Friday, June 09, 2006

Hamburgers, with Ketchup


A burger at the gig is better than a steak at the Ritz.

We were playing at an Irish bar and recording the show, so we got there real early to set up. Showtime approached, and we were starving. As we ate our hamburgers, I was telling Stevesie about a ketchup taste test I'd read about in Cook's Illustrated, where Hunt's beat out Heinz rather soundly.

Stevesie, a true cheeseburger aficionado -- I've seen him eat one at every hour of the day, including 11am -- immediately said, "I don't like Hunt's. It's too sweet."

As we passed the fat little Heinz bottle, I was impressed, though not quite surprised, that Stevesie had a mental index of ketchup characteristics. I was also unsurprised to hear someone disagree with a Cook's taste test. I started out liking that magazine, but over time it seems to me that at least half its stories, and possibly all of its food test panels, have a screw loose. Margy and I will do a Hunt's-versus-Heinz test of our own and report back. I need to check this one out for myself.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

One of my roomates swears by Heinz, but I think it's more about the fact that she's from Pittsburgh than anything taste related.

I grew up on Hunt's, my mother swears it's thicker and richer, and according to the test kitchen and their ketchup viscosity measurer, she's right.