Catch Up On Your Ketchup Trivia
June 5th is National Ketchup Day! Ever wonder where ketchup came from? We have some interesting facts about everyone's favorite condiment.
Kids love it. Many people have to have it on French fries, and it’s not too shabby served with eggs. Ketchup is hands-down the most popular condiment in the U.S. In fact, we buy some 650 million bottles of the stuff every year. But have you ever wondered where or how this tomato-based condiment came to be? June 5, National Ketchup Day, is a great day to explore the answer to this question!
The Origin of Ketchup
Interestingly, some think the correct spelling is catsup; however, the official and most often used spelling in the US is ketchup. 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 then 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. Historical archives find that ketchup was first mentioned in print in 1690. Over the years, this soy-like sauce went through a number of changes, including the addition of tomatoes. By the nineteenth century, it was known as tomato soy. That version was a lot thinner than the product we eat and love today.
Enter The Heinz “Tomato” Ketchup Company
In 1876, the F. & J. Heinz Company began selling “tomato ketchup,” and by the end of the nineteenth century, it was the most popular type. As the years passed, the word “tomato” was dropped. Today, ketchup, also known as catsup, reigns as America’s favorite condiment! In fact, according to SeriousEat.com, Americans eat over 70 pounds annually! That translates to about 2 cups per week. Wow, that’s a lot of burgers and fries!
You can also make your own ketchup with this easy recipe:
Tomato Ketchup
1 (28-oz) can whole tomatoes in purée
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Blend tomatoes and purée in a blender until smooth. In a heavy 4-quart saucepan, cook onion in oil over moderate heat, stirring, until softened (about 8 minutes). Add puréed tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar, vinegar, allspice, and salt. Simmer, uncovered, stirring frequently, until very thick (about an hour). Purée mixture in a blender until smooth. Chill, covered, for two hours before serving.
Finish this sentence: “Ketchup goes great with… ”
Tell us in the comments below!
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Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
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Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
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Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
on a fried eg sandwich, on tater tots, meat loaf, cold roast beef sandwich, dipping a grilled cheese sandwich in it, cheeseburger with raw onions, baby calf liver,
s/b fried egg
Scrapple, fries, fish sticks…..anything fried
With meatloaf
French fries, onion rings, fried zucchini. I think I sense a theme.
Everything
Pizza
I like ketchup on french fries,hash browns.
MY HOMEMADE BBQ SAUCE.
Everything!
ben hur was my best don;t make it anymore
Mashed potatoes.
When it comes to ketchup, my favorite is Hunt’s ketchup. It beats Heinz all the way. Sure tastes better.
French Fries
My family would slice leftover steak into thin strips and fry in a pan with Heinz ketchup and Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce. Brooklyn barbecue!
I like to take Heinz ketchup and add some Worcestershire sauce in it for hamburgers or steaks and sometime I’ll eve add in a little A1 sauce
Fresh fried fish.
Equal parts of mustard and ketchup, hot sauce to taste, mix well. Makes excellent dip for pork rinds, chips, appetizers, etc.
Must have Ketchup and Horseradish mixed together for my shrimp cocktail, and fish sticks.
I have a cousin who eats ketchup on his ice cream.
My wife and I had a little eight-year old friend who had to have ketchup on almost everything. We could not resist buying her a t-shirt in New Orleans that said, “I like ketchup on my ketchup!”
my brother puts ketchup in nilla wafers . . .
Pork, beef, hotdogs, fish, shrimp, fries, and yes, steak. Sue me! Bahaha. I know, I shouldn’t be allowed to eat it.
My late wife “tried” to put ketchup on a filet magnon when her English step-father told her not to do that., to use steak sauce.
I am a ketchup queen! I love hamburgers, hotdogs, fries, roast beef, balogna sandwiches (oddly enough not eggs) with my ketchup….I even like it in creamed corn-don’t knock unless you try it! Heinz is the only ketchup I will buy-yummy!!!
Everything!
You are right!
Left over cold Roast
Grilled cheese sandwiches
french fries
Poor mans pizza! Grilled cheese sandwich with ketchup.
I love Ketsup on scrambled Eggs, hamburgers, hotdogs, meatloaf, pinto beans, and butterbeans, oh yes navy beans.
You are right. Eggs taste better with ketchup
My daughter aged 20 still puts it on everything liked mashed potatoes, chicken with penne vodka sauce.
Certain types of potato chips!
I like Brooks ketchup, don’t sell it in the area of the country I live in, so I send money up to my family and they send me the ketchup when I run out….
Tabasco Hot Sauce
I don’t care how exensive the steak is, without ketchup it’s not worth eating.
I love it on my biscuits and gravy. In the South we have a tomato gravy that goes with biscuits, but I do a shortcut and just squeeze some on my gravy!! It’s delicious and you should try it.
Pickles
I put it on my scrambled eggs, Mac and cheese, baked beans, and Shepard’s pie to name a few
cottage cheese and mashed potatoes
Spaghetti
Definitely on scrambled or fried eggs. A Canadian custom! I once tried it on tapioca pudding as a dare. Yuck!
For sure on all eggs. My grandad started me doing this years ago.
French fries, hot dogs, cheeseburgers…
Fried fish, chicken fried steak, pork and chicken sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs and of course french fries. Actually I put the ketchup on the side for dipping the sandwiches and fish in. Hot dogs are the only thing I put ketchup on except burgers every once in a great while.
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches are yummy with Ketchup.
I love ketchup on fried veggies, like french fries, onion rings, fried okra and squash, mostly. But, my guilty pleasure, on rare occasions, is seasoned, crisp-fried, chicken skin! Mmmmm-mmmmmm!
One may call me a bit obsessed. I put ketchup on almost EVERYHING. If it’s not something sweet, ketchup is on it. Ketchup travels in my purss. Ketchup travels in my car. I have a few custom t shirts, “ketchup girl”, “everything tastes better with ketchup”. It started becoming an obsession when I was younger, my dad loves it as well (although not like me). My family assumed I would grow out of it. Now that I’m in my later twentys they have learned nothing has changed. Ketchup has changed my acts of spontinuity when it comes to restaurants. If I don’t have my bottle of ketchup on me, a lot of Mexican resturants, Chinese restaurants etc. don’t carry ketchup, and I simply will not go. Last year my boyfriend and me went to the movie theater and I had switched out purses (forgetting the most important thing) when we got our nachos and sat down, the previews had started. It was then when I realized, no ketchup. I refused to eat the nachos. There was no way I was eating anything without ketchup. My boyfriend knew I wasn’t joking around, so we got up, go into the car, drove across the street to the local cvs and purchased a bottle of ketchup. (We did make it back to the movie in time) That story is still told today. It’s very hard for me to eat with out ketchup, in fact I go through a 64oz bottle within a week.
People give me a strange look when I tell them that I like ketchup on graham crackers. There was no such thing back then as Honey Maid – these were the original grahams, which are still my favorites. Oh…I loved onions with toast and jelly. 😀
Within the past 2 or 3 years “SALSA” has overtaken ketchup as America’s favorite condiment.
ketchup mixed with syrup and Garlic powder makes a great BBQ sauce for grilling chicken
My father had one flaw. He hated ketchup and mustard. Not only did he hate it, it worked him up at meals if any of his children used it on anything. I don’t know the reason but in one argument, he said, I suppose you’ll put it on ice cream, so I did. Actually, not bad. Not good, but not bad.
Ketchup has a sugar load that with foods and drinks raise the level of sugar way to high. Mustard is much more healthy. Love ketchup but with cancer it’s a rare treat now.
Hi Charley,
There are now no sugar ketchups available and you certainly can use it, but I agree. There are many flavors of mustard that are just as tasty if not better.
ketchup smoothie 🙂
My husband uses ketchup when making his fantastic Bar-B-Q sauce. I love ketchup on cold meatloaf sandwiches.