Not sure what the intended direction of this thread was supposed to be, if any. And I'll bet Ronnie, when he made his initial post, didn't think there were so many possible paths to take. OTOH, it's an open forum, so let's see where it goes. It started out (if I'm understanding correctly) as a commentary on how putting the "wrong" brand of ketchup on the table sends (or
should send) a message about the upcoming meal.
That led to a brief history lesson on the hard fought Heinz/French's condiment wars, followed by Ronnie acknowledging the differences between the two brands were irrelevant, and that brand names matter in setting expectations.
Then we had this salient and thought provoking comment:
clogoodie wrote:I suspect that there are plenty of Heinz bottles out there refilled with non-Heinz ketchup, so I'll take the honest approach over that!
Would love to know the cost differences for stuff like this though.
Holy moly,
Mind Blown!!! Totally valid point, and probably happening far more than any of us suspect. So, if we don't really know what we're getting in the bottle, do brand names matter at all??? For that matter, who knows if that bottle of
so-called "French's Ketchup" actually contained
French's Ketchup? clogoodie says we should reward honesty and integrity, but how do we know who's being honest and integ...rous...rual...rouitious? I have no idea.
Which leads me to yet another path of discussion;
MY favorite ketchup. Like most of you, I grew up on Heinz, and for years, that was The Only Ketchup That Had A Right To Exist. Tried others over the years; Del Monte, Brooks, Hunts, Red Gold, but in the end always came home to Heinz. But a couple years ago, while exploring the aisles at Aldi, I spotted their
Organic Ketchup. Same size bottle as Heinz at a fraction of the cost. No HFCS or other junk ingredients, and it tastes great.
Now, when eating at a restaurant, I look at that bottle of Heinz with the same disdain Ronnie held for that rogue bottle of French's. I'll use it, but I'll be thinking about my Aldi Organic Ketchup and wishing the rest of the world was as enlightened and discriminating as I.
Amusingly,
Buddy