A way of life and culinary icon not too long ago took a agency place on the age-old debate of whether or not ketchup belongs on sizzling canine or not.
Martha Stewart, founding father of Martha Stewart Dwelling, expressed her opinion in an Instagram reel on June 17.
“I love hot dogs with the works,” Stewart stated within the video.
She added, “It has to have bacon, mustard, ketchup, relish, sauerkraut.”
Her endorsement of ketchup on sizzling canine polarized a few of her followers — particularly these within the Windy Metropolis.
“I love Martha, but ketchup on a hot dog is f—ing diabolical,” one consumer wrote.
“As a Chicagoan, I cannot abide the ketchup on a hot dog,” one other chimed in. “That’ll get you thrown right out of that town faster than disliking deep dish pizza.”
However others appreciated Stewart’s imaginative and prescient and spoke out in favor of condiment-packed sizzling canine.
“Martha knows what she’s talking about,” a ketchup fanatic wrote.
“Me too, Martha,” one other stated.
Stewart took the pro-ketchup stance after sharing her Chicago-style sizzling canine recipe earlier in June, writing that “there’s really only one steadfast rule – no ketchup.” Her remark referred solely to Chicago-style sizzling canine, although.
Nonetheless, a few of her followers thought she was of their anti-ketchup camp.
One admirer wrote, “Absolutely NO ketchup – love you, Martha!”
One other chimed in, “Yes, queenie, no ketchup.”
One courageous commenter got here out in assist of ketchup on sizzling canine – and was promptly shut down.
“Ketchup is a MUST,” the ketchup fan wrote.
“Not in Chitown,” an Instagram consumer wrote.
“Not in Chicago,” one other repeated.
So why is ketchup thought of such a controversial addition to sizzling canine?
Chris Christou, proprietor of Poochie’s Sizzling Canines in Chicago, advised Fox Information Digital his rationale behind skipping ketchup.
Christou stated the tomato-based condiment’s taste is simply too overpowering for a Chicago-style sizzling canine.
“I always felt like ketchup, because of its sweetness, overpowered the rest of the condiments,” the restaurateur stated.
“Especially the yellow mustard and dill pickle.”
However some satan’s advocates proceed to assist the sweet-and-sour condiment.
“Not only does it enhance the flavor, but adding ketchup offers some real health benefits.”
New Jersey-based dietitian Erin Palinski-Wade advised Fox Information Digital she encourages incorporating ketchup into extra meals.
“You need ketchup on your hot dog,” she stated, sharing her insights as “a registered dietitian and mom of three,” she added.
“Not only does it enhance the flavor, but adding ketchup offers some real health benefits.”
The dietitian stated ketchup accommodates excessive quantities of lycopene, which has cancer-fighting properties.
“[These] benefits [are] thanks to its high content of lycopene, which is more bioavailable in ketchup versus raw tomatoes due to the cooking process involved in making ketchup.”
Palinski-Wade added, “Studies link higher dietary intake of lycopene from tomatoes and ketchup with a reduced risk of stomach and prostate cancer, thanks to lycopene’s antioxidant and anticancer properties.”
Fox Information Digital reached out to Stewart for remark.