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Comment by AnotherGoodName | Hacker News Reader

This probably sounds silly but is marketing why tomato sauce is often in sachets rather than added to your burger directly?

To explain: in most parts of the world unless you say no sauce the burger will have sauce added as they make it.

I've found in the US they give you a dry burger and then more sachets than you need of sauce. Which you then take and add yourself.

It's a minor weird difference. I find it an annoyance myself 'why do I need to put my own sauce on, can't they do it when they make it?'. I've always wondered why the US burger joints seem to consistently do it this way. The only thing I can guess is that they want to show you that it's Heinz sauce.

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> I've found in the US they give you a dry burger and then more sachets than you need of sauce. Which you then take and add yourself.

Could you name a major fast food or fast casual chain that does this? Because it’s not typical. If not ketchup, a burger will have its standard option of a “special” usually Russian dressing style sauce option (the Big Mac special sauce, Shake Shack shack sauce, INOB spread, etc) - you can ask for ketchup, mustard and mayo to be added at any major fast food or fast casual chain - if it’s not standard. You can hold any condiment as well. The sachets are usually for fries.

Basically every burger place I’ve ever eaten at in the US puts sauce directly on the burger unless you specifically ask otherwise.

This is factually incorrect. American fast food restaurants apply a standard dose of ketchup to each burger. Additional ketchup is provided, sometimes only on request, for patrons who prefer a "wetter" burger. Source: I spent 21 years in the USA.

This is true for fast food establishments but many (most?) restaurants land your burger without ketchup unless specified. I'm grateful for it since there's a growing craft in creative alternative sauces.

That still doesn’t make the GP make any sense - the fancy places may have an alternative sauce by default so it’s not “dry”, as you note they’ll usually do it anyway by request, and if it’s fancy enough they’re not putting ketchup on by default they’re usually not just giving the packets of Heinz. I don’t think it’s about being an advertisement for Heinz. These places often are more likely to not use Heinz.

It's about personal taste: some people want no ketchup on a burger, others only a little, some want a lot. Separate ketchup gives the customer that choice.

Those little ketchup packs get thrown out a lot. The bottled stuff tastes better anyways.

Somehow those feel lot more like single use plastic we should combat and not the plastic straws...

I think has more to do with how varied it is how you want your ketchup on your burger. Ie. some like to put it on the patty evenly while others dip.

FWIW, this is also how ketchup is served at backyard bbqs: you give your friends a "dry" burger and direct them to where the ketchup, mustard, and other condiments are.

I've seen this in the US in two types of places: (1) hotel restaurants/room service, and (2) really cheap no-name fast food places and food trucks.

Franchise/chain restaurants (e.g., McDonalds, Five Guys, In-N-Out) and fancy gastropubs prepare their burgers with a particular sauce by default.

The packets (or, at some chains like Whataburger, little cups with a peel-back top) are for your fries. The burger comes with ketchup already on it.

It's so people can decide for themselves how much ketchup to add.

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