Times change. And we change with the times. But how MUCH do they – and we – change? I would not have thought that – during my lifetime – Ketchup would be eclipsed by red chili sauce as the red condiment for all seasons and all reasons!
But here we go!
A new world?
I think we have to admit it. In a world with hundreds of hot chili brand names, bottle shapes, flavour variants, ‘heat’ strengths and colours, we have pretty much the same old Ketchup we’ve always had, under a bare handful of names.
Aside from 2 or 3 ‘spicy’ variants manufacturers tested over the years, 1 or 2 specialty variants – such as BBQ – they tried to popularize at various times, and the most recent Ketchup hack: Heinz’s Break-fast Ketchup campaign… Ketchup is pretty much the same as it’s always been. A least as it’s become standardized during lives of 99.44 of us who are in the world at this moment.
But witness the veritable explosion of hot chili sauces and related condiments during the last de-cade! (Minus the COVID Era (2020-2023), when the entire food universe was in the proverbial mix-master.)
What’s old is new again…
I’ll grant you, most of the chilis and their champions have always been there, in the nooks and crannies of hundreds of exotique cuisines many of us have only become aware of over the past decade or so – to be generous, since the Millennium.
That’s thanks, in significant measure, to a couple of generations of Brave New Chefs who have tra-velled the world, working in previously unconnected styles and traditions as diverse as Thai and Tex-Mex. And using their skills and inspirations to update and adapt what they’ve discovered to enrich the Western palate.
And don’t forget the constant, unprecedented circulation of ordinary folks of different cultures and traditions who’ve come to The West just over the past few decades, bringing with them their own culinary customs to blend with ours.
Meant to happen?
Chilis have been found in nature, in most of the regions of this Earth where plants will grow. And in all cases where they’re known, they’ve been adopted by humans for culinary and/or medicinal use. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
In fact, considering all the good stuff we’ve learned just in the past few years, about what hot pep-pers can do, it’s as though chilis and humans have evolved in parallel – over eons – to their mutual benefit.
If you take the long view… You might think it’s humans who’ve been lagging behind chili peppers in colonizing the Earth, and we’re just now catching up with them!
My take
So… What do you think? Has hot sauce become the new red condiment for all seasons and all reasons?
Here are some specific questions I have for you:
Would you believe that a recent survey showed that more Americans now enjoy their breakfast eggs with a shake of hot pepper sauce on them than choose an ooze of ketchup?
Did you know sales of traditional ketchup are slowly falling, while sales of hot sauce are edging up-wards?
Were you aware that foods such as traditional tomato ketchup – with loads of sugar, salt and empty Calories – are increasingly being viewed as unhealthy, and considered ‘processed foods’?
On the other hand…
Does it surprise you that chili peppers, and the substances that give them their unique flavours and ‘heat’, are increasingly being explored by researchers, who are still uncovering new benefits for hu-man health and well being?
Muse on that…
~ Maggie J.