things you put ketchup on

[potterybliss]

In cleaning out the fridge, we found 2 open bottles of ketchup. What do you like to put ketchup on?

Growing up, when my mom made meatloaf she would spread a mixture of ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar over the top before she baked it. We used to fight over the ends...

[applehome]

The latest edition of Saveur has a fried cauliflower recipe that uses ketchup in the sauce to cut the heat. I made it a couple of nights ago - pretty good - although I did overdo it on the chillies a bit.

Curry Wurst. Deep fry some brats, cut into disks, serve with curry ketchup made by mixing in curry powder into ketchup.

Simple russian dressing = ketchup and mayonnaise. Mix in some sweet relish and some capers and you have thousand island.

Cocktail sauce = ketchup, horseradish and lemon juice.

My younger brother growing up always put ketchup on my mom's gyoza. Drove us all crazy.

[Spencer]

This is slightly off-topic. For health reasons I went on a low sodium diet. For the first time ever I started using Heinz No Salt ketchup.
The first few weeks was tough since I was such a salt-aholic. Very soon, however, I realized that you could actually taste the tomatoes in the saltless ketchup. Now I love it and won't use any other ketchup.

[KevinB]

I only eat ketchup with eggs when I can't get HP sauce (or A-1 in a pinch, although it's a poor substitute), and I only eat it on burgers when I can't get real tomatoes.

That said, I love it on fries, grilled cheese, mac n cheese, and in my "Meatloaf Surprise" recipe (the surprise was it came out tasting so good!), ketchup is not just something you put on top - it's an ingredient.

And I don't care what anyone says: ketchup, mayo, horseradish, and a few drops of hot sauce make a versatile and kick butt sauce for lots of things.

[madgreek]

Meatloaf. Period.

[Chew on That]

I can't eat hot dogs, hamburgers or fries without ketchup and ONLY ketchup!

Other things I like ketchup with: hash browns, potato chips, (pretty much anything potato-related except baked and potato pancakes).

I used to eat turkey sandwiches with ketchup when I was younger but now the thought of that grosses me out. I think that's it.

[AmyH]

Oh my, you just brought back a suppressed memory of mine. I ate many sandwiches of chicken roll, ketchup and white bread in grade school! The thought of it now makes me want to heave!

[kare_raisu]

When I lived in Berlin a few years back, we had this awesome ketchup that came in this big long red cylindrical tube. It had all of these different spices (star anise etc) in it and was quite sweet but incredible. Gewuerze ketchup.

[justagthing]

OK, not exactly food, but somewhat related. If the ketchup is too old, use it to clean your pots. The acidity in ketchup helps it to be a good non-abrasive cleanser. I use to use it if something got stuck to my pots/pans and I didn't want to use a scouring pad (scratching) and also for the copper bottoms on my pans.

[crosby_p]

Frozen fishsticks!!!!!!!!!

[Emme]

yup yup!

[brucesw]

I have very few uses for ketchup. It's not that I detest it, just that I think foods should not need after-the-kitchen add-ons other than s&p.

It is an essential component of the topping for meatloaf. I used to use it on French fries until I discovered how much better cream gravy is with ffs. BBQ is smoked meat and should not need bbq sauce so I don't make bbq sauce. Growing up a big wintry weekend treat was my Mom's home-made navy bean soup and my brother and I would always add ketchup -- can't remember if Mom and Dad did. If I order navy bean soup in a cafe or deli I won't add ketchup unless it's really insipid, but whenever I make it at home or just warm up a canned version, I always add ketchup.

Just yesterday I tried out a new ostioneria. The chips were hot and fresh but so greaseless I couldn't get any salt on them and the salsa was very thin and left a bitter after-taste for some reason, so I tried the Red Gold ketchup on the table and it was very good. So I have a new use for ketchup - tortilla chips, in a pinch.

I have some regular Heinz at home and Heinz Organic, sans HFCS, which I like better than the regular. I've had the 16 oz bottle of the Organic for about a year and a half and it's still about 1/3 full.

[steinpilz]

Scrambled eggs also, a habit learned in college.

[Pylon]

I can't think of many things that I wouldn't put ketchup on. I use it making chili to give it a little more "tomato" flavor.

[Emme]

definitely some repeats, but i have to hang my head in shame whilst i admit that i like ketchup on *almost* everything...

egg whites, quiche, frittata
potato skins
broccoli, cauliflower... almost every veggie, caramelized onions, eggplant, mushrooms, tomatoes (yeah i know), green beans, zucchini, etc.
grilled chicken, blackened fish... *gulp* lobster when no one is looking
love it on meatloaf
turkey sausages
... i could go on...

[SweetPea914]

Other than the usual items like burgers/fries. I have an Aunt that puts it in her homemade chicken noodle soup, not my cuppa tea, but thought I'd share. I do like to mix ketchup with hot suace and dip baked lays potato chips in it. That sounds really bad but it tastes soo good!

[PDeveaux]

Not much of a ketchup fan but must have it for the crinkly french fries with salt & pepper, tater tots and meat loaf. My kids would take turns writing their initials or their favorite sports team on top of the meat loaf. Ah, the good ole days.

[vvvindaloo]

The usual suspects:
french fries, onion rings, breaded chicken tenders (thought I can't remember the last time I ate them), cocktail sauce and russian dressing.... and on a hamburger, of course.
I recently discovered the coolest condiment for those who enjoy ketchup, but also don't mind a sophisticated twist to their usual- Rubra Hot Ketchup from Italy, of all places. Made in Italy of Italian tomatoes, with some peperoncini mixed in for heat. I used it to dress a fried chicken cutlet sandwich- wow. Smooth and bursting with real tomato flavor, with an added kick.

[hsk]

I thought Americans called it catsup? I use it for fries (AKA pomme frites or chips), NOT on hamburgers or hotdogs, but also as a base for cocktail sauce (for shrimp, add horseradish and worcestershire sauce). Maybe also in sweet and sour sauce but I won't admit it.

[justagthing]

The word can be spelled either way, but we call it /ket-chup/.

[JockY]

I put ketchup on bad food to disguise the taste. I use it mostly as an ingredient.

[BellaDonna]

French fries
Home fries
Hash browns
Fried chicken
Hamburgers
Hot dogs
Unflavored steak

[revsharkie]

Fried potatoes, hot dogs, hamburgers, and salmon patties.

My mom puts it on beans and pot roast.

[GIOny]

I don't like kekchup on anything, not even french fries, but I do like cocktail sauce on shrimp and cauliiflower.

[acme]

On top of homemade refried beans (really yummy) and cheese omelettes.

[Akitist]

I personally detest ketchup (too sweet), but it is the basis of a kick-a** cocktail sauce. 1 cup Ketchup, 1 tablespoon each yellow mustard, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce, dash or so Tabasco. Yowsah!

[gourmanda]

Not on, but in bbq sauce...with vinegar, pepper, mustard; bring to boil, let simmer 10 minutes. Keeps forever.

[piccola]

I make a variation of this, too! Not worth buying BBQ sauce when I can make it (and without corn syrup, too).

[EllenMM]

My husband's French-Canadian family absolutely must have it with the meat pie (tourtiere) they grew up eating. I love ketchup on a meatloaf and sour pickle sandwich - the only useful thing I learned from my first MIL.

[piccola]

Usually the "ketchup" with tourtière is different than your regular store-bought Heinz. Though I know people use the squirty kind too.

[moh]

Yes, I like ketchup with tourtiere, but I had a really wonderful artisanal " Ketchup aux fruits" which was unreal! It reminded me a bit of some of the great Southern pickles like chow chow. It was great with the tourtiere.

[EllenMM]

The in-laws use plain Heinz, but I've tried it with various relishes and chutneysand prefer it. They consider me a heretic - on many levels.

[Judith]

What's tourtière?

[pescatarian]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourti%C...

[GenieinTX]

Uncle Ben's has a recipe for stroganoff that uses ketchup. It's really good. The only weird thing I put it on is black eyed peas. A lot of people think peas taste like dirt, maybe that's why my family puts ketchup on them. I've never done the mac and cheese thing, I'm going to have to try this.

BTW, I have recently found out that ketchup without high fructose corn syrup tastes so much better than the normal stuff. I will never switch back.

[marlo1234]

I use ketchup in this dish I make with shrimp. At the end, the ketchup based sauce is more like a sweet and sour sauce.

[piccola]

Eh, it's not too far from cocktail sauce.

[malibumike]

It's good on chicken fried steak and hash browns.

[currymouth]

Sliced green mango marinated in vinigar, salt,sugar,pepper sauce and a squirt of Heinz tomato ketchup. Chill overnight and eat while looking at reruns of Gilligans Island.

[piccola]

No surprises here:

Grilled cheese
Mac 'n cheese
Potatoes in any form
Ditto re: eggs
Veggie burgers
Grain/legume cakes (ie, black bean cakes, corn fritters or falafel)

[DonShirer]

Meatloaf and corned beef hash. However, my wife just made goose hash from thanksgiving leftovers, and ketchup/catsup went pretty well with that as well.

[ceekskat]

Someone told me long time ago that her husband put it on EVERYTHING. If I recall correctly, she blamed her mother-in-law:-)

[craigcep]

Pasta. I grew up on it. My brothers still only use ketchup .

[mollyomormon]

I love it on a sandwich made with white bread, dill pickles and cheddar cheese.

[drgnflychic]

The only thing I can eat ketchup on is tater tots. I worked in a burger joint when I was younger and the ketchup bottle refiller-thing was broken so we went home many nights covered with the red goop.

[Janet from Richmond]

French fries, onion rings, hamburgers and meatloaf.

[AmyH]

I love it on cheese omelets, but only the kind made with slices of american cheese food product. When I was young I liked it on KFC fried chicken together with some of the gravy, but I haven't eaten that in ages.

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

At home, I use ketchup as part of the base for some stir-fry sauces and meatloaf glazes, and that's about it. At a burger place, I will probably have some with my fries or rings, but I won't eat a burger (or a hot dog) that has ketchup on it, and if I've made fries, tater tots or onion rings at home, I won't eat ketchup with them.

There was a rather fascinating article about ketchup by Malcolm Gladwell in the New Yorker some years back. He suggests that a big part of why kids get so obsessed with ketchup is that it's often the very first foodstuff they're allowed to portion out for themselves, so it's the first way they get to choose what they do and don't eat.

[AlaskaChick]

So glad to see that others put it on mac & cheese. Hubby thought I was nuts but he is now a convert. Other than that, 'm not a big ketchup eater but do put in sauces and gravies to add richness. Occasionally on eggs of any kind, home fries, french fries. Definately have used it in pad thai as well as a few other thai noodle dishes.

[im_nomad]

I had a friend that used to put it on her steamed veggies, blech.

I am not a big ketchup eater, and actually had a tiny little bottle in my fridge and moved with it once. It was in the fridge a few years !!! Now hot sauce I go through like there's no tomorrow.

[JungMann]

To the long list of onion rings, scrambled eggs and meatloaf lovers, I'll add that Filipinos sometimes use ketchup as the base to their spaghetti sauce. Also it forms the base of a vinegary "hamburger helper" type of macaroni dish my mother used to make when I was young.

[JungMann]

I forgot to add that I grew up eating fried chicken with ketchup and have since extended that to roasted chicken as well. Not sure if that's just me. Fried rice with eggs, as well.

[pitterpatter]

My grandmother's, later my mother's, steak sauce. It shocks me how good this is.

Melt a stick of butter, add a cup of ketchup, and two or three sliced garlic cloves, and simmer a couple of minutes. Simple, aye?

[justagthing]

My Gramps used to cook up a wokful of mac n cheese and add ketchup and groud beef. So when I do make the box stuff, I add ketchup and ground beef as well as peas.

My preference is to use Heinz Organic Ketchup nowadays. First had this at Cisco Burgers on thier fries as it is their ketchup of choice. I couldn't believe the difference in taste.

[bremfoodie]

Hamburgers and fries,
meatloaf,
and use it to make extra spicy cocktail sauce

[alliedawn_98]

In and on top of meatloaf mixed with other ingredients in a sauce
base for my bbq sauce
with fried shrimp, fish, chicken, pork chops, or cubed steak
on hamburgers and hotdogs
on scrambled eggs if it's a quick dinner, toast and jelly with them at breakfast
with fried chicken livers!
french fries

When I was a kid, I rarely ate anything without ketchup. Now it's mostly on burgers because I don't usually make that many fried foods or meatloaf. In summer, using the smoker to make bbq, I make lots of my sauce and sometimes make it for friends as well.

[jnk]

Presently:
Any form of egg dish
In and on any form of ground beef ot turkey (meatballs, burgers,meaatloaf etc.)
Mixed w/mayo for russian dressing (especially on roast beef sandwiches)
Fries especially with malt vinegar
As a base for bbq sauce
Most any fried food

As a child:
mixed with any pasta that had already been buttered with grated parmesean.

[harrison]

an ingredient in, then on top of meatloaf.

the usual potato suspects - fries, baked and pirogies

egg sandwiches

get some shrimp and make a spicy cocktail sauce!

[irishnyc]

Hamburgers and only hamburgers. Same for my husband. Neither of us really cares for it. Ketchup goes bad in our house before we finish a bottle.

My mother, however, puts ketchup on EVERYTHING. I guess you have to when your cooking is atrocious. ;)

[Gio]

Has to be either Heinz or Trader Joe's.....

Turkey meatloaf
Every now and then - whole belly fried clams
Instead of tomato paste in recipes
Buffaloburgers

Martin Yan always used ketchup in his preparations.

[swsidejim]

hamburgers, grilled cheese, and occasionally french fries, or tater tots. Thats it.

[bnemes3343]

Many professionals use ketchup as a base for several sauces. It is a very versatile and wonderful ingredient. One not to be sneered at.

That being said, several decades ago my wife and I were sharing a Chateubriand with friends in a nice dining spot and she asked for a bottle of Ketchup. Growing up she was just used to putting ketchup on anything that started out as a cow. our server looked mortified and I honestly don't recall now if we let her go through with this. Probably not...

[dolores]

bnemes3343, depending on the restaurant, I will always ask for ketchup for my steak.

[bnemes3343]

Well, I have mixed feelings about that. A really good steak probably shouldn't need ketchup. On the other hand, I've had several where the ketchup would be the highlight of the meal. Anyway, more power to you for asking for Ketchup if you like it! Unless you've ordered Frites with your steak, you must get some painful looks from your server.

[jfood]

The list was longer when jfood was younger but here is his input:

- Hamburgers
- French Fries
- Mainly other fried/breaded foods, something about fried bread crumbs and ketchup. Jfood has been known to even dip fried shrimp and whole belly clams in kethcup. Chicken fingers for sure, but fried fish normally gets tartar sauce.
- in the old days scrambled eggs would have been here as well as grilled cheese, but not in a long time. When jfood is in SW US he can still be seen with some ketchup on his eggs, though.
- Mixed with some mayo (Russian Dressing) and spread on bread for turkey or chicken sandwiches
- Sometime on a deli sandwich with some creamy cole slaw. The combo of the slaw and the ketchup is nice

That's about it.

[soypower]

ketchup, mmmm. i know it's supposed to be a kid condiment, but i have to admit i do actually like it on hot dogs, steaks, eggs and almost any kind of potato. i have also been known to dip fried gyoza in a mixture of ketchup and sriracha. and those mussels spread w/ a mixture of ketchup and mayo and baked until bubbly that are find at a lot of chinese/asian buffets aren't half bad either...

[soypower]

a couple i forgot:

chinese bbq pork (w/ hot mustard, sesame seeds, and thinly sliced raw cabbage)
fried chicken
hamburgers (of course)
meatloaf

[Judith]

Scrambled eggs (although I prefer jam), also hash browns or country fried potatoes. I love ketchup on store bought roast chicken, which I sometimes eat when my husband is out of town and it's just me and the dawg slumming. When I was a kid, I used to like ketchup on rye bread, but we don't have anything resembling true rye bread on the west coast, and if I could get any of the real thing it would be too precious for a ketchup sandwich.

[pescatarian]

I can't imagine living somewher where there was no "true rye bread"! Rye bread is my favourite, hands down!

[churchka]

Any type of potato, including chips.
Grilled Cheese.
Most sandwiches actually.
Tacos (which grosses my husband out)
Steak
Any type of hot dog/sausage/meat in a casing

[mommabear]

Mmmmm.....ketchup on scrapple! (You'd have to be from Philadelphia or Lancaster County to know what it is.)

[bitsubeats]

how about on souse, ponhaus, or puddin? I prefer all 3 with maple syrup though (:

[Divamac]

A buttered Kaiser roll, scrapple and ketchup was a favorite breakfast for me!

I like to dip a grilled cheese sandwich in ketchup. Eggs of any kind, especially over-easy. Love the combination of runny yolk and ketchup! Potatoes of any kind also benefit from ketchup. Burgers. Dill pickles dipped in kechup are super yummy!

As for the eternal debate, hot dogs and sausages of any kind are no place for ketchup - they all require mustard.

[pescatarian]

Scrambled Eggs (not poached, etc.)
Grilled cheese
Hamburgers and Hot Dogs (along with other condiments)
Kraft Dinner (macaroni and cheese for you Americans)
French fries (with mayo or with vinegar or just by itself with good salt)
sometimes I like to make a dip with ketchup and other condiments for veggies etc. (a little sriracha, etc.)
sometimes when I make popcorn at home I make a dip with ketchup and lots of vinegar to dip the popcorn in
when I was a kid I put it on bologna sandwiches, but not anymore - can't remember the last time I had bologna sandwiches, mind you, but if I did it'd be mustard, not ketchup

[filth]

Scrambled Eggs (not poached, etc.) - I like ketchup with an egg cooked any way
Hamburgers and Hot Dogs (along with other condiments) - I stopped eating hot dogs with ketchup when I was about 10.
French fries (with mayo or with vinegar or just by itself with good salt) - Fries were born to eat with ketchup. I don't like mayo w/ fries.

[pescatarian]

This thread reminded me that when I was a kid, I also ate ketchup with chopped liver on rye bread, lol
I haven't eaten chopped liver in years and if I did, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be eating it with ketchup!

[fickle]

During school, I would pan fry calf liver and put it on an onion bun with bacon and ketchup. Yum!

[diablo]

When I was a kid I used to put it on my mashed potatoes.
I'm also known to dip a tuna salad sandwich in it. Don't knock it til you try it.

[tatamagouche]

Actually, I just made a tuna spread recipe from my favorite tapas cookbook (Tapas, Penelope Casas) that incorporated ketchup and mustard. Everybody loved it and no one believed it when I told them what was in it.

[fmed]

I was told by a Thai cook that many Thais use ketchup to start a pad thai sauce. A quick Google certainly confirms ketchup as a main ingredient in most recipes. Can any Thais on this board confirm this?

[KaimukiMan]

I am not thai or an expert on thai cooking, but i know this issue has come up a few times when discussing "good" or "authentic" thai restaurants here in Honolulu. Some of the best thai restaurants here DO indeed use ketchup in their pad thai.

[odkaty]

My grandfather put it on eggs and macaroni & cheese. I'm with him on the later - but only if it's the quickly thrown together homemade.

I've witnessed SIL's brother putting it on turkey.

[calla0413]

My mom (Korean) used to make this fried rice dish which was her way of using up old rice. She'd stir fry some diced potatoes, carrots, onions and some kind of meat by product usually Spam (a Korean favorite) with the rice. Then she would season it with a little bit of sesame oil and black pepper. Then, she'd beat an egg and fry it up in the pan to make a big yellow eggy disc. She would mound the stir fried rice concoction on a plate and then put the egg disc on top and give it to me with a ketchup smiley face.

Anytime I get near Spam, I want to make this dish. My husband thinks it's the weirdest thing to put ketchup on.

BTW, my mom called that dish omerice (omelet and rice) and I don't know she learned that somewhere or just something she made up.

[soypower]

my mom also makes that, even now whenever i go to see her. she also puts a little mayo on it. yum yum. i thought my mom was the only one who made it, but then i saw it on this website:

http://mykoreankitchen.com/category/e...

[KaimukiMan]

how can you make korean style fried rice without kimchee?

[moh]

ok, we must be food doppelgangers or something. My mum made this too! Almost the same, but without the spam. And yes, it is good with the ketchup.

[bitsubeats]

omerice or omurice is a japanese style western dish and yes it uses lots and lots of ketchup

my korean mother never made this dish, unfortunately ):

[Soup]

I thought my family was the only one that this. I used to also put a slice of american cheese on hot white rice with a some catsup. Pretty darn good.

[garlicvampire]

A cafeteria 'chef' I briefly worked for put huge globs of it on salad instead of dressing.
The thought still makes me shudder!

[ekammin]

As I recall, Richard Nixon put it on cottage cheese.