Google defines ketchup as “a spicy sauce made chiefly from tomatoes and vinegar, used as a condiment” (February 19, 2017)

I don’t know about your household, but in mine ketchup is a hot commodity, the Heinz brand of course. I think that my older boy would drink it through a straw if we let him. We have to purchase the Costco packs of ketchup on a more than regular basis because of the amount he consumes. My other boy rarely, if ever, eats it on anything. Anyway, we use to try and control the amount of ketchup the older boy ate by dutifully placing a reasonable amount on his plate for fries or whatever he felts he needs it for. However, at 6 ½ he is able to take care of these needs himself which we now monitor with a keen eye and a firm voice, “THAT’S PLENTY” or “NO MORE” and “THAT IS ENOUGH.”

The other problem that comes with this child aged ketchup craving is the state of the bottle itself. Again, I don’t know where you stand on this issue but for me it drives me crazy. When I lift the cap on the ketchup bottle to squirt ketchup out and find that the surface under the lid is smeared with that reddish-orange thick liquid in various stages of crusting I feel repulsed and overwhelmed by disapproval. There is no need for this mess.

I know this disaster was created by a hasty squeeze of the bottle while the person handling the bottle had their attention directed elsewhere. This hasty squeeze is followed by a fast snap of the lid while the condiment is still being forced from the bottle, and a trapped ketchup mess is born. (You can’t see me, but I assure you I am cringe in disgust at the thought of this.)

Now I can’t say he has gone as far as wanting a ketchup sandwich or anything wild like that, but I imagine if he knew that was something people ate he would be game to try. Interestingly, as I am writing this post I sourced the back of the ketchup bottle and to my surprise found the words, “Great Canadian Ketchup Cake.” When I spoke the words out loud my ketchup child looked at me and said, “yuck.” However, my curiosity was roused and I couldn’t help but visit heinzitup.com to see what this was about. It looks yummy and really doesn’t sound too bad. We haven’t tried this cake at this point, but if you are interested to try check it out at http://www.kraftcanada.com/recipes/great-canadian-heinz-ketchup-cake-193998 and please, if you try it, let me know how it tastes.

All of this is made more bizarre by the fact that he will not eat a tomato for all the toys in the world.

How are the ketchup cravings in your house?

By Shari Marshall – April 13, 2017