2009 segna il 100th birthday of Ketchup Heinz in Canada. Let’s celebrate by baking the Great Canadian Heinz Ketchup Cake, shall we?

When I first came across this ketchup cake recipe, Che si è trasformato in newspapers across Canada questa settimana, I was afraid it was some weird Canadian food obsession, come gengive vino o seal flipper pie.

Ma nessuno, Grande torta ketchup canadese sembra essere stato dreamed up by Heinz’ PR people, who claim that this carrot cake-like confection is “unexpectedly red, perfectly spiced, and totally delicious.” Unexpectedly red — sì, that should move a lot more ketchup.

Not that Heinz necessarily needs to sell more ketchup in Canada. The company reports that Canada is the world’s second largest per-capita consumer of ketchup, dopo (at least according to Heinz) Finlandia!

Although Heinz first began producing ketchup in the U.S. indietro nel 1876, its first plant in Canada didn’t open until 1909 in the southwestern Ontario town of Leamington, che ora si bollette come Canada’s Tomato Capital.

If you happen to be in Leamington in August, si può check out the town’s claim to tomato supremacy al Leamington Pomodoro Festival. This year’s event, which includes the ever-popular Tomato Stomp, runs from August 12-16, 2009.

Photo courtesy of Heinz Canada.