The term
ketchup first appeared in 1682. The word entered the
English language in Britain during the late 17th century, appearing in print as
ketchup (1682),
catchup (1690), and later as
catsup (1730). Recipes for many types of ketchup began to appear in British and then American cookbooks in the 18th century.
Mushroom ketchup in a plastic tub In the United Kingdom, from the 1600s ketchup was prepared with
mushrooms as a primary ingredient, rather than tomatoes.
Tomato ketchup s
James Mease published the first known tomato ketchup recipe in 1812. An early recipe for "tomato catsup" from 1817 includes
anchovies and insects. In 1824, a ketchup recipe using tomatoes appeared in
The Virginia Housewife (an influential 19th-century cookbook written by Mary Randolph,
Thomas Jefferson's cousin). Tomato ketchup was sold locally by farmers. Jonas Yerkes is credited as the first American to sell it in a bottle. By 1837, he had produced and distributed the condiment nationally. By the mid-1850s, anchovies no longer featured as an ingredient. American cooks also began to sweeten ketchup in the 19th century. The ''
Webster's Dictionary'' of 1913 defined "catsup" as: "table sauce made from mushrooms, tomatoes, walnuts, etc. [Also written as ketchup]." As the century progressed, tomato ketchup began to gain popularity in the United States. Tomato ketchup was popular long before fresh tomatoes were. People were less hesitant to eat tomatoes as part of a highly processed product that had been cooked and infused with vinegar and spices. With industrial ketchup production and a need for better preservation, there was a great increase of sugar in ketchup, leading to the typically sweet and sour formula of today. While ketchup and tomato sauce are both sold in Australia, American ketchup is sweeter and thicker, whereas Australian tomato sauce is more sour and runny. Modern ketchup emerged in the early years of the 20th century, out of a debate over the use of
sodium benzoate as a preservative in condiments.
Harvey W. Wiley, the "father" of the
US Food and Drug Administration, challenged the safety of benzoate which was banned in the 1906
Pure Food and Drug Act. In response, entrepreneurs including
Henry J. Heinz, pursued an alternative recipe that eliminated the need for that preservative.
Katherine Bitting, a bacteriologist working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, carried out research in 1909 that proved increasing the sugar and vinegar content of the product would prevent spoilage without use of artificial preservatives. She was assisted by Arvil Bitting, her husband and an official at that agency. Prior to Heinz, commercial tomato ketchups of that time were watery and thin, in part because they used unripe tomatoes, which were low in
pectin. They had less vinegar than modern ketchups; by
pickling ripe tomatoes, the need for benzoate was eliminated without spoilage or degradation in flavor. The changes driven by the desire to eliminate benzoate also produced changes that some experts (such as Andrew F. Smith) believe were key to the establishment of tomato ketchup as the dominant American condiment.
Later innovations served with tomato ketchup In fast food outlets, ketchup is often dispensed in small sachets or tubs. Diners tear the side or top of
ketchup packets and squeeze ketchup out of them or peel the foil lid off tubs for dipping. Some fast food outlets previously dispensed ketchup from hand-operated pumps into paper cups. This method has made a comeback in the first decades of the 21st century, as cost and environmental concerns over the increasing use of individual plastic ketchup tubs were taken into account. ==Properties==