Dear CSA Members,
Now that summer is over it’s time for us (Anna, Pearl & I) to focus on our fall and holiday mail order program. Pearl has done a great job creating gift baskets and new items for our website. She is always prodding us (gently) to come up with new products to add to our website offerings. We have been promising a new catsup (from all those tomatoes) and Anna has been experimenting and is coming up with an exciting product.
The problem we are faced with is what to call it and how do we market this product? Everyone knows what catsup is and they have a very strong idea of what that is. Our catsup will be worlds better than anything made from Heinz, since ours will be made with our amazing tomatoes grown here on the farm (and won’t have any high fructose corn syrup in it). But still, Heinz is the standard; almost whether you like it or not, Heinz is what we think of when we think of catsup. However, while its name is familiar, its use is limited. I have a bottle of catsup (not, Heinz but an organic version) in my refrigerator that is used by 1 person in my household, my daughter Millie, for her periodic hot dog. I can’t remember when I bought it. It has been in the fridge, in the shelf door with the soy sauce, capers, Sriracha, anchovies and other seldom used condiments and ingredients. To call our product “catsup” (or ketchup, same thing just different spelling) is tricky; while customers might buy it because they know what it is, they also may use it infrequently (as I have) and they may not buy it often and more importantly, they could miss out on its usefulness and enjoyment as an ingredient.
We are excited by the first batches; it is deeply tomatoey, rich and a little spicy. Yes, it will be great with hot dogs and hamburgers and dare I forget French fries and potatoes, but it will also be wonderful with bruschetta and prosciutto, or with roasted beef and vegetables.
I promise you this tomato catsup, sauce or whatever we call it, will not sit idle and neglected in your refrigerator!
– Chef Becky
