[nemo44x]

Malcolm Gladwell wrote a thing on ketchup years ago called “The Ketchup Conundrum”. [1]

It’s worth a read as it goes deep into the history of ketchup but more so it investigates food tasting, super tasters, etc. It turns out that Heinz Ketchup is essentially a perfect food in terms of taste. People don’t get tired of it and other ketchups come and go because they are all ultimately flawed. Some grab people initially but they tire of it because it isn’t balanced. Heinz is as are a few other products the article talks about.

[1] https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/09/06/the-ketchup-co...

[giraffe_lady]

I wouldn't say it's perfect or the only balanced ketchup, but it fits very well into its role and is hard to consistently improve on in ways that are strictly better for the final product and competitive with its cost.

It's a notorious "newb trap" for chefs. You see a place making their own ketchup, that stuff might be good but you know they don't have a seasoned professional's view of where value is made. It takes hours of labor to make ketchup for something that in the end doesn't make your burger taste better than heinz does.

[nemo44x]

People continue to make ketchups that people say they prefer after a single bite and it’s usually because they have a certain flavor that stands out. But they don’t see return customers.

Similar to soda. Coke has just the right combination of things that no one else is close. Pepsi used to do a blind taste test and people preferred Pepsi after a single taste. But it’s 1-dimensional and people quickly tire of it. Coke eventually comes out on top.

“Perfect” is subjective but the article describes a ratings system that super tasters use. Heinz ketchup comes out perfect. And the lack of competition proves it.

[giraffe_lady]

Eh don't be so credulous about shit malcolm gladwell says lol. Heinz's dominance probably comes down to the usual matrix of suitability across a large set of uses, consistency, cost, marketing, familiarity. I'm agreeing with you that it's very well balanced and nearly impossible to broadly beat at its price point. My former-professional opinion is that they hit a local maximum around price and flexibility, not that they somehow have the one perfect food product on the planet though.

[mannyv]

Heinz dominance of the market is evidence that you're wrong.

I occasionally try other ketchup brands, and they really aren't "better" in any dimension that I can discern. They're different, but ultimately unsatisfying.

If you have a product that hits 98% on any dimension that matters, there's really not a lot of room for "better."

That also goes for the difference between straight Heinz and the Simply Heinz (the one made with sugar). There's a non meaningful flavor difference, but straight Heinz is the clear winner in that I don't buy SH.

[samatman]

I'm fairly sure that the ingredient that makes Coke distinctive is neroli. It's the only known ingredient in Coke which is moderately expensive, and the brand buys a fair amount of total world production, presumably at a good price. The also-rans don't use it, once you know what to look for this is quite clear.

[Applejinx]

First thing I thought of. The takeaway for me is that (a) Malcolm Gladwell generalizes and story-izes like mad to make a compelling take, but (b) it turns out that it's a very powerful thing to balance flavors until the synthesis has a stronger personality than any of its component parts.

Works in other art forms, too, and works in regular cooking. If you like a sensation, be careful to not dive in and add LOTS of it or the thing you like will end up distractingly strong, and the gestalt will suffer.