The Journey Of Tomato Ketchup
A burger or french fries without a tangy ketchup feels zero taste as ketchup has always been a taste enhancer. These taste enhancers have always been a necessity in homes and specially in restaurants.
Did anyone knew before that the ancient ketchup’s did not contain tomatoes? And also that they were once considered as medicines? Quite shocking but very true. Take a look to the ketchup’s journey here!
The Origin
Ketchup originated from China.
In the 17th century, the Hokkien Chinese made a variety of ketchup earlier known as “KE-TSIAP” which did not contain any tomatoes. They were made from fermented salted anchovies (a form of fish) to make caramel colored pungent liquid. Ke-tsiap were sold as fish sauce in supermarkets at that time. Then ke-tsiap spread over other Chinese community along with Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines.
The Poisonous Tomato
In the early 1800’s, tomatoes were considered as poisonous by the British and were named as “poison apples” by the Europeans. The misunderstanding spread among Europeans who ate in pewter plates. Tomatoes are naturally acidic, when placed on pewter plates, they would leach lead which often resulted in terminal lead poisoning.
The Medicine Ketchup
Later in 1834, tomatoes were declared helpful to treat diarrhea and other digestive ailments. And soon Dr John Cook Bennett published recipes for tomato ketchup as a medical aid.
Three years later Archibald Miles, a traveling merchant, sold a patented medicine called ‘American hygiene Pill’. After much work he changed the name to ‘Dr Mils compound extract of tomato’. It was claimed to be able to cure everything from baldness to athletes foot. But the pills were soon dismissed as he was not an authorized doctor.
The Introduction Of Tomatoes Into Ketchup
In the 18th century the British merchant developed a taste for Ke-tsiap and tried to reproduce it to make a fermented dark sauce. And in the 19th century, the British introduced tomatoes in the the ketchup.
The turning point came in 1880 with the invention of pizza in Naples, which made our Ketchup popular in Europe and North America. And eventually ketchup became a trend and spread all over the world.
Today tomatoes are known for their rich contents in lycopene and antioxidants that have anticancer properties. However, the high fructose corn syrup levels added to the commercial ketchup nullifies the benefits. Therefore being the reason to limit its usage and only allowing consumption occasionally.
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