Benjamin Errett - Elements of Taste: Understanding What We Like and Why

Ketchup Is the Perfect Food

N ot nutritionally, of course. A steady diet of nothing but red sauce would destroy you in a matter of months. But when it comes to taste, very few foods hit all the notes the way ketchup does.

Let Malcolm Gladwell explain: The taste of Heinzs ketchup began at the tip of the tongue, where our receptors for sweet and salty first appear, moved along the sides, where sour notes seem the strongest, then hit the back of the tongue, for umami and bitter, in one long crescendo.

This was in his 2004 New Yorker story on why Heinz ketchup has proven so difficult for competitors to challenge. The king of condiments satisfies tongues on a primal level, he concludes, coming as close to being all things to all people as is possible.

It does this through amplitude, the word sensory experts use to describe flavors that are well blended and balanced. Its not just that all the tastes are there; its that theyre playing together like an all-star team.

If this can be done in the world of food, can it be replicated in other arenas? Is there a ketchup of music, of literature, of painting, of poetry?

This book says yes, there is cultural ketchup. There is Lin-Manuel Mirandas Broadway musical Hamilton. There is the original Star Wars trilogy. There is The Great Gatsby. There is Romeo and Juliet. There is George Gershwins Summertime. And there are many more.

What makes these works stand out? Theyre popular and theyre critically acclaimed, but thats not how ketchup became ketchup. It was when the key elementsred ripe tomatoes and more vinegar than seemed prudentwere finally mixed in perfect harmony. The ketchup secret was in the ingredients. To understand cultural ketchup, we have to look at the recipe. How do we get to the sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami of culture? We define the Elements of Taste.

When we do this, we discover not only the recipe for cultural ketchup, but also the cultural equivalents of every other taste: miso soup, Sour Patch Kids, espresso, kelp, gelato, pork chops, kumquats, ice cream. And from there, we can examine our entertainment diets from a new perspective, learning new ways to identify and satisfy cravings.

Is there a ketchup of music, of literature, of painting, of poetry?

Not everyone likes Star Wars. Some prefer to dip their fries in mayonnaise. To those people we say, dip away. This book wont tell you what to like. No book, algorithm, or person can reliably do that, and frankly its presumptuous to even try. Instead, it aims to help you think fondly about what you already loveand then offers a new framework to consider why you feel that way. And once you get an inkling of the reasons behind your passions, you can explore a new universe of songs, books, shows, and movies worthy of your love. Lets begin by turning on the radio.