By Ruben Zavala

INTRODUCTION

               Ketchup is used all around the world. Hamburgers and fries without ketchup is unimaginable.Ketchup is the condiment used the most and probably the best tasting of all. Now ketchup is Americas favorite condiment. Ketchup was originally a fish sauce. Ketchup has been arounf for a while so there are a lot of different kinds. Some are barely even considered as ketchup because they dont use tomatos or they use different kinds of ingredients than the regular or typical ketchup that we know today. Ketchup is also different and called different in other countries around the world.  

HISTORY

               Ketchup has been around for more than 300 years. It first started off as a fish sauce in China. Ketchup remained a different type of sauce similar to the one we use today until 1812 when the first tomato ketchup was made. It was not sold in the U.S until 1837. J&H Heinze made the best selling ketchup of that time. Thier company is still one of the biggest ketchup manufacturers in the world. Before ketchup used to have all sorts of ingriedients that aren't used today like mushrooms, anchovies, shallot, and many more. It didn't even have tomatoes. Ketchup became noticed and popular at the Philadelphia fair where Heinze added it to his line of pickled products. In 1848 some of the manufacturers of ketchup caught on fire because they used coal tar was used to highten the color red of the ketchup. Other manufacturers made the ketchup from concentrated tomato pulp in the off-seasonin circumstances that remain questionable. Because of this in the 1990s the Pure Food Act put strict limits on food manufacturers. In 1981 the Reagan administration decided to count ketchup as a vegetable. Ketchup is considered healthy since it contains lycopene, which helps decrease the risk of cancer.

INGREDIENTS

                The ingredients for modern ketchup are:

• tomatoes
• vinegar
• sugar
• salt
• allspice
• cloves
• cinnamon
• onions
• celeray

TODAY

                Ketchup today is used  all around the country and world. It is served at schools, sporting events, festivals, carts, and fast food restaurants. Burger fast food restaurants all have ketchup. Most people use ketchup on their fries and/or burgers so this is a smart idea for the restaurants to give out ketchup. Even though they do not charge for it they are showing the customers that they are trying to help make their meal a satisfying one. Sometimes you will walk around and you will find a burger cart or stall selling burgers, fries, and hot dogs. You will also see that they have ketchup. Ketchup plays such an important role in the fast food that we normally eat. By normally eat I mean the basic fast foods, which are burgers, fries, hot dogs, and pizza. Believe it or not some people do eat pizza with ketchup. Ketchup will continue to be America's favorite condiment since the kids like it more than thier parents, so then more and more kids thast will be born later on will like it even more. At school they usually give out fries or burgers or both. They will also give out ketchup. Ketchup is the preferred condiment to give out at school since it is liked the most by the students. At sporting events there would be men walking around carrying hot dogs around to sell. When they are about to give it to you they ask what do you want on it and one of the condiments is ketchup. Most people would pick ketchup. In conclusion ketchup today plays an important role in our foods since it is America's favorite condiment.

Citations

Skopitz, Kimberly "A Brief History of Ketchup" 2002, 20 January 2009, http://www.essortment.com/all/historyketchup_rlju.htm

Filippone, Peggy Trowbridge "Ketchup/Catsup Storage and Fun Facts" 2007, 22 january 2009,

http://homecooking.about.com/od/howtocookwithcondiments/a/ketchupstorage.htm

www.alanskitchen.com "Ketchup" 22, January 2009, http://www.alanskitchen.com/Ingredients/Condiments/Ketchup.htm