Internet denizens are aghast in the wake of a kitchen condiment switcheroo at Aldi, according to a story that we first spied over at Parade. The discount supermarket chain beloved for its dupes has changed the recipe for its Simply Nature organic tomato ketchup according to the outlet and a furious Reddit thread, where some account holders decried what they believe is the addition of extra sugar as a ruinous event. Grocery sleuths posited that, by swapping what was previously listed as tomato concentrate with a new tomato purée, Aldi has increased the item’s sweetness, making some powerful enemies in the process. Photos of an old and new bottle of the ketchup in question do demonstrate that the number of calories per tablespoon have skyrocketed from 15 to 20.
Organic sugar, organic distilled vinegar, salt, organic onion powder, and other nebulous organic “spices” populate both ketchup editions’ ingredient list, making a strong case that the calorie culprit is, in fact, tomato related. Some Redditors also asserted that they can taste the unwelcome increase in sweetness. The added sugars have also gone from three to four grams, per the posted image. “It’s noticeably worse.” the thread’s author lamented.
A history of ketchup inconsistency
The more things change, the more online commenters will stay the same. None other than Aldi similarly caught the notice of sauce fans in a separate, brief Reddit thread from seven years ago. Forum users on that 2018 post posited what was then a new formulation had also been made a little sweeter, pointing, now, to a trend. Though the flavor fury was subdued in that case, users were a bit miffed that the new formulation was packaged in a lower volume for the same price.
No iteration of Aldi brand ketchup appears on our definitive ranking of popular ketchup brands, which lists Heinz in the top spot. The retailer offers two other brands in addition to its house ketchup on its website. You can also, of course, make your own at home with our guide to everything you ever wanted to know about ketchup but were afraid to ask. Aldi did not immediately respond to a media inquiry from Chowhound about this latest ketchup kerfuffle at press time.
