The mix of ketchup and mayonnaise that Utahns call “fry sauce” will go nationwide, once the corporate overlords at Heinz settle on a name for the pink condiment.
After taking a poll on Twitter last week, Heinz declared that 500,000 voters have demanded the mixed condiment be sold in the United States. Heinz has sold the mixture under the name Mayochup in the United Arab Emirates for two years and used that name in its Twitter poll.
Before Heinz picks the final name for the product stateside, the company is letting fans give their opinions on its Twitter feed.
“We know people have combined mayonnaise and ketchup for years and they are passionate about its name,” Nicole Kulwicki, Heinz’s director of marketing, said in a statement Monday. “That’s why we’re asking America to share their suggestions, to ensure our version of this delicious duo gets the name it deserves.”
People in Utah and Idaho may believe the name “fry sauce” has the inside track, but there are several other monikers that could be contenders.
Utah’s claim to fry sauce goes back to the 1940s, when chef Don Carlos Edwards created it for burgers at his restaurants. Those restaurants grew into the Arctic Circle chain, which now boasts 37 locations in Utah, 21 in Idaho and six more around the West.
Other countries have their own versions. In Argentina, it’s called salsa golf, or “golf sauce,” created in the clubhouse of a golf course in 1925 by 19-year-old Luis Federico Leloir — who 45 years later was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work with lactose.
In Puerto Rico, it’s sold as “mayo ketchup,” and it’s known as “salsa rosado” (“pink sauce”) in Colombia and Venezuela.
Mayonnaise and ketchup is considered a simplified recipe of a British condiment, Marie Rose sauce. Heinz sells a version of this in Ireland called “burger sauce.”
The Urban Dictionary also lists “tomayo” and “ketchonnaise” as portmanteau words for the pink stuff.
Then there are the variations. Some recipes for remoulade in Louisiana Creole cuisine add ketchup to the traditional mayo-and-mustard combination. In Mississippi, diners enjoy a mix of mayo and chile sauce called comeback sauce. And traditional Russian and Thousand Island dressings start with mayo and ketchup, then add other ingredients.