In many homes, Sloppy Joes are synonymous with Manwich, the sauce brand that made this stalwart manwich gluten free staple even easier to make at home. While Manwich is certainly tasty, it’s also rife with its share of controversy, ranging from questionable health claims to purported anti-feminist leanings.

To help you understand where the truth ends and the myth begins, we’re digging deep into the history of this unique brand, as simple as it is complex. Here is everything you didn’t know you needed to know about Manwich. Manwich got its start back in 1969, according to Foodimentary. Marketed as a quick-and-easy shortcut for one-pot meals, it provided all of the seasonings you needed to turn a simple pan of browned ground meat into a meal, according to Quaint Cooking. Contrary to what you might believe, however, Manwich didn’t actually invent the Sloppy Joe.

That honor, according to The Takeout, may belong to 1 of several possible inventors: an actual Joe in the kitchen of Maid-Rite in Muscatine, Iowa, or the Havana-based José Abeal Otero, the proprietor of a bar that shared the name of the sandwich. Either way, the Sloppy Joe was well established — beloved, even — before Manwich entered onto the scene. The original Sloppy Joe sauce made by the company, according to Manwich, is made with a tomato purée base, sweetened with both regular and high-fructose corn syrup. A touch of distilled vinegar adds a pleasant kick of acidity. The sauce also contains spices like chili pepper, as well as aromatics like garlic.

The result is a flavorful way to jazz up dinner quickly and easily. While the original Sloppy Joe sauce is a surefire classic, the company now makes its sauce in several different flavors. In addition to the original recipe, Manwich makes a Bourbon BBQ version. According to the company, it marries smokiness and sweetness. While the Bold sauce certainly promises to kick up the flavor “a few notches,” The Florida Times-Union notes that tasters found the flavor of the sauce “zesty” rather than bold. From “I’m lovin’ it” to “Eat fresh,” it seems a food company is only as good as its catchy slogan, and Manwich has had more than its share over the years. These days, Manwich’s website more prominently features the simpler slogan: “Make tonight a Manwich night.

It’s not nearly as catchy, but it is less divisive, an important evolution given recent controversy linked to its older slogan. Manwich proved itself to be pretty tone-deaf on modern gender politics with an ad campaign launched back in 2011. The ad campaign featured men being slapped for exhibiting traits perceived to be more “effeminate,” including caring about your hair, loving musicals, or liking shoes, according to Queerty. Violence against gender non-conforming men and women is a serious problem in our country and should not be used for lazy jokes in advertising,” read the petition. The company apologized, Queerty reports, with a rep saying, “It was not meant to offend.