Michael Murtaugh/NYT WirecutterWe focus our testing on ketchups from brands that are widely available in national grocery chains and big-box stores, looking mostly for ketchups that you could buy on the spur of the moment during a casual grocery run.Over the years we’ve tested 26 ketchups, mostly a mix of household names and supermarket brands. In 2026, we focused our testing on widely available low-sugar and no-sugar ketchups, as well as spicy ketchups. (We’ve stayed away from flavored varieties like Heinz Pickle Flavored Ketchup or Brooklyn Delhi Curry Ketchup, but we may try them in the future.)Our panels of tasters have included Wirecutter editors and writers with kitchen expertise: Gabriella Gershenson, Marguerite Preston, Rachel Wharton, Ciara Murray Jordan, Marilyn Ong, Amanda Arnold, Abigail Bailey, and myself.We’ve sampled every contender with crinkle-cut fries. In some finalist rounds, we’ve also tested with chicken nuggets and hot dogs.We look for a condiment that’s well balanced: sweet, savory, and tangy. Bracing, but not overpowering. Tasty, without upstaging the meal.Texture and appearance are important, too. We want ketchup that’s thick enough to cling to a fry and easy to squeeze out of a bottle. We also favor an appealing red color that doesn’t scream food dye, but also isn’t brown or oxidized.Because a ketchup tasting panel would be incomplete without kid testers, in 2024 we also invited 27 children of Wirecutter employees, ranging in age from 2 to 12, to weigh in on a smaller selection of ketchups from Heinz, 365 by Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe’s, and Target’s Market Pantry. We took notes on their commentary as they tasted each plain and with fries, rating their favorites with stickers on the plate. The testers offered a wide range of feedback, from “It has a nice stick to the fry” to “It tastes like marinara sauce.” They confidently zeroed in on the original Heinz ketchup early on in their testing and chose it as the winner by an overwhelming majority.This article was edited by Amanda Arnold, Gabriella Gershenson, and Marguerite Preston.
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