#MayoChup: New Heinz product divides a nation

Mayonnaise and ketchup = Mayochup...but do we need it? Photo / Twitter

People, we face the great question of our time. Do we need a tomato sauce, mayonnaise hybrid? Heinz, the company famous for its tomato "ketchup", certainly think so.

The company is trialling a potential new product and has asked the question on Twitter: Do Americans want #mayochup, a new condiment that is mayonnaise and ketchup mixed together?

Want #mayochup in stores? 500,000 votes for “yes” and we’ll release it to you saucy Americans.

— fifty⁷ (@HeinzKetchup_US) April 11, 2018

With two days still to go, more than 808,000 votes have already been registered.

And the people are divided.

It's physically impossible to look at this #mayochup picture for more than 12 seconds without vomiting violently until you black out. pic.twitter.com/JPwKbQhSCI

— Name Cannot Be Blank (@Colin_Rigley) April 11, 2018

As has been repeatedly stated, #mayochup is just what Utahns call "fry sauce", and we're tired of your condiment-shaming microaggressions

— Christopher E. Lee (@ChrEugLee) April 13, 2018

Look, if Heinz makes that #mayoketchup, I’m going to buy it and I’m going to eat it and it's going to be great and you can all go sit on a park bench that looks dry but is actually really wet.

— Hand Stanitizer Horaczek (@stanhoraczek) April 12, 2018

So far 55 per cent say "yea" while 45 per cent say "nah". Heinz needs about 100,000 more "yes" votes before Americans can buy #mayochup.

Here's where it gets saucy.

Heinz has recognised that mayochup is something we can make on our own. It would simply be nice to have — a luxury, if you will. Others have also pointed out that mayochup is copying something that's been around for decades.

The people of Utah have been eating fry sauce (essentially equal parts mayonnaise and ketchup) since it was invented in Utah in the 1940s. To tweeting Utahans, Heinz's new product is offensive, as is the hate their state culinary treasure is copping.

Argentinians are the original inventors of the condiment combination. The oldest known version of mayochup is in fact salsa golf, invented in Argentina in the mid-1920s.

Even the Brits have their own version now called Marie Rose sauce.

Time will tell if Americans will soon have yet another condiment to put on their buns.

Everyone with a Twitter account is invited to make their voice heard before it's too late. If one thing is for sure, social media and public opinion have a track record of ending in hilarity.