A Review Of The VW Gewürz Ketchup Brand

Ketchup is one of the most popular condiments in America, but its appeal isn’t limited to our shores. People all over the world rely on “the red stuff” to season French fries (chips), burgers, and many other foods. Volkswagen, one of the world’s largest automakers, sometimes sells the products it uses in its German factory’s cafeterias, and the latest is its brand of ketchup. We had a chance to try the condiment, so here’s an honest look at how it compares to America’s favorite brands. 

Volkswagen Gewurz Ketchup 

VW feeds its factory workers well, and enthusiasts have been able to sample its in-house sausages and other foods over the years. The new ketchup celebrates more than 50 years of VW’s chef’s prowess, which created the automaker’s first condiment – currywurst sauce –  back in 1973. Volkswagen offered the ketchup in an extremely limited supply through its DriverGear accessories program, and the first batch “sold out” quickly. 

How Does it Taste? 

If you’re used to American-style ketchup, VW’s Gewurz ketchup may come as a shock. While it’s got the expected tomato flavor and color, there’s a spicy sweetness that we don’t get with American brands. One of the first and most noticeable flavors in the sauce is reminiscent of curry, and there’s a cinnamon accent that we miss with our mass-market ketchup brands. The VW sauce is also a bit thinner than that of a brand like Heinz, though it’s not enough of a difference to notice. 

How does that flavor profile work with the foods we most associate with ketchup? The answer, like so many other things in life, is that it depends. VW’s ketchup works well with simple foods like French fries, where the flavor profile accents the salty crunchiness of the potatoes. With other foods, like burgers, the ketchup’s flavor can get lost with all the other things going on. 

Volkswagen’s ketchup flavor is a surprising departure from what we’re used to here in the U.S., but that uniqueness makes it more of an occasion to enjoy. While we limited our testing to straightforward lunch foods, the spicy, flavorful sweetness of the VW-branded sauce would be a great addition to meatloaf, and it would make an excellent base for an interesting blended sauce, such as an aioli or dressing.  

If you want to learn more about Volkswagen’s DriveGear program or any of the brand’s latest models, come see us at Bud Brown VW. We’d be excited to walk you through the latest VW models, explain their features, and take a test drive. We might not have VW’s sausages or ketchup, but we’ll have you on the road and happy in no time.