nosh nook #60 - friday, june 5, 2009

ketchup: red menace or culinary saviour? (link)
06.03.09 - the vancouver sun - by shelly fralic

i have this one friend who's always had a thing for ketchup. recently, she's been sort of cheating on ketchup with sriracha sauce, but she & ketchup are still BFFs & stuff. there are a lot of folks like her out there. they grew up on ketchup & although they might stray & occasionally use other sauces, they'll always have an addiction/special spot in their heart for ketchup. personally, i enjoy putting ketchup on things as much as the next guy, but i can take it or leave it.

unfortunately, not everyone's had a chance to develop a lifetime love of ketchup. the vancouver sun's shelley fralic is one such person. as she explains, she grew up in a junk food-free home in south vancouver, a home where ketchup, barbecue sauce & other such flavor enhancers were thought of as a way to cover up sub-par cooking. it wouldn't be that big of a deal except for the fact that after finland, canada consumes more ketchup than any other country--2.5 liters per year.  it's like being the only bald guy in a room full of afros.

fralic answers the one question i had--without ketchup, what did she dip her fries in? the answer: malt vinegar & mayo. i've heard of using both as fry dips, but can't imagine dipping my fries in either. if i'm not using ketchup, i'm using ranch or sweet & sour sauce. eventually, fralic's mother relented & ketchup worked its way into their house, as sauces became a more-widely accepted part of cooking.

as far as ketchup goes, it's so versatile that you can even use it in non-meatloaf baking.  although fralic hasn't tried it herself, at the end of her article, she offers up a recipe for "heinz ketchup cake," which is apparently quite similar to carrot cake.  the idea sort of frightens me, but maybe one day when i have a bad case of the munchies, i'll whip one up.  until then, i'll restrict my ketchup use to french fry dipping.