New Vodka Pasta Sauce Inspired by Social Media Craze

If you're a fan of pasta with a little alcoholic kick, then Heinz and Absolut Vodka have got your back with the latest addition to their collection – the Heinz x Absolut Tomato Vodka Pasta Sauce. 

 

Pasta ala Vodka rose in popularity in 2020 after American model Gigi Hadid (right) admitted she liked her pasta with a little vodka kick – sending social media into a frenzy, with adoring fans trying to replicate the dish. 

 

But now Heinz and Absolut Vodka have made everyone's culinary lives easier by bringing the sauce to people's kitchens in jar form for their convenience – and it's described as a "match made in heaven". 

 

The vodka is claiming to be the magic that unlocks the flavors and intensifies the aroma of this rich and creamy tomato, basil and cheese sauce. 

 

During the cooking process, most of the alcohol from the vodka is reduced, boosting the volatile flavor compounds already present in the tomatoes, creating a rich texture that perfectly balances the creamy, cheese notes with the rich tomato and fragrant basil. The sauce needs to be warmed through on the hob alongside the cooked pasta, and you'll understand why people have been going crazy for it in no time. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As Heinz New Ventures Director, Caio Fontenele, confessed: "While it may have taken over 150 years of tomato expertise to launch our first Heinz pasta sauce, we're determined to continue innovating and delighting consumers with delicious flavors, at the speed of social media trends. 

 

We are thrilled with the partnership between these two centenary brands, bringing the first tomato vodka pasta sauce to major UK supermarkets. The iconic combination of Heinz's high-quality tomato sauces and Absolut's premium vodka is set to offer fans the ultimate pasta ala vodka experience. And the result is absolutely delicious!" 

 

And if you want to try it, you better be quick, as a limited number of the Heinz x Absolut Tomato Vodka Pasta sauce jars will be available in the UK at Waitrose from mid-April for £2.50 for a 350g jar.

 

Anybody in the UK trying this sauce?

Brands Rush To Pay Tribute

Shortly after Thursday's announcement of the UK Queen's passing, brands frenziedly tweeted and posted their condolences and prayers – and admittedly, some were way off the mark! 

They say the devil works hard, but these brands worked even harder to make sure they were included in what can only be described as the most capitalist form of fomo. 

Cash Converters, a chain of UK pawn shops, declared the grief of “everyone associated” with their service and announcing a posting hiatus. 

Global exercise brand CrossFit was mocked for posting a “Queen Elizabeth II” routine that included a "1 min rest in silence" between rounds of “muscle ups” and “ring dips”. 

Ann Summers, a British retailer that sells lingerie and sex toys put out a tribute to the late Queen and which was immediately followed by adverts for lingerie, sex toys, and other erotica. 

The West End cast of the musical Hamilton used a brushed-gold square that looked like a wedding invitation to tweet their condolences and at the same time, overlooked the fact the show is set during the American Revolution when colonists broke away from the UK.

Likewise, a tribute from “Les Misérables”, an “anti-monarchy” musical. Their tweet was later deleted.

Heinz opted for a blacked-out post with a simple message of respect. Some, however, took issue with the company's choice of font, with one user calling it "so unserious".  

One British comic tweeted about the post adding: "It's so weird for companies to weigh in on the Queen dying. Nobody is waking up tomorrow and being like why didn't Heinz say anything????????"

And then, there's the McDonald’s condolence message which referred ominously to their “system” of employees as if they were a uniform hive – a sentiment that seems out of sync with the reality of the McDonald’s workforce in the UK, which is largely made up of immigrants from countries historically impoverished by the British Empire and working for a pittance in the middle of a staggering cost-of-living crisis.

Domino's Pizza UK issued this tweet – but the Irish didn’t want to have anything to do with it! 

German toy producer Playmobil's tribute was a black and white image of a toy meant to be Queen Elizabeth II.

Funko Pop used a Pop figure of the Queen and a corgi to pass along their respects in a tweet that’s since been deleted. 

And IGN UK Deals even ran a promo on Queen Elizabeth II Action Figures – and interested buyers are to use the code RIP.

UK energy company Ecotricity's controversial post came from their founder, Dale Vince who tweeted an altered image of the late Queen in a lime green jacket that had been replaced with a soccer shirt adorned with the company's logo in bold letters. The caption read: "Thanks, Liz". 

The unusual tribute did not go down well, with one user commenting: "no I'm sorry this is so disrespectful. how DARE you photoshop the queen to advertise ur club. DISGRACE". 

You may ask if this is clever marketing or grim opportunism. I daresay it's both. 

Besides, marketing is, and always has been, divisive in its execution. It is purely done for self-advancement – and it is the perfect encapsulation of the capitalist machine. 

I have no doubt we can all agree this is simply, marketing that is unabashedly brazen! 

The Cold Dog – Stupid Or Genius?

Hot dogs and popsicles are often considered summer staples, but what if you combine both? 

For some reason, it’s a thing. 

Oscar Mayer, an American meat and cold cut producer known for their hot dogs, bologna, bacon, ham, and Lunchables products, on Thursday, launched the “Cold Dog” – a frozen pop that tastes like a hot dog with “both refreshing and smokey umami notes”. It even comes complete with the signature mustard swirl. 

Oscar Mayer said the “Cold Dog” comes from their “Stupid or Genius” social media campaign. Thousands of hot dog fans said the hot dog-flavored popsicle was “genius”, prompting the Kraft Heinz subsidiary to collaborate with Popbar to make the product a reality. 

The box says it all with a label reading, “stupid or genius?” 

The answer is up to the people who want to pay $2 at frozen desserts company Popbar locations in New York City, Atlanta, New Orleans and Long Beach. 

This isn’t the first hot dog-flavored cold treat Oscar Mayer have debuted. In 2019, the company unveiled an ice cream sandwich with “spicy Dijon gelato” and “hot dog sweet cream” between a “cookie bun”.

Yesterday, Celtic strolled to an incredible record-breaking away league victory by humiliating beleaguered Dundee United to climb back to the top of the Scottish Premiership. They were formidable in attack as they scored nine goals! 

It took Celtic 15 minutes to open the scoring. Liel Abada split the home defence with a through ball, finding Jota, whose cross met an unmarked Kyogo Furuhashi. 

The second goal was perhaps the pick of the bunch, Furuhashi curling in a first-time effort from 25 yards straight into the top corner in the fortieth minute. 

Matt O'Riley combined with Abada to create the third, once again finding Furuhashi to tap home his hattrick (45+2). 

And there was still time in the first half for a fourth. Another tap in, this time for Jota (45+6). 

Abada got his first soon after the restart when, yet again, Celtic ruthlessly cut their hosts open. Jota found O'Riley who squared across for the winger to add the fifth in the fiftieth minute. 

The sixth was comical and it came five minutes later. Celtic's free-kick routine resulted in O'Riley drilling the ball into a crouched Reo Hatate, but the ball came back to Josip Juranovic off his team-mate to then drive into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. 

Hatate set up the next goal, this time deliberately. Once again, Celtic waltzed through a gaping Dundee United defence, with the Japanese midfielder squaring for Abada to finish with ease in the fifty-ninth minute. 

The Israeli scored his hattrick in the seventy-seventh minute when he got onto the end of substitute Daizen Maeda's deflected cross, to dink over the other side’s goalie with his final touch of the game. 

Not content with eight, defender Carl Starfelt got in on the act, nodding in a corner in the eighty-first minute to break a record that has stood for 34 years – when they beat Hamilton Accies 8-0 away from home. 

Twenty-one goals in five games! Celtic are going great guns!

British Store Cupboard Classics

If you’re in the UK right now, check out the Ice Cream Project at The Village in London by Anya Hindmarch – it’s a celebration of cult food brands transformed into ice-creams and sorbets. 

Hand-made in small batches in Devon and available in 500ml tubs (£10) and by the scoop (£3.50), the flavors are inspired by some of the most well-known UK food brands. 

Try a scoop of Heinz Beanz, a rich, sweet flavored ice cream brimming with protein or delve into a tub of Heinz Mayonnaise Original, a surprising rich and creamy ice cream with the zestiness of lemon and tang of vinegar. Or Kikkoman Soy Sauce, a piquant toasted sesame ice cream laced with umami-rich naturally brewed soy sauce. Or Heinz Tomato Ketchup, a delicious combination of sweet, salty and tangy flavors. Or Kellogg’s Coco Pops, a delightful milky chocolate ice cream interspersed with the crunch of chocolate-flavored toasted rice. Or Polo, a refreshing mint sorbet laced with tiny pieces of smashed Polo.

“Making ‘everyday things in an extraordinary way’ has always been a passion of mine and is the reason why I love to play with iconic brands”, said Hindmarch: 

“The Ice Cream Project sets out to challenge perceptions, working with the most sophisticated ingredients and recipes in an artful way”. 

Store employee Hannah Wearne describes the Project, which runs until August 28, as offering a new twist on "British store cupboard classics". And it's proving a hit. 

"We sold out of six weeks' worth of ice cream in four days, so we've been really, really popular... We've got our own regulars which is really lovely", she said. 

You can purchase these frozen desserts at The Village on Pont Street in London as well as other Anya Hindmarch gifts and accessories. 

An update: Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin has tested negative for drugs, the government announced. Marin agreed to take the test on Friday – at her own expense – to allay concerns about her wild partying. 

[For background info, please read my post “Finland's Sanna Marin Fights For Her Right To Party” published Sunday]. 

And on Twitter and TikTok, women in Finland and even Denmark are posting dance videos in support of Marin, tagging their post with #SolidaritywithSanna.

Heinz Spoon Friez

Heinz are happily turning to gimmicky marketing. And wacky innovations.

A new french fry series, dubbed “Heinz Spoon Friez” made a timely appearance on National French Fry Day, July 13, and where many popular fast food chains offered special deals and freebies. 

Made entirely out of potatoes, the seven-piece fries come in a traditional red cardboard box with the slogan “Friez to enjoy more Heinz” positioning their infamous ketchup as the star of the show. 

Heinz see the inability of traditional fries to scoop enough ketchup as an age-old problem, and spoon-shaped fries become the solution. 

“If you’ve ever been ‘friestrated’, you’re not alone”, write Heinz. “Thankfully, the remedy to not being able to achieve the decent dollop of sauce on your fries is here, thanks to our condiment connoisseurs”! 

I understand “Spoon Friez” is currently limited to those in the UK via a free raffle that runs until July 20. A wider release has yet to be announced. 

What will they think of next?