What does the 57 mean in Heinz 57 sauce?

It is a slogan that goes back, I think, to the earliest days of Heinz. In full, it is "57 Varieties". Whether or not there actually were 57 varieties, I don't know. Also, I'm not sure what they were varieties of.

Answer

I'd been fairly certain it meant the number of actual ingredients -- but when I recalled the earlier labels saying "57 Varieties," I realized that was right. But if there were once that many, it seems that a long time ago almost all but one were lost to us.

Another possibility is that the 57 varieties were not varieties of ketchup (catsup), but of numerous other kinds of sauces and dips for things that didn't catch on in America. If that's true, more of them might now if anyone still has the recipes.

First answer by Emdrgreg. Last edit by SabrinaSingularity. Contributor trust: 188 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 17 [recommend question]

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