Ketchup Candy Canes Are Raising Eyebrows

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, all right. Wait, what? We're barely into September! Yes, but pumpkin spice season is so late August! With that in the rearview mirror, what could be next on the agenda (and store shelves) but eggnog and gingerbread? Speaking of the latter, we've already had rumors of a new cookie-flavored seasonal Mountain Dew, although sadly it won't be ready until Christmas 2021 (so, maybe sometime around next June).

The most iconic Christmas candy of all — probably the most iconic of Christmas foods, if you discount plum pudding, sugarplums, and wassail — has to be candy canes, but their iconic status doesn't save them from tinkering. Every year we have new flavors, and they just seem to get weirder and weirder.

Now add to the list of dubious seasonal treats yet another candy cane flavor no one ever asked for, falling somewhere on the weirdness scale between pizza and mac and cheese canes  — ketchup. Yes, really. Brought to you by novelty purveyor Archie McPhee (who, tbh, are responsible for most of the other weird candy cane flavors out there), these are sure to be... eaten by somebody.

Ketchup is America's favorite condiment, so naturally, it goes great with everything, right? After all, it was surprisingly popular as an ice cream flavor, so why wouldn't it pair perfectly with everybody's favorite holiday? As per Archie McPhee's description, ketchup candy canes "taste like sweet, tomatoey ketchup [and] are here to save Christmas from being dry and tasteless!" 

When they announced their new product on Instagram, however, reactions were... mixed. A lot of to-be-expected shock, disgust, and annoyance ("Just cuz you can doesn't mean you should...."), but there were also a few would-be pranksters who spoke of taking the canes into work and one commenter who said, "These prob rock in Bloody Marys" (this person probably never tried Sriracha candy canes, which unfortunately appear to be out of stock on Amazon).

Top comment, however, goes to the Instagram user who asked, "I hope mustard is on [its] way." Since, why not? Add a relish and a mayo flavor to the line, and that way, not only can you have an entire burger condiment-flavored line of candy canes, but you'll have also covered the entire line of traditional Christmas colors: red, white, green, and gold. Pair these canes with some Quarter Pounder-scented candles, and Santa will think he's at his favorite fast-food joint (and yes, he would like fries with that).