Sauce and Effect

We don’t need to be tricked into eating our vegetables (more likely you’ll find us shouting about broccoli spigarello from a rooftop). And there’s no way the government is convincing us that ketchup is a vegetable.

However, two new companies and their inventive products are making us change our tune. See you at the backyard barbecue (with plenty of vegetables and better-for-you ketchup in hand).

TRUE MADE FOODS:
The folks at this NYC-based Food-X accelerator business go beyond not including anything artificial in their products: they want you to rethink the kind of calories you are taking in. Why eat regular ketchup (even if it has an organic label slapped on) when you can eat one that is just as delicious and packed with spinach, carrots and butternut squash ($6 for 19 oz.)? Some of our tasters even thought the smoky BBQ sauce ($7 for 19 oz.) tasted like McDonald’s (in a good way). High praise for something packed with three times more Vitamin A than any other ketchup on the market, as well as fiber, protein, iron, and vitamins B6 and C. For those who crave a spicy kick, True Made offers Veracha (vegetables plus Sriracha; $7 for 19 oz.).

HATCHUP:
Carmit Levin and Jacob Seidenberg Korn want you to know that they make katchup, not ketchup. They infuse their fresh-tasting variety with fire-roasted smoky-sweet green chiles from Hatch, New Mexico, along with ripe tomatoes, grey sea salt and tangy raw apple cider vinegar. It’s also vegan, and contains no gluten, corn syrup or GMO ingredients ($7.50 for 10 oz.). We’re trying out the four varieties (mild, medium, hot and extra hot) on the usual roundup of burgers, eggs and hotdogs, but it also amps up a Sunday morning Bloody Mary mix.