History
The long history of ketchup in the West dates back to the early 16th century, when British settlers in Fujian Province came to know the sauce, which Chinese sailors called ge-tsup.
Local recipes are extremely diverse. The earliest recorded sauce, which has survived to this day, dates back to 544. It says: "Take the intestines, stomachs and bladders of yellow fish, sharks and mullet and rinse thoroughly. Mix with a moderate amount of salt and place in a jar. Close tightly and place in the sun. It will be ready in twenty days in summer, fifty days in spring or autumn and one hundred days in winter.
By the time the British found out about the ge-tsup, the dish had become as simple as a spicy orange-yellow liquid made from sour anchovies. In short, that ancient ge-tsup was not our ketchup. It was fish sauce (in Fujian minh language ge-tsup means "pickled fish sauce"), much like the one you can buy in any Asian supermarket to this day.
When the British merchants returned home with a new recipe, they tried to engrave it and added (what would you think?) a beer. Eventually, anchovies were replaced with walnuts (this variety was very much loved by Jane Austen) and mushrooms (such ketchup was similar to Wooster sauce).
Thus, the British enjoyed ketchup almost 200 years before, but then someone added tomatoes to it, because they resembled the fruits of the poisonous family of nightshades and for a long time were considered deadly in Europe. Tomato was a success only as an ornamental plant.
The Americans inherited an aversion to tomatoes. But they also had defenders. In 1820, Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson of Salem, New Jersey, ate an entire basket of tomatoes right on the steps of the local court to prove their innocence. It was only in the 1830s that tomatoes were finally tasted in the United States. In 1834, a doctor from Ohio named John Cook Bennett even declared tomatoes a panacea for all the troubles, including diarrhea, bile spills and stomach disorders. Soon Bennett published several recipes for tomato ketchup, which began to be sold throughout the country... in the form of pills.
By the 1870s, public opinion had finally changed. Tomato ketchup has become very popular, and one charlatan, wanting to beat the competition, said that it is a kind of tonic, which in its health benefits are much better than any other ketchup. Of course, all this was far from the truth.
The triumphant march of ketchup across Europe led to changes in its original composition. In the early 19th century, ketchup recipes began to appear in the famous cookery books of Sandy Edison and James Meese. The national cuisine of each country left its mark on it, but the Americans really changed this product, turning it into a hit sale. It was in America that tomato ketchup production began on a large industrial scale. By the end of the XIX century, more than 100 companies were engaged in its production, each of which had its own secret of making tasty and fragrant ketchup. The basis of modern ketchup is ripe tomato fruits, from which tomato paste with various additives is made: cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and other spices.
Types of ketchup
Despite the fact that tomato ketchup has a common basis in the form of tomato paste, it is distinguished by a great variety of species. There are many companies in the world that produce this product in a rich assortment. Each manufacturer has its own line of products with all kinds of appetizing names. Still, you can subdivide ketchup into species, depending on: taste, purpose and category.
On taste tomato ketchup can be absolutely any, for example: sweet, spicy (bitter), acidic, sour-sweet, salty.
No less diverse types of ketchup depending on the dishes for which it is intended. Many modern manufacturers of this product call it depending on what kind of dish it will be perfectly combined with. This is how ketchups appeared: kebabs, dumplings, pasta, meat, vegetables, fish, national cuisine.
In each store you can find a huge selection of tomato ketchups. It is important to pay attention to the category: this product can belong to the highest, first or second grade, as well as be a top-class ketchup, which is produced using only natural ingredients.
What nations like ketchup
The popularity of ketchup is so great that there is probably a group of fans of this product in every country. Nevertheless, the bulk of tomato ketchup fans gathered in America. Here it is a matter of national pride, because any American believes that his country is home to modern ketchup, denying its Chinese roots.
This product is also popular in Germany, as it is perfectly combined with various dishes of national cuisine.
The famous love of Italians for pasta and pizza predetermined their love for tomato seasoning.
In Russia, ketchup has also become one of the most favorite additives to home-cooked meals, pushing aside traditional seasonings: horseradish and mustard.
It is safe to say that ketchup has won the hearts of cooks from all over the world.