Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

Heinz

The Israeli government has ruled that Heinz must call its ketchup "tomato seasoning." Acting on a complaint from a local competitor, the government ruled that Heinz doesn't have enough tomato concentrate to be called ketchup under Israeli law.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

I suppose calling it catsup ain't kosher either.

[Jerryskids]

What if they call it 'Just 'Tchup'?

Anybody know what Israeli ketchup tastes like? I rarely use ketchup for anything other than mixing a half-cup or so into meatloaf but it seems like if Israeli ketchup has twice the tomato solids it would be more like tomato paste than ketchup.

Jerry's Meatloaf: Throw some stuff together, I don't actually use exact measures

1 1/2 pound ground meat (I use 1 pound deer, 1/2 pound seasoned pork sausage)
2 cups breadcrumbs or crushed crackers if you've got stale crackers laying around
4 cups seasoned croutons or dry stuffing mix
1 packet dry onion soup mix
2 eggs
couple big squirts ketchup, worchestershire sauce, salt, pepper, enough water to make it all a little goopy
whatever little extras you like - chopped celery or peppers, more onion, pineapple chunks
mix it all up, bake it in the oven, towards the end coat it with more ketchup/worchestershire sauce

If you make it in a big shallow casserole dish, you can cook some frozen vegetables, make some mashed potatoes, as the meatloaf gets close, dump the cooked vegetables on top of the meatloaf, cover with the mashed potatoes and throw a layer of shredded cheese on top and pop it back in the oven until the cheese melts and gets a little toasty - all-in-one shepherds pie-ish dish.

[Rebel Scum]

the government ruled that Heinz doesn't have enough tomato concentrate to be called ketchup under Israeli law.

Israeli's really need to learn to concentrate.

[Fist of Etiquette]

You know who else tried to get Jews to concentrate?

[Millard Fillmore]

Should we start camps to help them with that?

[Robert]

I wonder how concentrated tomato concentrate is, so I can convert it to equivalent in actual tomato.

Does this go by Mr. Simpson's declar'n that concentrating foods increases their nutritional value?

[Russell]

Try dousing your burger with Jack Daniels kosher Corn Seasoning instead

[crufus]

It's always good to be able to use the government to get rid of your competitors, and it's no surprise that a socialist paradise like Israel would do that.

Can we please send Israel more money and weapons so they can continue to crap on us?

[Gindjurra]

The truly ironic thing is that there is a reason it says 'tomato ketchup' on the label instead of just 'ketchup'.

Ketchup is actually an Anglicization of a Chinese word that means 'sauce' or 'condiment'. The original was a fermented fish brine. The concept was brought back to Europe from the far east, but since it happened prior to the discovery of tomatoes in the New World, European ketchup was usually made with nuts, mushrooms, etc.

Tomato ketchup wasn't invented until some time after the first imports of tomatoes to Europe, which is why Heinz and other manufacturers specify tomato ketchup on the labels -- tomato is not the only option.

I could see a government striking the word tomato from the label on the grounds there isn't enough tomato paste in the recipe. That would make sense. But striking the word ketchup, when a product can still be ketchup with zero tomatoes in it? That just makes the government look silly.

Self-inflicted black eyes are not good for a bureaucrat's career.