Doc’s Gourmet Ketchup — not a low-salt favorite of mine – The No Salt, No Fat, No Sugar Journal

Ketchup is a must-have condiment for me, but traditional brands are loaded with salt and sugar, so I’m constantly on the lookout for low-salt alternatives. I’ve already done a taste test of two brands, Westbrae and LocalFolks.

Recently I tried another brand, Doc’s Gourmet Ketchup. Doc’s has 65 mgs of sodium and 3 grams of sugar in a tablespoon compared with LocalFolks which has 25 mgs of sodium and 2 grams of sugar, so ingredient-wise it’s already at a disadvantage. I recently did a side-by-side test of the two on turkey meatloaf I made.

Doc's ketchup, on the right, is brown, not red like LocalFolks, on the left. Doc's also doesn't taste like ketchuo. — Doc’s ketchup, on the right, is brown, not red like LocalFolks, on the left. Doc’s also doesn’t taste like ketchuo.

The Doc’s was severely disappointing, tasting more like a peppery barbecue sauce than a tomato ketchup. It’s brown color belies its barbecue sauce taste as does the liquid smoke listed as an ingredient. I don’t want to throw the remainder of it away, so I’m saving it to use on some chicken that I grill this summer to see if it tastes better as a barbecue sauce than as a ketchup.

All the low-salt, low-sugar ketchups I’ve found are considerably more expensive than regular brands, so if you buy one, the taste should work for you, it’s too expensive to buy something you’ll ultimately not use. Sorry Doc.
John