I'm married to ketchup man

[ketchupman]

Semi light-hearted, first world problem and have name changed 🙄

I married a man who was a self declared 'foodie'. This was great, I like cooking and eating a lot.

Quite a few years in now, it transpires I'm married to ketchup man who slathers it over his food whenever he can. Steak, fancy burgers, anything with potato, nothing is safe from ketchup man. It turns out he didn't do this in the first few years of our relationship as he knew it was a bit odd.

He doesn't understand why I'm irritated by making an effort to cook a nice meal for him only for it to be covered in ketchup (roast potatoes with rosemary got ketchupped tonight).

YABU - it's okay to do this, let the man ketchup a fillet steak without rolling eyes
YANBU - cook him toddler food and don't waste flavour on him

He's got a sugar addiction. Ketchup is basically an excuse to slather savoury food with sugar. Humans try to replicate the sugar/fat balance of breastmilk. It's addictive.

If you hate making an effort to cook decent stuff, only to have him cover it in ketchup, stop making the effort.

@TheFoundations

Snap

just be grateful it's not Brussels sprouts ketchup!!

My ex was like this with Mayonnaise. Even pasta would get the Mayo treatment.

DH puts salt on every single meal. Before tasting it.

Drives me round the fucking bend.

@Lydia777

I do this except it is garlic mayo. Live and let live!

I have found my soulmate

I’m ketchup woman - DP despairs when I have it with roast beef or chicken, even Xmas dinner.

I have it alongside stew and dumplings (“you don’t have ketchup with a gravy based meal!”) and indeed steak and chips. I also like mayonnaise with my steak. So shoot me.

I’m my mind, ketchup fulfils the same function as apple sauce with pork, or cranberry with turkey - it’s a sweet and tangy taste to cut through the saltiness of the meat and veg.

I also put HP into my stews which DP thinks is abhorrent but then he uses a shed load of gravy granules in his, so it’s just pure beefy saltiness with no depth of flavour. I like a little bit of sweetness and tanginess with my meat.

I’m a ketchup lover and I make no apologies for it.

Ds was like this with chilli sauce.

I bought a range of sauces in increasing heat, and started putting them out in the table at mealtimes, or encouraging him to get the chilli himself. "You'll probably want chilli with this."

Reverse psychology

He still likes chilli, but tastes his food first, and doesn't slather it indiscriminately over everything

Let him enjoy his food the way he likes it.

@ketchupman honestly, the woman has no morals. She’s passed her ‘palate’ on to several of her grandchildren, thankfully none of mine. I stopped eating at hers when I was presented with a breaded chicken fillet with gravy and ketchup on the side 🤢

Nothing weird about it. Let him eat what he wants to.

I’m with you OP. My friend also claimed to be a foodie and dumped ketchup on every meal. I’m not against condiments but there are different condiments for different meals. And a bloody good steak should only come with peppercorn sauce, even then it’s not always needed.

I do hate ketchup though, so those smothering everything in ketchup were the worst kind of people. I have worked in a soft play area and I’m haunted by ketchup sticky tables. Or I was until my ketchup loving DH got me pregnant and now it’s a craving. Even now, I’m only having it with chips or on burger!

Although, I might not be the best person to ask OP because I’m also the type of person that puts baked beans in a ramekin to avoid cross-contamination (unless it’s a jacket potato with cheese and beans). I don’t like food touching unless it’s meant to - so a lasagne is fine but if we have lasagne and salad, there has to be a big gap between the salad and lasagne. When I do have condiments they have to be neatly on the side of the plate and not touching the food until I decide to dip. The poster who said about their dad mashing everything up is my idea of a nightmare.

Unless he's forcing you to eat it too, what's the issue?

Oh and this may be pedantic, but I don’t “slather it on” or “smother everything in it”. I put it on the side so that I can dunk the appropriate amount for each mouthful. I’m not a total animal.

@WhatTheFlap

I hate ketchup more than anything in the world, it’s gross, so I’m adding in a new option: ban ketchup from the house entirely.

Why do women think that being so controlling os OK? My late OH would put ketchup, mustard and mayo on a meal sometimes but that was his choice, I may have commented but I never attempted to bully him by banning them entirely!

I married a ketchup man. And he helped me make 2 ketchup boys. I budget 2 costco sized ketchup bottles a month. I also spend a good portion of my time wiping sauce off said ketchup boys faces.

I think it’s absolutely none of your business and definitely doesn’t mean he doesn’t like good food.

My husband is the same. Except it doesn't bother me because I'm not a pretentious food snob. Never seen anything like some of this comments - grow up! A grown man can add a sauce if he wants to.

Dh and I splashed out today. still not over the price of filet steak but at least cheaper than having it eating out bbq filet steak and king scallops with mixed salad and steamed Jersey royals with butter and salt. If he had covered that in tomato ketchup I would have been very annoyed. Though we did have some pepper sauce

I really don't understand why people get so worked up about this.

If he wants to add ketchup to his food, let him. It really has zero impact on you or anyone else!

I do this. I don’t really care what people think tbh. Sure there’s a time and a place for it, it’s not always appropriate, but otherwise I crack on.

It turns out he didn't do this in the first few years of our relationship as he knew it was a bit odd.

I’d be more worried by this. He couldn’t be himself with you for the first few years of your relationship.

Lighthearted threads rarely are lighthearted.

My Dad is French and seriously finds it offensive when people use ketchup .

If he had covered that in tomato ketchup I would have been very annoyed. Though we did have some pepper sauce
Ludicrous nonsense.
What's it to you what another grown adult chooses to eat?