# Why Ketchup and Mustard? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 12, 2006, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ketchup-and-mustard/380089 "2006-11-12T07:44:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ketchup-and-mustard/380089/1 "2006-11-12T07:44:54Z")
How did these two random condiments come to be staples of the dinner table? ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ketchup-and-mustard/380089/2 "2006-11-12T08:06:46Z")
Well, mustard because it’s good on a hot dog, and ketchup because it helps us identify those who are dishonestly claiming to be Chicagoans. ---
**Author:** ![if6was9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ketchup-and-mustard/380089/3 "2006-11-12T08:24:29Z")
Salsa is the #1 selling condiment in the U.S. Just sayin’… ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ketchup-and-mustard/380089/4 "2006-11-12T11:57:45Z")
I thought the only staples of the dinner table were salt and pepper. Plus, butter is probably a more popular choice than ketchup and mustard. What about olive oil? Or why not include all meals, so we have syrup and cream there too? ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ketchup-and-mustard/380089/5 "2006-11-12T14:31:22Z")
Staples of the dinner table, or staples of the **diner** table? I’m with **Napier** on this one, unless you really meant “diner” rather than dinner. **if6was9** , I’ve always wondered about this since the day the news announced that salsa had viciously overtaken ketchup in the condiment race. When you use salsa, you use a whole heck of a lot of it, which is not how we use ketchup. Plus there are hundreds of varieties of salsas. Also are hot sauces considered salsas in US sales or not (I call 'em salsa at home). On the salsa’s side, homemade salsa is so much cheaper and tastier that it’s probably underrepresented by a good margin in the salsa vs. ketchup war. For example, we eat a whole heck of a lot of salsa (more than ketchup) but only buy the occasional bottle of La Chalula. Who’s got the definitive stats here? ---
**Author:** ![zuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9c0ed/32.png) [@zuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuma)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ketchup-and-mustard/380089/6 "2006-11-12T14:42:51Z")
I’ve always considered salsa an important part of the meal, or a big ingrediont, not a condiment. Some dumb reporter in the 90s ran with the “popular condiment” thing. You’re not putting salsa on hot dogs, turkey, hamburgers, garlic fries, or anything else ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ketchup-and-mustard/380089/7 "2006-11-12T16:36:48Z")
[QUOTE=zuma] I’ve always considered salsa an important part of the meal, or a big ingrediont, not a condiment. Some dumb reporter in the 90s ran with the “popular condiment” thing. You’re not putting salsa on hot dogs, turkey, hamburgers, garlic fries, or anything else [/QUOTE] You might not be but I can see putting salsa on all of those. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ketchup-and-mustard/380089/8 "2006-11-12T17:26:50Z")
Ahh, another chance to link to one of my favorite food essays about [ketchup.](http://www.gladwell.com/2004/2004_09_06_a_ketchup.html) ---
**Author:** ![beergeek279](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@beergeek279](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beergeek279)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ketchup-and-mustard/380089/9 "2006-11-12T17:33:57Z")
[QUOTE=bouv] Ahh, another chance to link to one of my favorite food essays about [ketchup.](http://www.gladwell.com/2004/2004_09_06_a_ketchup.html) [/QUOTE] Hey, there’s only one ketchup, and Heinz is its name, n’at 😛 I’d say it’s because it gives you two different choices in complimenting the taste of your food: the sweetness of ketchup or the pungency of mustard, so you can pick the one that best fits your own personal tastes. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ketchup-and-mustard/380089/10 "2006-11-12T18:01:16Z")
[QUOTE=beergeek279] … two different choices in complimenting the taste of your food: the sweetness of ketchup or the pungency of mustard, … [/QUOTE] They’re not as different as salsa is, though: Vinegar is the first ingredient in prepared mustard, and the second in ketchup; salsa has too, but much further down the list. ---
**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:** [November 12, 2006, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ketchup-and-mustard/380089/11 "2006-11-12T18:20:56Z")
[QUOTE=Keeve] They’re not as different as salsa is, though: Vinegar is the first ingredient in prepared mustard, and the second in ketchup; salsa has too, but much further down the list. [/QUOTE] Depends what kind of salsa. A lot of the storemade Mexican stuff I get at the grocery has no vinegar whatsoever–some might have a sour component like lime or tomatillo, others have none. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ketchup-and-mustard/380089/12 "2006-11-12T18:24:13Z")
[QUOTE=if6was9] Salsa is the #1 selling condiment in the U.S. Just sayin’… [/QUOTE] Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ketchup-and-mustard/380089/13 "2006-11-12T18:45:00Z")
[QUOTE=Duckster] Cite? [/QUOTE] Salsa has outsold ketcheup at times recently, although I have not found current figures. [From here:](http://www.answers.com/topic/canned-fruits-vegetables-preserves-jams-and-jellies) > [@](#): > > Salsa grew in consumption during the late 1980s and early 1990s, and in 1991 salsa outsold ketchup in retail stores by $40 million. By 1999, however, ketchup was back on top. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ketchup-and-mustard/380089/14 "2006-11-12T20:38:13Z")
[QUOTE=Colibri] Salsa has outsold ketcheup at times recently, although I have not found current figures. [From here:](http://www.answers.com/topic/canned-fruits-vegetables-preserves-jams-and-jellies) [/QUOTE] I would think that we need to distinguish between the _dollar amount sold_ and the _number of homes_ who have ketchup vs. salsa as their condiment of choice. Whether the percentages would dovetail would be of interest. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ketchup-and-mustard/380089/15 "2006-11-12T21:09:49Z")
[QUOTE=samclem] I would think that we need to distinguish between the _dollar amount sold_ and the _number of homes_ who have ketchup vs. salsa as their condiment of choice. Whether the percentages would dovetail would be of interest. [/QUOTE] Good point. I would expect that far more US households have a bottle of ketchup in the fridge at all times than have a jar of salsa always at hand. As has been pointed out, the two are used in rather different ways: when you use salsa, you typically use a lot more of it than ketchup, and a jar may be bought when needed rather than kept on hand. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ketchup-and-mustard/380089/16 "2006-11-12T21:16:33Z")
[QUOTE=samclem] I would think that we need to distinguish between the _dollar amount sold_ and the _number of homes_ who have ketchup vs. salsa as their condiment of choice. Whether the percentages would dovetail would be of interest. [/QUOTE] Or maybe the _volume_ of ketchup versus salsa, if those figures are available. Condiment “of choice”? Are there people that habitually put salsa on the burgers and dogs vs. people that put ketchup on their corn chips? I guess things like eggs go either way, though. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ketchup-and-mustard/380089/17 "2006-11-12T23:04:03Z")
I strongly suspect that colr & presentation have a lot to do with the appeal of food, & ketchup & mustard are brightly colored. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2006, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ketchup-and-mustard/380089/18 "2006-11-13T00:21:30Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] ketchup & mustard are brightly colored. [/QUOTE] Well, the American-style “prepared” mustard is bright yellow, but most varieties are not. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2006, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ketchup-and-mustard/380089/19 "2006-11-13T00:26:01Z")
[QUOTE=zuma] You’re not putting salsa on hot dogs, turkey, hamburgers, garlic fries, or anything else [/QUOTE] Sure I am, when it’s available. It goes great with all of those things. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2006, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ketchup-and-mustard/380089/20 "2006-11-13T01:40:41Z")
Especially hamburgers. Mmmmmm. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ketchup-and-mustard/380089.md?page=2)