SōSU Srirachup

Standard American ketchup is fine for dipping, dunking, and spreading, but let's face it — the corporate stuff can be a bit awkward to put on higher-quality foods. It was this sentiment that started Lisa Murphy down the path to condiment stardom. "The inspiration for SōSU came about when our roommate was gifted a bottle of amazing truffle mustard from France, and we realized we had nothing but private label ketchup to pair with the mustard. We looked around for a higher-quality or fancier ketchup, but couldn't find one. So we challenged ourselves to make one," she says.

Locally procured California "Early Girl" tomatoes are the key to Srirachup's success, and the tangy condiment screams with "love apple" flavor. An underlying chile heat pervades, but the tomatoes do a fine job of stopping the spice from being too overpowering — an inherent danger of overzealously squirting Sriracha on your food with reckless abandon. For the heat averse, SōSU makes a classic flavor using orange tomatoes called Jubilees and Carolina Golds, which have a lighter, less sugary flavor than the Early Girls used for Srirachup. Continuing the all-natural ethos, agave nectar is the sweetener of choice over the much maligned corn syrup.

SōSU is currently raising money on Kickstarter should you want to snag some of their products for yourself. Murphy recommends adding the vibrant sauce to bloody marys, bibimbap, arrabiata sauce or simply slathering it onto eggs for an electrified breakfast.