Heinz was founded in 1869 by Henry John Heinz, at time when canned foods industry was still in its infancy. The company's first product was horseradish, sold in clear glass bottles to show that the product contained no fillers. From there the company branched out to pickles, sauerkraut, vinegar, and, yes, ketchup, to the "57 varieties" made famous in its marketing tag line, and many others.

Today the H.J. Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ) is the most global U.S.-based food company. The company dominates the U.S. ketchup market, selling 650 million bottles of ketchup each year. Heinz condiments and sauces can be found in 140 countries. Heinz reported revenue of $9 billion last year.

But this match-up of Heinz and Hunt's isn't really about the companies or their histories. When it comes to ketchup, it's the taste that matters. Cook's Illustrated, the Consumer Reports of food magazines, published the results of their ketchup tasting in the summer of 2006. In blind tastings, Heinz didn't fare so well when compared to Hunt's. Participants found Heinz regular ketchup "too sweet" or "bland," while the Hunt's was described as "tangy" and "fresh." There is a bit of good news for Heinz, though. Tasters seem to like Heinz's organic ketchup better than the regular.

But this certainly wasn't the first taste test, and it won't be the last. Results vary from test to test. What do you think? Do you like one better ketchup than the other?

Vote in our poll for Heinz or Hunt's as your preferred brand, and let us know in the comments why you love it.