Food and drink
It’s neither Heinz nor Hunt’s: this is the ketchup brand McDonald’s uses
When enjoying a serving of McDonald’s fries, there’s nothing like dipping them in their delicious semi-sweet, acidic ketchup. But what brand is it?
Competition among fast food restaurants is stiff, so standing out from the crowd requires providing a unique taste experience that will hopefully develop a cult following. McDonald’s has consistently ranked among one of the most popular burger joints in the United States and the world.
One of the menu items at the Golden Arches that consistently tops the list as the best in the business is its French fries. And there’s nothing better than dipping them in ketchup, which at McDonald’s is deliciously semi-sweet and acidic but unlike what you find at the grocery store. So what brand is it?
It’s neither Heinz nor Hunt’s: this is the ketchup brand McDonald’s uses
If you thought that McDonald’s used the popular Heinz brand ketchup, you wouldn’t be completely mistaken. However, you’d be having flashbacks to a bygone era. A tomato crisis in the early 1970s saw the two juggernauts of their respective industries part ways when Heinz couldn’t supply McDonald’s with the amount that it wanted according to Chowhound.
Heinz ketchup packets did linger around for a while longer in some select markets until the 2013 but now, at least in the US, you will find only one brand at Golden Arches restaurants. And you won’t find it anywhere else.
That’s because McDonald’s sources its own ketchup based on its own recipe. Of the four official grades of the condiment, its classified as Grade A or “Fancy,” a technical certification from the US Department of Agriculture.
In order to obtain that certification, the ketchup must use high-quality ingredients. Also, one third of the sauce must be made with tomato solids. In the case of McDonald’s ketchup, the company lists the ingredients as “Tomato Concentrate From Red Ripe Tomatoes, Distilled Vinegar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Water, Salt, Natural Flavors.”
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