Prompt Cast
The History and Fun Facts of Ketchup: From Asia to Tomato Pills to Ketchup Cake
TLDR Ketchup was originally created in Asia and did not contain tomatoes. Over time, ketchup evolved to include tomatoes and became the number one condiment in the United States. Fun facts include the use of ketchup in various cuisines around the world and the failed tomato pill market in the 1800s.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Ketchup is the number one condiment in the United States, but the host of the podcast does not like it due to its taste and vinegar base.
05:17
Ketchup was first created in Asia, specifically China, around 544 CE, and it originally did not contain tomatoes.
10:22
Ketchup was first created in Asia and one of the first published recipes for ketchup in the UK was in 1732, but it did not contain tomatoes; instead, it was a recreation of fish sauce with spices.
15:24
Dr. Harvey Washington Widley and Henry J. Hines made a breakthrough in ketchup production in 1876 by using ripe red tomatoes as a base and ramping up the vinegar to eliminate the need for harmful chemicals, leading to the creation of a preservative-free version of ketchup.
21:00
Ketchup pills were popular in the 1800s, but many were fraudulent or acted as laxatives, leading to the crash of the tomato pill market in 1840; today, lycopene supplements are taken instead, as lycopene has been shown to potentially help with cancer, particularly prostate cancer.
26:10
Tapping the embossed 57 on a ketchup bottle can reduce the viscosity of the ketchup and make it flow more quickly, but squeezing the bottle or shaking it can also help with serum separation.
31:11
The invention of a dome-shaped valve with slits and a serum collection area helped improve the flow of ketchup, but there is still a problem with serum separation that can be solved by shaking the bottle before use.
36:17
Heinz distinguished themselves by using the spelling "ketchup" instead of "catsup," and eventually gained market share, while Del Monte was the last major company to switch to "ketchup" in 1988; although ketchup is considered shelf-stable, Heinz recommends refrigerating it after opening.
41:30
Ketchup is used in various ways around the world, such as on fried chicken in China, on pizza in Eastern Europe, and even squeezed over pasta in Sweden.
46:39
In Canada, ketchup potato chips are used to make a ketchup cake, and Baskin Robbins once attempted to create ketchup ice cream based on a Heinz ice cream recipe.
51:34
Heinz was found to not have the required percentage of tomato concentrate to be labeled tomato ketchup in Israel, leading them to petition to change the tomato concentrate requirements down to something like 6%.
Categories:
Society & Culture
