Is it rude or an insult to the cook to put ketchup on food?

Question

You spend your time preparing a meal and then when you serve it there is always one person who lathers ketchup all over it in order to eat it.

Answer 1

Unless it's a hamburger, hotdog, or fries- yes, it's rude. Even salt and pepper should not be added until after the food is tasted.

Answer 2

If someone does this and you find it insulting, then why cook for them?

Or would you rather they don't eat it?

I'm a ketchup fanatic, too, and I like to put it on because of texture, mostly. It helps makes the food I eat it on smoother (meats, hash browns, fries, etc). And yes I like it for the taste, but going back to the salt and pepper people are mentioning.

Does it bother you if they do that? Or if they mix their food together, or seperate it and eat it one "item" at a time? (such as a stew, or a pasta and meat meal).

Putting ketchup on something doesn't mean they dislike the food. So where's the offense? Everyone's taste buds are different.

Answer 3

The proper etiquette to adding additional ingredients at the table is to taste the food first; then add anything after the taste. They say this with salt and pepper, so I would assume that would apply to ketchup as well. Yes, I am a huge ketchup fanatic and have been for a long time...it's great on many things. It has nothing to do with the cook, it's an acquired taste.

Answer 4

Well, if it is some really special, gourmet food, and someone putting ketchup on it really irritates you, just don't serve the ketchup. Can you stand to serve some other sauce, such as Tabasco sauce, steak sauce, barbecue sauce or Worcestershire sauce? If you put the condiments that are compatible with the flavor on the table when you serve, you can always say, "No, I don't have any ketchup." (Give your bottle of ketchup to your neighbor until after the meal so it won't be a lie.)

Answer 5

Taste the food first. If you think the food need ketchup then put a small amount off to the side of the food and with each bite dip in the ketchup

Answer 6

It would depend on the cook and the overall situation. I personally don't mind in most cases when someone uses or asks for a certain sauce for their meal. It means they are going to enjoy it even more, and it makes me happy to be fulfilling their wishes. In the few cases where I do mind, it is typically because I am saving the given condiment for another day. Now, I personally wouldn't do that at the house of a person I don't know well(unless they specifically offer it), simply because not everyone feels the way I do. And I also would not try it at a fancy restaurant or occasion unless it is already on the table.

Answer 7

Some cooks feel that way. Some people just like to cover stuff with ketchup. And some dishes go well with ketchup.

Answer 8

I can see why it's a little offensive since the chef presumably worked hard to obtain the perfect amount of seasoning/flavor for the food. But...people's tastes are different. I wonder if Ronald McDonald gets upset when I order my cheeseburgers plain....

I'd just to it discreetly (the ketchup thing). And I'd try the food first before altering it with cheap condiments.

Answer 9

I don't think so. I put ketchup on food I prepare all the time. I don't lather it on but I do use some.

Answer 10

I would think it is not complimentary in some cultures, and haut cuisine (where sauces are served to compliment certain foods)- it would be frowned upon. However, in casual dining I use ketchup on certain foods (deep fried potatoes, for example) and for the health benefits derived from certain nutrients in tomatoes blended with vinegar etc...