Thursday, 12/8

Well. Who knew people had such strong feelings?

Monday on one of my TV gigs I did an essay about what people put on their pasties—ketchup or gravy (or other). It got a good laugh from everyone in the studio, and it's gotten an even stronger reaction from people who've emailed me about it or people I ran into during the History Center's Open House last night.

Whether it's ketchup or gravy (or other), people have their favorites. And they stick to those favoites.

So what follows is the original bit I did on TV. It's up to you to decide on which team you are.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

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Which team are YOU on?

I'm not talking Northern/Tech. I'm not talking Packers/Lions. What I am talking about is, perhaps, the most important choice that you, as a Yooper, can make in your entire life.

Are you team ketchup...or team gravy??

An iconic Marquette pasty place is closing in a few weeks, and ever since it was announced there’s been a lot of discussion about the UP’s national dish on social media.  But left out of that discussion has been what you put on your pasty…ketchup or gravy.

And yes, I’m aware that you can put other things on your pasty.  The radio station where I work once did a survey, and aside from those two choices people also mentioned toppings ranging from horseradish to cole slaw to (ugh) dill pickles.

But ketchup and gravy were, by far, the top choices.

For the record, I’m team ketchup.  However, I will not in any way judge your choice… unless, perhaps, that choice is dill pickles.  After all, a traditionalist will tell you that ketchup didn’t become popular until the end of the 1800s, years after Cornish miners first brought pasties covered with gravy to the UP. But a culinary expert will tell you that the sweetness of ketchup perfectly offsets the savory ingredients in a pasty.

So you can’t go wrong with either.

This may be a strange way to look at it, but the choice of ketchup or gravy in a way reflects life in the UP.  You have your traditionalists, the people who grew up with a certain lifestyle and still live that way.  And you have those who are willing to try something new & different.  It’s the choice offered by those two groups that make the UP such an amazingly unique place.

In a way, echoing the choice offered by ketchup or gravy.

So the next time you pick up a pasty, remember that you really can’t go wrong, no matter what your preferred topping.

Unless, of course, that preferred topping is dill pickles.

I’m Jim Koski, and that’s another slice of “Life in the 906”.