Kids love it. Many people have to have it on French fries, it’s not too shabby served with eggs, and some think the correct spelling is catsup; however, the official and most often used spelling in the US is Ketchup.
Ever wonder where or how this tomato based condiment came to be?
The word “ketchup” itself is derived from the Chinese ke-tsiap, and refers to a pickled fish sauce that was actually similar to a soy or Worcestershire sauce. This sauce made its way to Malaysia where it became known as kechap, and ketjap in Indonesia.
Seventeenth-century English sailors discovered this Chinese condiment and brought it west. In print, ketchup was first mentioned in 1690. Over the years, this soy-like sauce went through a number of changes, including the addition of tomatoes. By the nineteenth century, ketchup was known as tomato soy. That version of ketchup was a lot thinner than the ketchup we eat today.
The F. & J. Heinz Company began selling tomato ketchup in 1876. By the end of the nineteenth century, tomato ketchup was the most popular type of ketchup. As the years passed, the word “tomato” was dropped. Today, ketchup, also known as catsup, is a very popular condiment, especially among children.
Do you like ketchup? If so what’s your favorite food to put it on.
Sandi Duncan is the Managing Editor of the Farmers' Almanac. 
If you notice a hole in the upper left-hand corner of your Farmers' Almanac, don't return it to the store! That hole isn't a defect; it's a part of history. Starting with the first edition of the Farmers' Almanac in 1818, readers used to nail holes into the corners to hang it up in their homes, barns, and outhouses (to provide both reading material and toilet paper). In 1910, the Almanac's publishers began pre-drilling holes in the corners to make it even easier for readers to keep all of that invaluable information (and paper) handy.
3 comments
hash browns and scrambled eggs
I love ketchup!! I have to have it on my fried taters and oddly on salisbury steak!! Love it!
Evidently, the original form of ketchup was pretty similar to the Indian vindaloo. There is a recipe for mushroom ketchup in the 1943 Encyclopedia Brittanica, which I will forward when I find it (it wasn’t a separate article), which was essentially a mushroom vindaloo. Vindaloo of any kind is best started in the brine left from limbo pickles, which are made by cutting one end off small to medium lemons and layering them with rock salt in a big, spring-top jar. Limbos can be used as soon as three months, but a dark, balsamic limbo added to a curry or kedgeree gives it the authentic taste of Hindostan, and a little balsamic limbo brine added to a new crock of salt and lemon causes it to flavor quickly. I have so far used limbo brine successfully on onions and tomatoes, but though I understand it preserves meat and fish perfectly, I’m not ready to take that step yet.
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