29 Fascinating Ketchup Facts That You Need To Know

One of the most popular condiments in the US, ketchup can be found in every household.

The condiment is most often served with hot, fried, or greasy fast foods. It is occasionally used as an ingredient in other sauces and dressings.

Ketchup is one of the world's most popular sauces. But how much do you know about it? In this article, we will discuss some interesting facts that you may not have known before!

The History Of Ketchup

The British most likely came across ketchup in Southeast Asia. They sought to reproduce the fermented black condiment when they got home. This most likely occurred in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. This was not, however, the ketchup we are familiar with today.

In the United Kingdom, ketchup was traditionally made using mushrooms as the main ingredient, rather than tomatoes.

Ketchup is originated from the Hokkien Chinese term 'kê-tsiap.' This refers to a fermented fish sauce.

Early kinds of ketchup were thin and black. They were often used in soups, sauces, meat, and fish.

Jane Austen is said to have enjoyed mushroom ketchup.

Jonathan Swift is credited with coining the term 'catsup' in 1730.

National Ketchup Day is celebrated on June 5.

The First Known Recipe For Ketchup

Ketchup was first used as a flavoring agent for soups, meats, sauces, and other dishes. Its main function evolved when tomatoes were added and hamburgers and hot dogs became more popular.

James Mease wrote the earliest known published tomato ketchup recipe in 1812. He included tomato pulp, spices, and brandy in his recipe.

The fact that ketchup could be stored for up to a year contributed to its popularity.

French cookbook author Pierre Blot described commercial ketchup as filthy, decayed, and putrid. This was because some manufacturers handled and stored the product so improperly that the final sauce included impurities such as bacteria, yeast, and mold.

The Origin Of Tomato Sauce And Tomato Ketchup

The first bottles of ketchup were introduced roughly 25 years following Mease's breakthrough. Given the relatively short growing season of tomatoes, the sole concern was how to preserve the produce. Consumers were understandably skeptical of early tomato ketchup due to the possibility of spoiling.

To compensate for the fact that some of the tomatoes used were months old scraps, a variety of dubious chemical preservatives were often used.

Sodium benzoate, as well as coal tar, were used to keep the product seeming brighter and fresher when it was everything but.

Henry Heinz had an idea on how to make the sauce safely. He used ripe tomatoes as they had more natural pectin. This helped with preservation and enhanced quality.

Heinz's distilled vinegar, brown sugar, salt, and a variety of spices were also included in the original recipe for Heinz tomato sauce.

The Heinz glass bottles were more than simply a fashion statement. Heinz's choice to utilize the glass ketchup bottle was to gain the trust of customers.

Heinz: A Ketchup Hero

Heinz ketchup is exported all over the globe. It is popular at restaurants all across the world, including the United States and Canada. Heinz ketchup advertises itself as 'America's Favorite Ketchup'.

Heinz Tomato Ketchup was first released as 'Catsup' in 1876 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

It has been manufactured without preservatives since 1906.

The company's 'keystone' emblem is based on the 'keystone state' of Pennsylvania.

At Christie's Auction House London, a bottle of Heinz Tomato Ketchup with Ed Sheeran's famed Heinz tattoo sold for £1,500. This established a new world record.

A football stadium in 2001 was dedicated to and named after the Heinz business. It is called the Heinz Field.

Howard Heinz, the son of Henry Heinz, contributed to combating the Great Depression. He sold ready-to-serve soups and baby food in 1930.

The firm's '57 Varieties' motto has been in use since 1896. It was inspired by a billboard promoting 21 varieties of shoes.

Henry Heinz picked the number 57 even though the company produced more than 60 items at the time. Some say that the numbers were picked because five was his lucky number and seven was his wife's lucky number.

Modern Ketchup

Fries, burgers, hot dogs, fried or grilled meat, and chicken fingers, all benefit from the existence of ketchup. Sauces and dressings may be made by combining modern ketchup with other ingredients.

In the 1890s, there was a rush of catsup-makers. Therefore, Heinz opted to label his brand of tomato sauce 'ketchup' to stand out from the crowd.

Ketchup is the most often used condiment in American homes.

Every year, a typical individual consumes roughly three bottles of ketchup.

Ketchup is the third most sold sauce in the United States. It comes after mayonnaise and salsa.

Ketchup is an inexpensive cleanser that is very effective on steel, brass, and copper. This is because of its acidic properties.

A ketchup-flavored ice cream was attempted by Baskin Robbins. However, it was discontinued soon after it was created.

FAQs

What was ketchup originally made out of?

Ketchup was originally made out of mushrooms in the UK.

Was ketchup used as a medicine?

Tomato ketchup was first offered used as a medication in the 1830s. It claimed to heal diseases such as diarrhea, indigestion, and jaundice. Dr. John Cook Bennett introduced the concept, and eventually advertised the concoction as 'tomato pills.'

What color was ketchup originally?

The color of ketchup is red if it is made from tomatoes. However, due to tomato scarcity, Filipinos started creating ketchup from the relatively plentiful banana. This produced a sweeter brownish-yellow sauce. So, they dyed it red.

Which country invented ketchup?

Ketchup was originally a pickled fish sauce that originated in China.

Why is ketchup so red?

The color red in ketchup is derived from a chemical called lycopene. This is found in tomatoes and is responsible for the red color.

Is ketchup only made with tomatoes?

No, ketchup is not made from tomatoes only. Mushroom ketchup, mango ketchup, and banana ketchup are examples of additional ketchup varieties from throughout the globe.

Why is it called ketchup?

Ketchup comes from the Chinese phrase 'ke-tsiap.' This means pickled fish sauce.

Is ketchup cooked?

Ketchup can be made both with cooking and without cooking.