Who uses only one ketchup package?
Who has ever asked for ketchup at a take-out place, and gotten just one package of ketchup? You always get a handful. Why?
Because, ketchup packages are too damn small.
Why not make a larger package? How about twice the size?
The benefit would be less packaging (i.e. less waste), and you don't have to deal with as many messy used packages.
The only drawback that i can think of is that ketchup would be in a different sized package than relish, mustard and vinegar. But, its not like there is some standard package dispenser that would get screwed up with large ketchup packs. (Aren't all the condiments just kept in a box under the counter?)
And, considering that ketchup packages are made out of a different material (foil/plastic not just plastic) they are probably manufactured with different machines anyways.
Of course, I'd like to get rid of the need for wasteful packaging like this altogether (how about a 2 cent tax on each package?) but this would at least be a baby-step in the right direction.-- ufreq, Oct 24 2000 What to do with ketchup packets http://www.cockeyed...ible/bear/bear.html [rmutt, Oct 24 2000, last modified Oct 04 2004] Ketchup Packet Gallery http://www.clearfou...diment/ketchup.html [Condimnent, Oct 24 2000, last modified Oct 04 2004] Ketchup consolidation http://www.globalid...widea.php?idea=3802Yet another accolyte...... This thing is bigger than all of us !!!! [CheeseFilteredCigarette, Oct 04 2004] (?) And there's more..... http://www.lefkowit...ds/rants_text2.htmlSee what I mean - this is one of those viral ideas. [CheeseFilteredCigarette, Oct 04 2004] Man saved by condiments http://www.cnn.com/...alive.ap/index.htmlBetter or worse, in survival terms? [horripilation, Oct 04 2004] (?) The condiment http://www.thecondiment.com/packets.php [thecondiment, Oct 04 2004] Actually, many of the fast food chains now use ketchup dispensers with little paper cups for this purpose. Saves on the wasteful packaging.
Unfortunately, these fast food joints haven't started doing this for their drive through windows yet.-- BigThor, Oct 25 2000 Yes, some fast food places have a big ketchup urn with a pump. Good idea, but again, what is up with those little paper cups? I have to use four and i only stop because i feel guilty that i'm hogging the urn.
I think they use the tiny paper cups because they existed already, not because they are perfect for ketchup delivery. Don't they look exactly like what the psych ward uses to deliver the daily pill cocktail?
oh, gotta go. The nurses are back from their smoke break.-- ufreq, Oct 25 2000 Cool, a pet peeve justified.
I hate the little ketchup packets. I much prefer ketchup pumps, but they seem to have all but disappeared (at least where I am). I've personally witnessed their removal and replacement with tubs of packets (with no reason given) in some locations.
Not only are the packets too small, but they're a real pain to open (especially with greasy fingers), they're hard to squeeze without generating a mess, and they leave you with a bit of ketchupy plastic that you have to put down somewhere. Who thought they were a good idea? (Probably the same person who thought it was a good idea to put viscous ketchup in a narrow-necked glass bottle. Is the stuff so expensive restaurants feel compelled to inconvenience their patrons to conserve it?) Grumble grumble...-- egnor, Oct 26 2000 Ketchup delivery systems have been a great source of free entertainment since the dawn of time.Many a time I've sat watching people hold ketchup bottles patiently in mid-air awaiting the eventual arrival of either a tiny splash of watery fluid or a huge splat of gargantuan protoplasm.And does anyone remember the giant, red plastic tomatoes that used to decorate every table in greasy spoon cafes? When you squeezed them they made a hugely amusing fart noise guaranteed to embarass the person doing the squeezing.And nowadays you risk only a slight strain to your neck as you watch others wrestling with their ketchup packets and attempting to strain to almost every muscle in their body.Long live crap packaging. I'm definitely against this spoil sport idea.-- DrBob, Oct 26 2000 Well at least one of the major US burger chains used the little peel-off-the-top ketchup tubs recently but I think they dropped them for the packets. I'm thinking Carl's Jr. but who knows. Most of the FF places use these tubs for barbeque sauce and ranch dressing. One or two is usually enough. Not only that but they don't make a mess like the packets because you don't have to squeeze them out onto something. The tubs would be much better for the drive-thru I think.-- bjt, Oct 26 2000 i think the big difference between ketchup being dispensed from either pumps or packets is how it's being used. for instance, when you eat in you would use the pump. i only use packets when i get my food to go. i think conservation should be a concern and less waste and larger packets is a step in the right direction.-- ralphusa, Dec 09 2000 Why not just keep a bottle of ketchup in the car ?-- batgirl, Dec 09 2000 A swan-shaped dispenser would be welcome. When you squeeze its gut, it barfs up ketchup in just the right amount.-- Vance, Jan 31 2001 I am an Australian, and ketchup culture is different here but I was amazed recently by something I saw at a game of Australian Rules Football (AFL or "Footy" - no padding), it was a large concealed vat of ketchup with a large rubber teat at the bottom - similar to that found at the bottom of a cows udder. You simply hold the item requiring ketchup under it and give the rubber thing a big squeeze, and a nice stream of ketchup comes shooting out of the bottom.
I must admit I found the whole experience a little perverse, given it was a burger with beef inside that I applied the sauce to.
That said, no wrappers, no hygiene problem, and all that is required is the ketchup tanker to do a refill after the match. I’m willing to bet that a dairy farmer invented it. (There was one for mustard also.)-- cucaracha, May 29 2001 Only fifteen votes for bigger ketchup sachets?
Don't panic. I propose instead, cut-crystal bottles ... like on the Titanic.-- rayfo, May 29 2001 Whenever I - we, really - as I disdain drive thrus, let alone the Fast Food Industry, et al. - We are asked "Do you want ketchup?" At Least twice, if not three times... always declining. Heaven Forbid that they should give you 1 extra bbq sauce or Ranch Dressing - "I'll have to ask the Manager" - Only to arrive home and find that strewn about the bag(s) are at least a dozen ketchup packets with one measly container of the desired condiment. Weasels.-- thumbwax, May 30 2001 You know, I recently stayed at a very fancy hotel that served ketchup in crystal bowls, and you put it on your food with sterling silver spoons. To me this was a little too la-de-da for the humble sauce.-- arghblah, Aug 28 2001 I think this should be packaged with 'supersize' meals.-- RayfordSteele, Feb 19 2002 I notice a lot of people who misuse the foil ketchup packets. It's easy to just tear a vertical slice into the packet. But then the ketchup just squirts out willy-nilly in every direction. If you tear off a corner completely, then it comes out beautifully.-- superye, Feb 19 2002 Larger packets is all i'm asking. I heard some places use the packets since they have trouble sanitising the pumps. Regardless we need larger packets.-- cashew76, Jun 20 2002 There are salad dressing packets that are much larger than the standard ketchup packets. I'm sure some ketchup head cheese could easily change the standard size if he wanted to. Problem is, it's harder to do than nothing, with no real financial gains.
Find a way to motivate ketchup companies to invest in this change and perhaps it will be considered. I suggest that being the first to up the size of the packets may make the places said ketchup company sells packets to slightly more desirable, as everyone who anno'd here would rush whatever fast food joint would have them available. That's all I got.-- XSarenkaX, Sep 20 2002 Sheer genius. I'm forever being told off by smokers for discarding a gradually growing mountain of sticky red plastic in their ashtrays.-- ScepticAL, Nov 26 2002 In some countries, the restaurant pays up front for "free" ketchup and lets the customer grab heaps of the stuff, but the customer of course pays for it in the extra cost of operating the restaurant.
Where I live, the customer pays for each packet of ketchup -- it's not expensive, but it's not free. Each packet is another button-push on the register and another small coin out of your pocket. When it's not free, you find that people suddenly don't really want all that much ketchup.-- horripilation, Nov 26 2002 A generally good idea, though there are times that I only want a small amount of ketchup. I really don't need more than one packet for a hamburger, for instance. But yes, larger packets would be nice for french fries and the like.-- Pharaoh Mobius, Nov 26 2002 Of course, larger packets of ketchup will create larger explosions under unsuspecting car tires!-- tj2010, Nov 26 2002 Great idea. I would think that the cost would be less, because we might use less packages and waste less.-- bspollard, Dec 10 2002 IT'S AN EVIL PLOT BY PACKAGING COMPANIES, TO MAKE PEOPLE BUY MORE KETCHUP PACKETS OMG!!!!!!-- 0_owaffleo_0, Mar 28 2003 i've never heard the term 'ketchup urn', but i guess you learn something new every day..this site is addictive..and great idea btw, IMHO. i also never thought about the lack of these urns in drive-thrus...though correct, the ketchup packets are nasty. they can create quite a hazard if you step on them- so why <u>don't</u> fast food chains use the same tubs to contain ketchup as their other sauces? *confused*...someone should inquire. anyone know someone who'd be able to answer that? someone in a management position, or a franchise-affiliated ketchup buyer? haha...what a name. I NEED ANSWERS *combusts*-- lore, Jul 17 2003 So Heinz has responded to just this problem with their Twice as Much ketchup packet. You can view this work of art at: www.thecondiment.com/ twiceasmuch.html-- thecondiment, Aug 05 2004 Right on!!-- jintag, Aug 05 2004 Ketchup comes in bottles, so this is kind of baked. Also, I think this is more of a rant than an idea.-- energy guy, Aug 05 2004 I have been browsing this site for a while, and it is only now i feel compelled to login and contribute. It is a fucking joke that this is the 30th best idea on this site.
Make ketchup packets bigger is neither original nor interesting, and it makes a mockery of people who take the time and effort to think up and share their novel thoughts.-- cocknocker, Aug 06 2004 That would tend to make me think that your mindset is not quite the same as the 71 who voted + for this idea.-- angel, Aug 06 2004 It would seem that the 71 who voted + for this have a different mindset to most people on the bakery... Most ideas this unoriginal get boned into the ground, or [m-f-d]'d.-- cocknocker, Aug 06 2004 // Where I live, the customer pays for each packet of ketchup -- it's not expensive, but it's not free. Each packet is another button-push on the register and another small coin out of your pocket. When it's not free, you find that people suddenly don't really want all that much ketchup.// Me too. Then I find I don't like chips all that much.
//Ketchup comes in bottles, so this is kind of baked.// Fast food places should sell the same bottles of tomato sauce as you get in a supermarket.-- caspian, May 23 2006 I put catsup on everything I like...including my girlfriend!-- the great unknown, Jun 26 2007 They use small packets so that you don't get more than you want and waste ketchup.-- apocalyps956, Jun 27 2007 well, [c*cknocker], you seem like a bit of a ... um, I can't think of it right now, but it's at the tip of my tongue...
Who's to say what will tantalise the rather esoteric tastes of the 1/2 B community. People have been trying to break the code for generations, with limited success. Getting aggressive about it won't help.-- Custardguts, Jun 28 2007 random, halfbakery