Ketchup

Ketchup, or catsup, is a condiment that is made tomato paste, vinegar, sugar, salt and spices and is available in different variations and flavors. The or the ketchup is often used in the fast food sector, but is also widely used in everyday cooking. Classically, ketchup is used to supplement procuring food.

These primarily include Pan-fried or grilled meat, schnitzel, sausages, potato dishes such as French fries or pasta dishes. Popular Ketchup is also used as a condiment for hamburgers and hot dogs.

Etymology and history

There are etymological origin of the word ketchup in the literature several theories. The most widespread is the claim that it goes back to a Chinese term. The German term ketchup has its origin first in British cookbooks and then came into use in the U.S. until he finally came in the German-speaking countries.

Andrew F. Smith has shown extensively in his book Pure Ketchup all known Herleitungsversuche. The British cookbook author Elizabeth David believes that ketchup was derived caveach from the term, a vinegar-based marinade for cooked fish. The U.S. anthropologist E. N. Anderson favors the origin of the French word escaveche, which generally foods were designated in a sauce that was resulting then become caveach in English.

The most common is the view that the concept of East Asia or Southeast Asia comes from. In the 19th century there was a presumption ketchup came from the Malaysian. In Malay dictionaries the word, however, the Chinese language is attributed. In the Oxford English Dictionary, there is the theory that it constitutes an Anglicization of KE- tsiap, a word from the Amoy dialect in China, with the liquid of fermented fish - is signified - a seasoned Fischtunke. Sinologist have noted, however, that this is also RELATES a word import, possibly from Vietnam.

Probably the origin of the Indonesian, there is simply kecap sauce, but is mostly used for a fermented sauce made from black soybeans. This meaning would be consistent with the early recipes for ketchup in English cookbooks. With Tomato Ketchup originally had nothing to do. Therefore, the illustrative term often used tomato ketchup explained.

For the first time appeared the word ketchup - in spelling catchup - in the English language in a dictionary in the 17th century and was defined as "high East -India Sauce" (fine East Indian sauce). "East India" was at that time a designation for South and Southeast Asia in general, not specifically for Indonesia. The second mention came in 1711 in a book entitled Account of the Trade in India by Charles Locker. The first recipe for " English ketchup " was published in 1727 a guide for housewives. The ingredients anchovies, shallots, white wine vinegar, white wine and various spices were specified. The recipe was similar to that for a fish sauce.

In 1732 Richard Bradley published in a magazine, a ketchup recipe with the note that it came from " Bencoulin in the East Indies". Bencoulin ( Bengcoolen ) was a trading post of the British East India Company in Sumatra. The main ingredient for this ketchup were kidney beans as a substitute for not occurring in Europe soybeans; the consistency of the sauce was more like a paste. It was diluted if necessary with liquid.

The new spicy sauce called ketchup was in England quickly became popular and there have been published in all the cookbooks different recipes. Mid-18th century there were already as finished ketchup sauce to buy in shops. The preparation was carried out either on the basis of most fungi, fish or walnuts. However, there were also versions with mussels and oysters. Ketchup was also known in the U.S. by British cookbooks. 1812 appeared here then the first recipe for such a spicy sauce based on pureed tomatoes. Maybe it was inspired by recipes for Italian tomato sauce, one of which was published in the UK for the first 1804. The difference was that vinegar was added to the ketchup and the result was a durable fermented sauce.

Middle of the 19th century was tomato ketchup already used in the U.S., but there were still other varieties. The ketchup was made in the budgets primarily self. This only changed mid-19th century, when ketchup was obtained as a byproduct in the production of canned tomatoes and was increasingly produced industrially. The preparation was based on the known recipes of the cookbooks. Today's market leader Heinz was initially just one of many manufacturers in the USA. His early recipes are handed down. One from 1883, contained, besides tomatoes and vinegar cloves, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice. A second recipe was ginger, mustard seeds, celery, horseradish and brown sugar as ingredients. From about 1900, the company was then market leader in the U.S. in 1905 she made five million bottles of ketchup.

The earlier ketchup variations were significantly less viscous and more bitter than today. In the 1920s it came to the U.S. to a controversy about the preservative sodium benzoate. Then the formulas were changed and instead of green ripe tomatoes used. The varieties produced by the then current market leaders distinguished themselves through so much higher levels of pectin and because of the ( natural ) Glutamate ( cf. umami ) significantly sämigere consistency and heartier taste. This has contributed significantly to the current widespread use of ketchup in the U.S. and beyond. In Eastern Europe, still used widely peppers and tomato pastes and purees (among Ljutenica, Ajvar ) similar to ketchup for the preservation of perishable vegetables.

In Germany ketchup was initially only available as import goods in specialty stores since the beginning of the 20th century. In 1937, the former manufacturing plant and today's food producers Zeisner produced in Bremen "Germany's first ketchup "; meanwhile, the company specializes in sauces, in Lower Saxony Grasberg is established. Ketchup was known after 1945 by the British and American occupation troops in Germany is wider and also widely used since the 1950s. A known application together with a typical German specialty is currywurst.

Varieties

In Europe and the United States three ketchup varieties are now principally distinguished:

Tomato ketchup

It is true for all ketchup places today commercially available tomato basis; of tomato ketchup but this is the essential ingredient. Tomato ketchup is 70 percent of total supply by far the most common ketchup places in Germany.

Tomato ketchup is made in accordance with the directive of the Federal Association of the German delicatessen industry of tomato paste, sugar - mostly in the form of sucrose or a mixture of sucrose and other sugars - vinegar, salt, onion, garlic and spices and additives and flavorings. The addition of thickening agents, starch and preservatives is permitted by law. Under the Directive, tomatoes dry matter must be at least seven percent, which represents a tomato paste of at least 25 percent.

However, this policy only applies to tomato ketchup, ketchup recipes for specialty products such as curry ketchup are left to the manufacturer. According to German food regulations flavorings, thickeners and flavor enhancers may be included in the ketchup, but no artificial colors.

Ketchup includes not only vitamin C and the carotenoid lycopene, which is amplified released by heating fresh fully ripe tomato during processing. This health-promoting and cancer risk- lowering properties are attributed.

Spice Ketchup

The variety Spice Ketchup includes all kinds of ketchups, their ingredients over the normal tomato ketchup go. , Such as by adding cucumbers, peppers or chili peppers and onions Also found in spice ketchups often a greater amount of additives.

This includes, for example, the barbecue ketchup (usually labeled " barbecue sauce " ) (not to be confused " Hot Chili Sauce", which mostly refers to "Steak Sauce" or the so-called "Gypsy ketchup " commercially as gypsy sauce with the original gypsy sauce). It contains, among others, shallots, mustard, anchovy paste, paprika and garlic as the main characteristic. This variant is originally from Hungary or Italy, where they were originally a thin liquid chili sauce with pieces of fruit ( tomato stew or Peperonata ). This is similar to the previous ketchup variations in consistency and taste. A modern variant of ketchup, it was only through the added tomato paste, the thixotropic consistency and the finer grain size of the fruit pieces.

Curry Ketchup

About 20 percent of ketchups offered in Germany is curry ketchup. The basic recipe is complemented with coordinated curry mixes. Also curry ketchups are often spicy, for example by adding cayenne pepper.

Production

For the industrial manufacture of tomato paste with spices, sugar and vinegar is fed into a boiler, mixed and heated. In this homogenization all the ingredients are crushed and finely distributed simultaneously to the desired consistency. The further processing can take place both cold under vacuum or hot in the colloid mill. Chunky ingredients are mixed in a colloid mill downstream of the buffer vessel with agitator with the ketchup and bottled cold or hot later under vacuum. The cold-prepared products are often preserved with sorbic acid and benzoic acid. After heating, the product goes through a vacuum ventilation system and is bottled in hot or after cooling to about 70 ° C in the bucket.

Numerous industrial ketchup varieties are added nanoparticles, without that they would be specially marked. This silica is used to make ketchup thicker.

The preparation of ketchup in the home is possible with long term storable foods within a short time. In the simplest case, tomato paste and honey mix to a paste in equal parts, which is seasoned with vinegar and salt and brought to the desired consistency by adding water.

Others

Viscous ketchup becomes thinner after extensive mixing of container - this was not limited to ketchup phenomenon is scientifically known as thixotropy.

In 1981, David Stockman made ​​, the responsible under U.S. President Ronald Reagan for the financial budget expert, the proposal to declare ketchup as a vegetable. This was intended as part of Reagan's plans to budget cuts in state-funded school meals. Thus, it would have been cheaper to meet the requirements of the proportion of vegetables in school meals. This proposal was rejected and stopped the appropriate legislative initiative.

When asked the chairman of the Council for German Orthography, Hans Zehetmair, in 2004, whether one may write the word ketchup ketchup in the future, he replied, as he did not let the product that he never gets excited about the word ketchup. It was " a horrible word for a horrible thing ."