Ketchup is just ketchup isn’t it? Yes, unless it’s artisan ketchup like the kind made by Red Duck Foods.

The tomato-based condiment we think of as ketchup has been around since the 1800’s, but Red Duck ketchup, the brainchild of three young women who were inspired by interesting ketchup they discovered in their world travels (think curry ketchup in Belgium and cherry cola-flavored ketchup in Hong Kong). Determined to create an exciting line of American ketchup that would match the gourmet dishes in today’s culinary scene, Red Duck Ketchup was born.

Red Duck founders believe ketchup should be as interesting as the dishes you eat.

The Red Duck wizards don’t just make their ketchup taste good, they leave out all the bad stuff like high fructose corn syrup, stabilizers, and preservatives commonly found in commercial ketchups. It’s also certified USDA organic. The women came up with three flavors, packaged in 12-ounce jars and priced at $7 or a three-flavor “Duckling Pack” of 2 ounce jars for $12. Our editors tried them all:

Classic Red Duck Ketchup. The Classic has an intense tomato flavor with a lilt of smokiness. To us, it resembles the tomato-dense flavor of tomato paste. This one would be good on fries and burgers.

Red Duck Curry Ketchup gave this egg and potato breakfast burrito just the right lift.

Spicy Red Duck Ketchup. This spicy ketchup reminded us more of a traditional ketchup or a delicious pizza sauce. It’s the ketchup for those who love complex, spicy flavors. It’s not overly hot, but it’s tasty. Spicy Red Duck would make a great accompaniment to almost any food.

Red Duck Curry. This one was hands-down our tasting panel’s favorite flavor. It delivers unexpected, pronounced curry notes that’ll take you right back to your favorite Indian dishes. We loved this one on fries, eggs, and rice.

Let your inner chef fly by using Red Chef on all kinds of dishes like these Thai corn fritters.

Red Duck also makes an interesting cocktail sauce ($5.50) that people who like a little heat will enjoy. (Some of our tasters found it too hot, while others thought the heat level was just right.) It features intense celery and onion essence and will brighten any seafood. Like the Red Duck ketchups, Red Duck cocktail sauce contains no high fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. It’s also vegan and fat-free. We’re looking forward to trying this cocktail sauce on spot prawns during the upcoming season here in the Northwest. – Bobbie Hasselbring, RFT Editor

www.redduckfoods.com