandma gets it first.)
Oh, and Heinz introduced the green stuff less than a year ago and have grabbed 3% more of the ketchup market (from 52% to 55%, if I remember correctly). So it may be annoying, but it’s certainly working.
Green and purple ketchup - Believe it or not, but this is actually pretty brilliant. Heinz is finally realizing what its true marketing audience is: Young kids. As Unca Cecil sez, kids dig ketchup because it effectively kills the taste of anything and it’s really sweet. Green and purple ketchup is just another way of appealing to little kids.
Caffeine free Coke and Diet Coke. I bought a case of each for my last backyard party. There are folks who simply can’t handle caffeine, but want to drink cola instead of the stuff that traditionally doesn’t carry caffeine (e.g. - Sprite, 7-Up, Ginger Ale, etc.) Trust me, there’s a need.
There are tons of products in my local supermarket that make me go “huh?” and scratch my head, but believe me, people buy the stuff. Personally, I can’t fathom why someone would buy clam broth in a can, but it wouldn’t still be on the shelves if it didn’t sell.
How about Clamato and Beefamato? This stuff appears to be marketed as a drink! Who in the heck is drinking this stuff?! How about a nice glass of meat juice?!
Thespos, I have a recipe for an excellent seafood linguine that calls for clam broth. I don’t know about clamato and beefamato though. Although I did know someone who would mix up those little beef bullion cubes in hot water and drink it.
I saw pigs ears in the store the other day. Do people eat these or buy them for their dogs?
I know many excellent seafood recipes that call for clam broth. It makes a very good substitute for fish stock, which most of us don’t have handy. Likewise, chicken broth for chicken stock and beef broth for beef stock.
I was in Crate and Barrel a few weeks ago. God, what a nightmare that was. The lady in front of us had a strange looking plastic bowl with some sort of crank on the side. When we inquired what it was, we were told that it was a Salad Spinner.
The idea is that you chop up your vegetables and then put them in this dish and then wash them and then spin them around and centrifugal force pulls the water off them.
Many real catsup recipes produce a green condiment. In my opinion, these are much better than commercial catsups, which are repellent to my delicate sensibilities.
I agree though, simply producing another sugary Heinz product in another colour is beyond pointless.
We Canadians are responsible for Clamato. (Sorry.)
You deserve an explanation. The Caesar is a popular Canuck cocktail. It’s tomato juice, clam juice, & vodka in a salted & seasoned glass, garnished with a celery stick. Clamato juice was originally marketed to make the bartender’s job easier. I’ve noticed that American bars that get enough Canadian tourists to know what the hell a Caesar is at all tend to call it a Bloody Caesar which is kind of fun. They really are delicious. Try to order one in an out-of-the-way place and people think you’re joking, though. “I got yer clam-juice right here, buddy. Now get outta my bar before there’s trouble!”
The stupidest thing that I’ve seen recently is made by the Saran Wrap people and is basicly a box of disposable shower caps to put on your dishes before you stick them in the fridge. What a waste of material.
Caffeine-free Diet Coke: You can get used to anything. I know I’m adapted to Diet Coke, and it tastes fine to me now. Used to hate hate hate it. I assume I could get used to caffeine-free too, if I had a reason to.
I use my salad spinner all the time. Don’t you ever make salads? When you wash the lettuce, it gets all wet. When you make a salad out of wet lettuce, it’s watery. The dressing doesn’t stick to the leaves as well, and the water dilutes the dressing. Yuk.
Not to mention that water on your lettuce can interfere with your emulsion when you’re making a dressing. On the list of things that are pointless, salad spinners rank pretty low, IMHO.
How about a banana tree? A little wooden rack to hang your bananas on. Left out they go bad in 3-4 days whether they are hanging on a rack or sitting on something.
Anyone seen the Microwave Vegetable Steamer? You put your veggies (say, cauliflower) in it with a little water. Then put it in your microwave. As the water heats up, it starts steaming the cauliflower!
Of course:
You could use a regular bowl, and
Doesn’t the microwave cook the cauliflower anyway?