Grocery Store Gratification

We spiced things up a little bit last night and found some grocery store gratification! We hit the ketchup aisle at Meijer looking for something to dress our bunless burgers. Instead of the big bottle of Heinz, which is our usual go to, we went WILD on a couple small, top-shelf specialties, Tessemae and Sir Kensington’s.

They both fully delivered instant and undeniable gratification. Each one’s bold forward flavor was delivered the moment they touched our tongues! NOT like when something says it has an ingredient, but you have to wait for it and REALLY, REALLY strain to find its taste, and then you’re not even sure it’s there. Oh, no! These two were generous right from the start!

Tessemae Classic Ketchup is a little sour at first with its upfront vinegar-accompanied-by-tomato taste, but then smooths right out with the flavor of allspice coming up from the back. It’s like what you would imagine a tomatoey barbeque sauce to be with a little bit of sour to it. Its label says its dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan and USDA Organic (and therefore also non-GMO). So, it’s clean and good for you!

Sir Kensington Spicy Ketchup has a bite of full pepper flavor right from the start. There’s jalapeno, chipotle, chile, and green bell peppers in it. It also has vinegar and allspice like Tessamae (and other ingredients) so it might be fair to say it’s a hotter version of the first. But please don’t let that make you shy away from it if you don’t like it hot, it’s nothing too much … definitely worth a try!

Like Tessemae, Sir Kensington’s is also gluten-free and vegan, and neither has high fructose corn syrup. Also, Sir Kensington’s is Kosher and has a classic version, too. And, there’s something a little different than regular ketchup about their color, it’s more brownish than red.

So, the next time you are in the grocery store, go ahead, grab a different version of one of your staples and see how much trying something new can make your world a little more exciting!