If you see it, get it while you can. With even some organic ketchups using high fructose corn syrup, I’d been exploring recipes to make my own when, quite unexpectedly, I found Kosher for Passover ketchup in a store with a mediocre kosher section. Grains are forbidden at Passover, so HFCS is out and real sugar is in, making these products plenty popular with health-conscious gentiles and people with corn allergies or sensitivities.
I think the first thing one notices when comparing the labels is how many more ingredients regular ketchup has, including corn syrup two ways. This brand is Hunt’s, which I like for its zing:
The Kosher for Passover brand, Lieber’s, not only has fewer ingredients, they are all real, no powders used. When I tasted it, I was reminded of the clean taste of ketchup when I was a girl, before HFCS replaced sugar as a money-saving sweetener:
Admittedly this is a niche product in a specialty line and I won’t pretend everybody in America can find KFP ketchup of any brand at their supermarket. But with Passover nearly over for another year, it’s worth keeping an eye out for it. I was unable to find an online source for this brand this year; they exist but shipping ended with the beginning of Passover.
Chocolate lovers and those who have problems with milk: Kosher for Passover chocolate chips I found at a different store have two ingredients: chocolate (made of sugar, chocolate liquor and non-dairy cocoa butter) and pure vanilla. The closest comparison product is Nestle Milk Chocolate Morsels, with ingredients listed on the website as: milk chocolate (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, nonfat milk, milkfat, soy lecithin, vanillan [an artificial flavor], natural flavor.) The KFP chips, the Mishpacha brand, were no more expensive than the regular, national brands. I was able to find a source online and on sale. Mishpacha, by the way, means “family” in Hebrew.
{ 1 trackback }
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
U-oh! You found another of our secrets. First it was KFP Coke, now KFP ketchup.
Seriously, I buy KFP ketchup every year. As you have discovered, it simply tastes better. Doesn’t matter what brand, any sold at my local supermarket has been better than the national brands.
Hello, dena. Yes, as Col. Potter on MASH has said, the kitty’s out of the burlap!
I wrote about KFP Coke in the past and it’s simply the best for (goyim) Coke-glazed ham. Everything kosher, even if not KFP, tastes cleaner to my palate and usually, it is. I’ll probably be near the ketchup store over the weekend and I’m hoping to buy more on clearance. Thanks for your comment!
Hello, I need to avoid corn syrup. It may be possible to find ketchup without it, but it is in all the horseradish jars I saw on the self. Help!
Hi, Cathy. Thanks for your question. The horseradish I have in the fridge is the Helluva Good brand and the label lists corn oil not syrup or hfcs. The complete ingredients are: horseradish root, water, vinegar, corn oil, salt and natural flavor.
If all corn products are out, you can make your own. This recipe is from my files and I haven’t tried it, but the ingredients are much like the Helluva Good I have — minus any corn. Hope this helps – I have a corn sensitivity and I know how hard it can be to avoid it.
Homemade Horseradish
1 cup peeled, cubed horseradish root
3/4 cup vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender; process until pureed. Carefully remove cover of processor or blender and transfer to a container. Cover and store in the refrigerator. Will keep about 4 weeks in a tightly covered jar.
Yield: 1-1/4 cups