Since ANALYST’s venture into the world of Real Food was sparked by a delirious late-night ketchup revelation, she thought it fitting that the first post on her newly-created Most Wanted List would address the subject of Real Ketchup. 
It’s estimated that over 95 percent of U.S. households include a bottle of America’s favorite condiment. Today, there are legal standards about what can and cannot be labeled ketchup, even dictating how slowly it must flow from the bottle (3-7 centimeters in 30 second).
But historically, ketchup was not so strictly defined. In the 17th century, European sailors brought back a salty pickled fish sauce from China called “ke-tsiap.” Made from fish heads, organs, and bones, this early version of ketchup was completely different from the modern product. The earliest known recipe in print dates back to Elizabeth Smith’s The Compleat Housewife published in 1727. It calls for anchovies, shallots, vinegar, white wine, sweet spices, pepper, and lemon peel. Notice the lack of sugar or even tomatoes!
In the U.S., tomatoes began to take center stage after American sailors picked them up during travels to Mexico and the Spanish West Indies. By the mid 1800’s, tomato ketchup was sold across the U.S. thanks to an entrepreneuring farmer who used refuse from tomato canning along with green tomatoes, and lots of vinegar and sugar. H.J. Heinz included a similar recipe in his line of pickled products and introduced it at the Philadelphia fair in 1872. The rest is ketchup history.
There is a lot to like about the modern version of ketchup. It is sweet and pretty. And kids really like it –studies show that children eat 50 percent more ketchup than adults. But what did we lose when we morphed ketchup into the sticky sweet substance it is today?
Historically, ketchup was a fermented food. Fermentation involves the use of special bacteria, such as a starter culture or whey, to produce controlled decay. Fermentation has been used as a traditional method of food preservation for thousands of years. But it wasn’t used strictly for reasons of preservation; fermentation also serves to make food more flavorful and nutritious by increasing the amount of enzymes, vitamins, and beneficial bacteria in the final product.
The subject of fermentation is sure to come up again soon in our Real Food investigation (just think of all the foods that used to be fermented: cheese, bread, yogurt, pickles, sauerkraut… ). In the meantime, for a modern twist on the ancient version of ketchup, check out Sally Fallon’s ketchup recipe in Nourishing Traditions
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References:
Fallon, Sally. Nourishing Traditions. New Trends Publishing: Washington, D.C. 1999.
Skopitz, Kimberly. “A Brief History of Ketchup.” http://www.essortment.com/all/historyketchup_rlju.htm.
Filippone, Peggy Trowbridge. “Ketchup/Catsup History.” http://homecooking.about.com/od/howtocookwithcondiments/a/ketchupstandard.htm
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Very informative article. I know I will be able to use this subject in future conversations.
It's amazing how often the subject of ketchup comes up in conversation!! But I promise, no more ketchup posts for awhile. Okay, maybe ONE more but after that…then I promise
You wrote that one of the legal standards, strangely enough, for labeling something as ketchup is that it must flow from the bottle 3-7 centimeters in 30 seconds. If only two centimeters of ketchup flow from the bottle in 30 seconds, can I return it?
you could try, but they would probably advise you to try the old "smack the 57 with the palm of your hand" trick. Either that, or buy one of those new-fangled squeeze bottles… I hear there's a great future in plastics.
Very very interesting. We're trying to cut back on ketchup. But my gosh, who knew????