Ketchup is GOATed. Very well-balanced flavor wise, it contains elements of sweet, salty, sour, and savory. This is what makes it so popular and why it pairs so well with so many foods.

Of course, there are varieties and brands that are made with substandard ingredients such as HFCS. But this is an exception and not the rule; I recommend something like Simply Heinz which is made with cane sugar and has a much less cloyingly sweet flavor. There are also fancier brands if you like, but honestly I think Heinz is the gold standard.

As a Chicagoan you also won’t catch me putting it on a Chicago-style hot dog, since that has a delicate balance of flavors that is thrown off and overshadowed by the ketchup. But I’m not gonna throw a fit over anyone who does, and I will most definitely throw some ketchup and mustard on a dog that has not been dragged through the garden.

  • mienshao@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    Downvoting because ketchup is basically the number one most used condiment. Saying ketchup is yummy is the antithesis of an unpopular opinion.

  • Ceedoestrees@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    I used to hate ketchup until I worked as a restaurant that made it’s own and GODDAMN did that change my mind.

    Stewed the fresh tomatoes with herbs, salt, malt vinegar and just a bit of molasses. So yes, ketchup is a great condiment.

  • southsamurai@sh.itjust.works
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    4 days ago

    Considering how well ketchup sells, I had to throw the down vote here, even though the post is otherwise excellent.

    And I’m definitely with you on the exact recipe being the real key. Your typical generic is going to be over sweet and over vinegared because sugar and vinegar are usually cheaper than tomatoes.

    Good ketchup, and I agree that Heinz is kinda the standard for a big brand, is not often found in big brands. Great ketchup is almost always going to be small batch because you can only standardize tomatoes so much. You have to tweak the sugar, vinegar, and spices to balance things. Anything much over a hundred gallons and you’re fucked because there’s just no way to be both great and standardized.

    The only exception to that in the condiment world I know of is French’s yellow mustard. They have somehow managed to make their mustard consistent between batches, over decades, and it is the best yellow mustard across the board. They do sacrifice some depth of flavor in doing so, but you can’t make a yellow mustard that matches the flavor in small batches. I’m not saying everyone will like it, but ifyou like yellow mustard, you aren’t going to find better.

  • stickyShift@midwest.social
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    5 days ago

    Unpopular opinion: ketchup is disgusting and should not be put on anything, under any circumstances.

    Hot dogs? Mustard.

    Burgers? Mayo.

    Fries? Nothing.

    Anything else? BBQ.

    • MimicJar@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Fries? Nothing.

      Fries? Also Mayo.

      Anything else? BBQ.

      Many are ketchup based, and while better then ketchup the non-ketchup based ones are miles better.

  • Sackeshi@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Upvote for being unpopular its a condiment for a kids pallet point blank. Haven’t used it in over a decade.

  • Krudler@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    I once read an article that talked about how only an insane person makes homemade ketchup. It poisoned my mind for like more than a decade.

    But then I said fuck it and I just decided to make some, and it was amazing, and now I want it on so many things and I could never ever go back to bottled.

    You’ll just take tomatoes, fire some spices in there, a little bit of vinegar and cane sugar. Some people like malt vinegar, I use quarter of a drop of white wine vinegar and some lemon juice. I like to play with different heat levels and different types of peppers.

    • Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe
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      5 days ago

      I just used it in a Jamaican dish, because it brings so much flavor.

      I could use tomato sauce or diced tomatoes, but ketchup is just so much better.

      (I didn’t come up with this, the recipe is from a chef).