Ketchup anyone?

[Kobi]

I have company coming and for the first time in my adult life, I had to buy ketchup. Standing in the condiment aisle, oogling all the choices, my mind wandered to why do they call it ketchup anyway?

So, I looked up ketchup and found some interesting stuff. There is a question at the end of this, so be patient.

Where did it come from?

Indonesian and Asian culture invented what we know today as ketchup. The spicy, pickled fish sauce made of anchovies, walnuts, mushrooms and kidney beans, dating back thousands of years was called ke-tsiap or kecap and was popular in 17th-century China. British seamen brought ke-tsiap home with them where the name was changed to catchup and then finally ketchup. It wasn't until the late 1700s though that canny New Englanders added tomatoes to the blend.

The big success came in 1872 when HJ Heinz added ketchup to his line of pickled products and introduced it at the Philadelphia fair. The Heinz formula has not changed since, and has become the standard by which other ketchups are rated.

Interesting Facts about Ketchup

-97% of American homes keep ketchup in their kitchen.

-Each person eats about 3 bottles a year.

-A tablespoon of ketchup has 16 calories and no fat.

-4 tablespoons of ketchup have the nutritional value of an entire ripe, medium tomato.

-In 1992, ketchup sales were $723 million.

-As with wines, there are good and bad ketchup years depending on how sweet and flavorful the tomato harvest.

-Most brands are made from tomato paste or tomato concentrate, boiled down in late summer when tomatoes are harvested, and used throughout the year to cook the final product.

-Ketchup made in summer is made directly from ripe tomatoes.

-Ketchup is great for restoring the glow to copper pots and pans. The acid in ketchup removes tarnish and brings out the shine.

"Fancy" ketchup

Some ketchup in the U.S. is labeled "Fancy". This is a USDA grade, relating to specific gravity. Fancy ketchup has a higher tomato solid concentration than other USDA grades.

Fancy 1.15 gravity 33% total solids
Extra Standard 1.13 gravity 29% total solids
Standard 1.11 gravity 25% total solids

Health Benefits

Ketchup has health benefits which are offset by the salt and sugar content. Ketchup is a source of lycopene, an antioxidant which may help prevent some forms of cancer. This is particularly true of the organic brands of ketchup, which have three times as much lycopene.[18] Ketchup, much like marinara sauce and other cooked tomato foods, yields higher levels of lycopene per serving because cooking makes lycopene in tomatoes more bio-available.

Viscosity

The ketchup gets stuck right? You have to turn it over and smack the bottom right? Thats because tomato ketchup is a pseudoplastic — or "shear thinning" substance — which can make it difficult to pour from a glass bottle.

Turning the bottle over and hitting it helps the ketchup flow by applying the correct shearing force. These techniques work because of how pseudoplastic fluids behave: their viscosity (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.

Secret Lives of Ketchup Lovers

If you want to learn the more about a person, look no further than how they pour their ketchup. From dippers and squirters, to sprinklers and smotherers, psychologist Donna Dawson has identified seven "sauciological" types.

Those who dunk into a well of ketchup are methodical and trustworthy. But they may also be control freaks who are afraid of change. Ambitious people splodge their sauce in the middle of their food. Creative types squirt and swirl their sauce in thin lines. But deep down they are impatient and do not tolerate fools or time wasting. Those who dot their ketchup are friendly, but live conservatively and dream of adventure holidays. Smotherers are the life and soul of the party, while artists who draw faces and words on their food have an easy-going approach to life. And gourmets who keep ketchup in a cruet appear charming, but deep down may be snobbish social charmers.

The Question

When I think of ketchup, I think what might be called traditional uses for it i.e. on burger, hot dogs, fries. But, others have used it in, what is to me, are unconventional ways. Nixon smothered his cottage cheese with it. The Japanese reportedly use it on rice. One ice cream maker reportedly once tried to make a ketchup ice cream. Others smother their eggs with it. My Mom uses equal amounts of tartar sauce and ketchup on fish and chips.

So how do you use this popular, multifaceted condiment? Are you a traditionalist or a trailblazer, adventurous type of condiment person?