Heinz seems to have stepped in it this week with the Twitter revelation that it plans to begin marketing in the US - if it gets enough positive reaction via social media - a combination of ketchup and mayonnaise that for the moment, it is calling “mayochup.”
The problem, the Washington Post reports this morning, is that “for many Americans, particularly those in the Latino community, the concept of combining mayonnaise and ketchup is nothing new … Sometimes adding a touch of garlic or adobo seasoning, Puerto Ricans smother it on just about anything fried: mofongo and tostones — both made with fried plantains — yuca, french fries, and more.”
In addition, the story says, “The condiment is popular across Latin America, with different names and variations based on the country. In Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela and other places, it’s referred to as ‘salsa rosada,’ or ‘pink sauce.’ In Colombia and Venezuela, one might spoon a dollop of the condiment on an arepa, and in Costa Rica, one might eat it with a pejibaye, a peach-palm fruit.”
The Post writes that under a variety of names and in a number of permutations, this sauce has been around since the 1920s, and “some on Twitter even accused Heinz of ‘appropriating,’ ‘gentrifying’ or even ‘colonizing’ the beloved mayo-ketchup combination.”
The problem, the Washington Post reports this morning, is that “for many Americans, particularly those in the Latino community, the concept of combining mayonnaise and ketchup is nothing new … Sometimes adding a touch of garlic or adobo seasoning, Puerto Ricans smother it on just about anything fried: mofongo and tostones — both made with fried plantains — yuca, french fries, and more.”
In addition, the story says, “The condiment is popular across Latin America, with different names and variations based on the country. In Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela and other places, it’s referred to as ‘salsa rosada,’ or ‘pink sauce.’ In Colombia and Venezuela, one might spoon a dollop of the condiment on an arepa, and in Costa Rica, one might eat it with a pejibaye, a peach-palm fruit.”
The Post writes that under a variety of names and in a number of permutations, this sauce has been around since the 1920s, and “some on Twitter even accused Heinz of ‘appropriating,’ ‘gentrifying’ or even ‘colonizing’ the beloved mayo-ketchup combination.”
- KC's View:
-
Obviously, nobody at Heinz ever saw Step-Brothers, where it memorably was called “fancy sauce.”
Heinz’s mistake was trying to pass this off as something new, as opposed to bringing a treasured and popular ethnic product to the US.
