Open the refrigerator. What product is definitely on his door? Of course, ketchup is a universal seasoning that is suitable for almost any dish. We have collected 5 interesting facts about this sauce.
Ketchup was invented in China. It would seem that who could come up with this main ingredient for pasta and pizza? Of course, Americans! Most think so. In fact, the history of ketchup is longer and more interesting. Researchers believe that this sauce came to us from Asia. Most likely from China. The name speaks for itself. Translated from the Chinese dialect, “ke-tsiap” means “fish sauce”. It was prepared on the basis of soy, adding nuts and mushrooms. And, notice, there were no tomatoes in it then! Then the Asian seasoning got to Great Britain, and from there to America, where local chefs came up with the idea of adding tomatoes to ketchup.
True popularity came to ketchup in the 19th century. The credit for this goes to businessman Henry Heinz. Thanks to him, Americans realized that with ketchup the simplest and freshest dish will be more interesting and richer in taste. In 1896, the New York Times called ketchup a “national American condiment.” And since then, tomato sauce continues to be a mandatory element of any table.
You can drink a bottle of ketchup in half a minute. The Guinness Book of World Records regularly records achievements in the use of sauce on time. Experimenters usually drink 400 g of ketchup (the contents of a standard bottle) through a straw. And they do it faster. The current record is 30 seconds.
The largest bottle of ketchup was created in Illinois. This is a water tower 50 meters high. It was built in the mid-20th century to supply water to a local ketchup plant. Well, decorated with a giant tank in the form of a bottle of ketchup. Its volume is about 450 thousand liters. Since then, “The largest bottle of ketchup in the world” is considered the main tourist attraction of the town in which it stands. And local enthusiasts even hold an annual festival in her honor.
Ketchup can be cooked. Therefore, it is added not only to finished products, but also at the stage of stewing or baking. Just remember that it already contains spices, so add seasonings to the dish very carefully. By the way, thanks to this sauce you can experiment not only with the taste but also the appearance of the dish. For example, Scottish chef Domenico Kroll became famous for his pizzas: he used them to paint portraits of famous people with cheese and ketchup. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Beyonce, Rihanna, Kate Middleton and Marilyn Monroe have already “lit up” in his works.
So experiment, cook with ketchup and have fun!