Ketchup

Ketchuporcatsup(/ˈkɛtʃəp,ˈkætsup,ˈkɑːtʃəp/) is atable condimentwith a sweet and sour flavor. "Ketchup" now typically refers totomato ketchup,although early recipes for different varieties of ketchup containedmushrooms,oysters,mussels,egg whites,grapes, orwalnuts, among other ingredients.
Tomato ketchup is made fromtomatoes, sugar, andvinegar, withseasoningsandspices. The spices and flavors vary but commonly includeonions,allspice,coriander,cloves,cumin,garlic,mustardand sometimes includecelery,cinnamon, orginger.The market leader in theUnited States(60% market share) and theUnited Kingdom(82%) isHeinz Tomato Ketchup.Tomato ketchup is often used as a condiment for dishes that are usually served hot and are fried or greasy:french friesand otherpotato dishes,hamburgers,hot dogs,chicken tenders, hotsandwiches,meat pies, cookedeggs, and grilled or fried meat. Ketchup is sometimes used as the basis for, or as one ingredient in, other sauces and dressings, and the flavor may be replicated as anadditive flavoringfor snacks, such aspotato chips.
In the United Kingdom, ketchup was historically prepared withmushroomsas a primary ingredient, rather than tomatoes.In the United States,mushroom ketchupdates back to at least 1770, and was prepared by British colonists in theThirteen Colonies.
Many variations of ketchup were created, but the tomato-based version did not appear until around a century after other types. An early recipe for "Tomato Catsup" from 1817 includesanchovies:
By the mid-1850s, the anchovies had been dropped.
The term ketchup first appeared in 1682.Ketchup recipes began to appear in British and then American cookbooks in the 18th century.James Measepublished the first known tomato ketchup recipe in 1812. In 1824, a ketchup recipe using tomatoes appeared inThe Virginia Housewife(an influential 19th-century cookbook written by Mary Randolph,Thomas Jefferson's cousin). Tomato ketchup was sold locally by farmers. Jonas Yerkes is credited as the first American to sell it in a bottle.By 1837, he had produced and distributed the condiment nationally.Shortly thereafter, other companies followed suit.F. & J. Heinzlaunched their tomato ketchup in 1876.American cooks also began to sweeten ketchup in the 19th century.TheWebster's Dictionaryof 1913 defined "catsup" as: "table sauce made from mushrooms, tomatoes, walnuts, etc. [Also written as ketchup]." As the century progressed, tomato ketchup began its ascent in popularity in the United States. Tomato ketchup was popular long before fresh tomatoes were. People were less hesitant to eat tomatoes as part of a highly processed product that had been cooked and infused with vinegar and spices.
Heinz Tomato Ketchupwas advertised: "Blessed relief for Mother and the other women in the household!", a slogan which alluded to the lengthy process required to produce tomato ketchup in the home.With industrial ketchup production and a need for better preservation there was a great increase of sugar in ketchup, leading to the typically sweet and sour formula of today.In Australia, it was not until the late 19th century that sugar was added totomato sauce, initially in small quantities, but today it contains just as much as American ketchup and only differed in the proportions of tomatoes, salt and vinegar in early recipes.While ketchup and tomato sauce are both sold in Australia, American ketchup is sweeter and thicker whereas Australian tomato sauce is more sour and runny.
Modern ketchup emerged in the early years of the 20th century, out of a debate over the use ofsodium benzoateas a preservative in condiments.Harvey W. Wiley, the "father" of theUS Food and Drug Administration, challenged the safety of benzoate which was banned in the 1906Pure Food and Drug Act.
In response, entrepreneurs includingHenry J. Heinz, pursued an alternative recipe that eliminated the need for that preservative.Katherine Bitting, a bacteriologist working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, carried out research in 1909 that proved increasing the sugar and vinegar content of the product would prevent spoilage without use of artificial preservatives. She was assisted by her husband, Arvil Bitting, an official at that agency.
Prior to Heinz (and his fellow innovators), commercial tomato ketchups of that time were watery and thin, in part because they used unripe tomatoes, which were low inpectin.They had less vinegar than modern ketchups; bypicklingripe tomatoes, the need for benzoate was eliminated without spoilage or degradation in flavor. But the changes driven by the desire to eliminate benzoate also produced changesthat some experts (such as Andrew F. Smith) believe were key to the establishment of tomato ketchup as the dominant American condiment.
In fast food outlets, ketchup is often dispensed in small sachets or tubs. Diners tear the side or top ofketchup packetsand squeeze ketchup out of them or peel the foil lid off tubs for dipping. In 2011, Heinz began offering a new measured-portion package, called the"Dip and Squeeze"packet, which can be opened in either way.
Some fast food outlets previously dispensed ketchup from hand-operated pumps into paper cups. This method has made a comeback in the first decades of the 21st century, as cost and environmental concerns over the increasing use of individual plastic ketchup tubs were taken into account.
In October 2000, Heinz introduced colored ketchup products called EZ Squirt, which eventually included green (2000), purple (2001), mystery (pink, orange, orteal, 2002), and blue (2003).These products were made by addingfood coloringto the traditional ketchup. By January 2006, these products were discontinued.
The term used for the sauce varies.Ketchupis the dominant term inAmerican EnglishandCanadian English, althoughcatsupis commonly used in some southern US states andMexico.
In Canada and the US as well as some parts of the UK,tomato sauceis not a synonym for ketchup but is a sauce made from tomatoes and commonly used in making sauce for pasta.
The etymology of the wordketchupis unclear; there are multiple competing theories:
A popularfolk etymologyis that the word came to English from theCantonese茄汁(kezap, literally meaning 'tomato sauce' in Cantonese).The character茄means 'eggplant';tomatoin Chinese is番茄, which literally translates to 'foreign eggplant'.
Another theory among academics is that the word derives from one of two words fromHokkienof theFujianregion of coastal southern China:kôe-chiap(in theAmoy/Xiamen dialectandQuanzhou dialect) orkê-chiap(in theZhangzhou dialect). Both of these pronunciations of the same word (膎汁,kôe-chiap/kê-chiap) come from theQuanzhou dialect,Amoy dialect, andZhangzhou dialectof Hokkien, respectively, where it meant thebrineof pickled fish or shellfish (膎, 'pickled food' (usually seafood) +汁, 'juice'). There are citations ofkoe-chiapin theChinese-English Dictionary of the Vernacular or Spoken Language ofAmoy(1873) byCarstairs Douglas, defined as "brine of pickled fish or shell-fish."
Ketchupmay have entered the English language from theMalaywordkicap(pronounced[kitʃap], sometimes spelledkecaporketjap). Originally meaning "soy sauce", the word itself derives from Chinese.
InIndonesian cuisine, which is similar toMalay, the termkecaprefers to fermented savory sauces. Two main types are well known in their cuisine:kecap asin, which translates to "saltykecap" inIndonesian(a salty soy sauce) andkecap manisor "sweetkecap" in Indonesian.Kecap manisis asweet soy saucethat is a mixture of soy sauce with brown sugar, molasses, garlic, ginger, anise, coriander and a bay leaf reduced over medium heat until rather syrupy. A third type,kecap ikan, meaning "fishkecap" isfish saucesimilar to theThainam plaor thePhilippinepatis. It is not, however, soy-based.
American anthropologist E. N. Anderson relies on Elizabeth David to claim thatketchupis acognateof the Frenchescaveche, meaning "food in sauce".The word also exists in Spanish and Portuguese forms asescabeche, "a sauce for pickling", which culinary historian Karen Hess traced back to Arabickabees, or "pickling with vinegar". The term was anglicized tocaveach, a word first attested in the late 17th century, at the same time asketchup.
The word entered theEnglish languagein Britain during the late 17th century, appearing in print ascatchup(1690) and later asketchup(1711). The following is a list of early quotations collected by theOxford English Dictionary.
U.S. Heinz tomato ketchup's ingredients (listed from highest to lowest percentage weight) are:tomato concentratefrom red ripe tomatoes,distilled vinegar,high-fructose corn syrup,corn syrup,salt, spice, onion powder, and natural flavoring.
Some ketchup in the U.S. is labeled "Fancy", aUSDAgrade related tospecific gravity. Fancy ketchup has a higher tomato solid concentration than other USDA grades.
The following table compares the nutritional value of ketchup with raw ripe tomatoes andsalsa, based on information from theUSDAFood Nutrient Database.
Commercial tomato ketchup has an additive, usuallyxanthan gum, which gives the condiment anon-Newtonian,pseudoplasticor "shear thinning" property—more commonly known asthixotropy.This increases the viscosity of the ketchup considerably with a relatively small amount added—usually 0.5%—which can make it difficult to pour from a container. However, the shear thinning property of the gum ensures that when a force is applied to the ketchup, it will lower the viscosity, enabling the sauce to flow. A common method of getting ketchup out of the bottle involves inverting the bottle and shaking it or hitting the bottom with the heel of the hand, which causes the ketchup to flow rapidly. Ketchup in plastic bottles can be additionally manipulated by squeezing the bottle, which also decreases the viscosity of the ketchup inside. Another technique involves inverting the bottle and forcefully tapping its upper neck with two fingers (index and middle finger together). Specifically, with aHeinz ketchupglass bottle, one taps the 57 circle on the neck. This helps the ketchup flow by applying the correct shearing force.These techniques work because of how pseudoplastic fluids behave: theirviscosity(resistance to flow) decreases with increasing shear rate. The faster the ketchup is sheared (by shaking or tapping the bottle), the more fluid it becomes. After the shear is removed, the ketchup thickens to its original viscosity.
Ketchup is anon-Newtonian fluid, meaning that its viscosity changes under stress and is not constant. It is a shear thinning fluid, which means its viscosity decreases with increased shear stress.The equation used to designate a non-Newtonian fluid is as follows:η=τ/y˙{\displaystyle \eta =\tau /{\dot {y}}}. This equation representsapparent viscositywhere apparent viscosity is theshear stressdivided byshear rate. Viscosity is dependent on stress. This is apparent when you shake a bottle of tomato sauce/ketchup so it becomes liquid enough to squirt out. Its viscosity decreases with stress.
The molecular composition of ketchup is what creates itspseudoplasticcharacteristics. Small polysaccharides, sugars, acids, and water make up the majority of the metastable ketchup product, and these small structures are able to move more easily throughout a matrix because of their low mass. While exposed to shear stress, the molecules within the suspension are able to respond quickly and create an alignment within the product.The bonds between the molecules are mostly hydrogen bonds, ionic interactions, and electrostatic interactions, all of which can be broken when subject to stress.Hydrogen bondsare constantly rearranging within a product due to their need to be in the lowest energy state, which further confirms that the bonds between the molecules will be easily disrupted. This alignment only lasts for as long as shear stress is applied. The molecules return to their original disorganized state once the shear stress dissipates.
In 2017, researchers at theMassachusetts Institute of Technologyreported the development of a bottle coating that allowed all the product to slip out without leaving a residue.
In 2022, researchers at theUniversity of Oxfordfound that splatter from a near-empty bottle can be prevented by squeezing more slowly and doubling the diameter of the nozzle.
Ketchup is one of the many products that are leachable, meaning that the water within the product migrates together as the larger molecules within the product sediment, ultimately causing water to separate out. This forms a layer of water on top of the ketchup due to the molecular instability within the product.This instability is caused by interactions between hydrophobic molecules and charged molecules within the ketchup suspension.
Pectinis a polysaccharide within tomatoes that has the ability to bind to itself and to other molecules, especially water, around it. This enables it to create a gel-like matrix, dependent on the amount within the solution. Water is a large part of ketchup, due to it being 80% of the composition of distilled vinegar. In order for the water within the ketchup to be at the lowest possible energy state, all of the hydrogen bonds that are able to be made within the matrix must be made.The water bound to the polysaccharide moves more slowly within the matrix, which is unfavorable with respect toentropy.The increased order within the polysaccharide-water complex gives rise to a high-energy state, in which the water will want to be relieved. This concept implies that water will more favorably bind with itself because of the increased disorder between water molecules. This is partially the cause for water leaching out of solution when left undisturbed for a short period of time.