Tomato sauce is synonymous with so many foods and works on virtually anything savoury. You can drizzle it over chips, hamburgers, hotdogs, meat pies, wraps, steak, chicken, I could go on and on. But it appears that while most people would think that the majority would hold ketchup on the proverbial pedestal as 'Most Popular Sauce', they're now wrong.
But who could topple the red coloured sauce from its throne?
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Mayonnaise.
I know, I know, the declaration could anger some people. A discussion has even opened up at LADbible office's about whether you can even call it a sauce, with some believing it's more of a condiment.
The definition of sauce is: "A liquid or semi-liquid substance served with food to add moistness and flavour."
While the official meaning of mayo is: "A thick creamy dressing consisting of egg yolks beaten with oil and vinegar and seasoned."
We can leave the semantics of what constitutes a sauce to one side. New figures from Kantar Worldpanel show that the egg-based 'sauce' has been gaining on the industry leader for some time. Tomato sauce sales in the UK have fallen nearly 3 percent, totalling £145.5 million ($192 million). However, mayonnaise sales are up nearly 7 percent, bringing in a whopping £152.2 million ($200.8 million).
You can't argue with the figures, mayonnaise is simply more popular.
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Marketing expert Laurie Booker, of brand design agency Cowan has told the Sun: "There have been some interesting innovations within mayo while ketchup has remained largely the same.
"A wider flavour choice means mayo has become more appealing and intriguing."
But what about the other contenders like barbeque sauce, mustard, curry sauce, sweet chilli or salad cream? Kantar Worldpanel spokeswoman Amelia Hewitt told The Daily Telegraph last year: "Salad cream struggled [last] year as we eat fewer salads as standalone main meals, while brown sauce is likely to have suffered as shoppers move away from processed meats due to health concerns."
But while some people would resign mayonnaise to just salads, it's fairly applicable to most cooked dishes. There's also no debate that they're the best sauce to have with sweet potato fries.
It's not only the UK where mayo is becoming very popular, with a 2004 study in Russia confirming that the delicious white sauce sold more than ketchup. While Chile is the world's third major per capita consumer of mayonnaise and first in Latin America, according to Latin American Markets.
Featured Image Credit: PA