The best ketchup ever.

Anybody watch Mad Men?
My favorite episode so far was the one wherein they so delicately trashed margarine, which is my fake-food nemesis and the bane of my existence. (I trash it even more in my book. Fun!)
Ginsberg** said: “it’s greasy, it’s not butter, it’s cheap, it has no smell, people hate it…
And then, angels sang, we found out dragons and mermaids are REAL, and can I get an AMEN?
So that was awesome.
Things obviously couldn’t get any better. Until now.
A subsequent episode of Mad Men (or a previous one – who knows. Thanks, DVR) was about a pitch made to Heinz Ketchup. Yes, this is a horrible iPhone photo of my television.
heinz
I love ketchup. I have loved it my entire life. I never ate french fries because I like french fries. I ate french fries solely for the ketchup.
But, some time ago, I gave up ketchup on principle. Even the high-fructose-corn-syrup-free stuff. Why? Because they use GMO tomatoes and sugar from GMO beets. Nope, homemade ketchup doesn’t do it for me, even though it’s a relatively simple recipe that, in theory, should do the job. So I quit it all.
Repeat: I’ve tried making my own. Never liked it. Sorry, people. I know you’re supposed to MYO, but when you stink at cooking like I do it rarely goes as planned.
Therefore, I like to alert people when I find a pre-made Paleo-friendly condiment with absolutely no hidden garbage. I’ve told you about this healthy mayo and the amazing hot sauce from Boulder Hot Sauce Company. Now I’m going to tell you about PaleoChef Ketchup.

This stuff is LEGIT. And I don’t just say that because I work with Steve’s PaleoGoods and Steve’s Club National Program. They actually hit this one straight out of the park. It’s more complex-tasting than conventional ketchup, but not too big for its britches, knowwhatimean? Something about it is simply perfection. You know when ketchup tries to out-do itself, but it never really works? This totally worked.
I’m not on commission. I’m not an affiliate. Buy it here.
Thanks for reading!
 
 **Update: unfortunately, in later seasons, Ginsberg goes insane. Way to ruin my smug moment, Mad Men.

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21 Responses

  1. Oy. This is perfectly fine, except for one, teeny, tiny thing. I wish people would stop using the word “Paleo” to market food products. There’s nothing *wrong* or “bad” about doing so, but here’s the issue I see coming up again and again: People who are new to eating this way do interwebz searches for Paleo recipes. So they type in “Paleo recipes,” and invariably, instead of recipes for nice beef roasts, stews, curries, simple grilled meat & vegetable dishes, etc., what they find are “Paleo brownies,” “Paleo cookies,” “Paleo banana bread,” and on and on, simply because people put “Paleo” in the title of their recipes.
    I understand that in this case they’re trying to go after a niche market, and that’s TOTALLY COOL, especially when the profits help Steve’s Club. I’m not bagging on that at all. Just pointing out something that bugs me more and more lately.
    (Other than that, yes, a great find! And I’m with you, Liz. French fries are delicious, but they were more of a ketchup delivery system than anything else. Kind of like how red velvet cake was just an excuse to eat gobs of cream cheese frosting back in the day, hehheh. The cake itself? Meh.) I make my own ketchup now — I use the recipe in Nourishing Traditions. It took some getting used to…definitely not yo’ momma’s Heinz!! (But I figured in the quantities I used to eat ketchup, I’d better get myself off the HFCS stuff. The homemade is an acquired taste, but now I love it — and soooo good for you — with raw garlic and fish sauce! Sounds wacko but it’s delish.)

    1. I’m planning on doing some legit HOMEMADE worcestershire and ketchup as soon as we’re settled and unpacked in our new house! Gotta find my weathered copy of NT…
      I used to have a post up that lamented that same thing you’re talking about, Amy…the “Paleo” baked goods and such…but I took it down for a few reasons. Most importantly, because I’m actually glad those recipes are out there for when I want the occasional grain-free “treat!” (Once or twice a month these days.) People have to learn, some way or another, what the REAL meat of this movement is…and if they have to stumble through some crap baked from almond flour, so be it. I never learned anything until I made mistakes and you just can’t protect people from themselves! The first posts I ever wrote were of Paleo banana bread made from almond flour and coconut flour muffins. Ha!
      What bothers me MORE is when people say stuff like “Dairy isn’t Paleo!” “Potatoes aren’t Paleo!” Ack ack ack!
      I actually have a good number of businesspeople contact me wanting to send me processed gunk (Elizabeth Hassleback/beck/whatevs and her “NoGii” “Paleo” bars, people who are basically using processed protein in a “bar” and marketing it as “Paleo,” etc) and I almost always say no when I know the product just isn’t MY idea of health-promoting.
      Here’s the awesome thing about Steve’s PaleoGoods: these things really are healthy, unprocessed, and about as “Paleo” as the modern-day definition can get. Beef jerky (an ancestral food), nuts and a little bit of berries in their flagship Kits. The only thing more ancestral is pemmican…which I’ve never gained an affinity for. Blech. They’ve got some nut and seed-based treats, but they’re proportioned reasonably, unlike a bag of almond flour. And the sauces and marinades go perfectly with those beef roasts, stews, curries and simple grilled meats you’re talking about. 🙂 Again, not a paid endorsement. I just love them so much! And knowing the people personally, I can say that they’re thoughtful, almond flour-free, and they absolutely walk the walk.
      I know what you’re saying, but the reason I support Steve’s so much isn’t just Steve’s Club. It’s because they’re actually doing something right, in my opinion! No “Paleo Banana Bread” in sight. I think, if anything, other people are diluting the pool for them 😉

  2. Epic! I love ketchup 🙂 {shame shame} and I love that you reviewed their product. It is always hard ordering something you haven’t tried yet. Thanks for the post!

  3. My favourite part of the ketchup ep was when Peggy differentiated between ketchup and catsup. I’m old enough to remember when both were on the supermarket shelves, but I’d forgotten about catsup until that episode.
    Homemade Worcestershire sauce? SHARE please! (The recipe, I mean.) Because I love Lea & Perrins’, but I don’t love the ingredient list.

    1. If you start watching, let me know what you think! It’s a strange addiction…you’ll hate it and love it at the same time.

  4. This is great news! I love Heinz, but have not been using ketchup to avoid the sugars,corn syrup,etc. I totally hear ya on the eating french fries just for the ketchup (hubby says I use the fries like a shovel- lol)

  5. What about Annie’s organic. ketchup from whole foods? I think that taste very similar to Heinz

  6. Hahahah I thought of you when I watched the Mad Men episode with the margarine-bashing. It was great, some of what they said was straight out of your BB workshop!! It wasn’t on New Girl, so I didn’t know for sure that you’d seen it 😉 but glad to hear that you enjoyed it as much (probably more) than I.

  7. I love your pop culture paleo references! Freaking awesome. I had given up ketchup too, but I’m lucky enough to live in Portland, Oregon where a company called Portlandia Foods (hilarious) now makes a great organic ketchup *in a glass bottle*, like Steve’s. The glass is so important with acidic foods that can leach chemicals out of the plastic (ewww). Thanks for sharing!

  8. I also used to eat french fries solely because I wanted ketchup! My aunt one time got me a shirt that says “I put ketchup on my ketchup” with a big Heinz bottle on it.. Can’t wait to try this healthier ketchup 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

  9. Ooooooohhhh, I’ve been on the lookout for a Paleo ketchup for awhile now, yet I haven’t been all that aggressive with my search, KWIM?
    This comes along at a perfect time…!

  10. I was soooo excited about this! I feel the same way you do about ketchup! But…..I wanted to try one bottle. The price with your coupon code was $5.17. Shipping was $11.86. I really can’t justify paying $17 for one bottle of ketchup. Or can I? Is it that good?

    1. Totally understand, Susan! Since the discount is off your ENTIRE order, perhaps you can stock up on some other Paleo goodies too? I don’t think any ketchup is worth $17…although if one truly was, I think this would be it 🙂 Other favorites of mine are the Apple Pie PaleoKit and Cinnamon PaleoKrunch! So yummy!

  11. You just completely made my day. I grew up in a ketchup-addicted family. We put ketchup on EVERYTHING. I’m not just talking your usual stuff… hamburgers, fries, hot dogs, eggs (although apparently I’m weird for putting ketchup on hot dogs… or so I’ve been told). Pre-Paleo days I also put it on stuff like mashed potatoes (I mean, it’s the same as ketchup and french fries!) and… get this… mac and cheese. I totally ditched ketchup for a long time. I didn’t feel the homemade stuff, either. I am so excited to try this stuff out!!!!

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