Unusual ketchups

There is more to ketchup than tomato. Discover how to make every flavor of ketchup at home and get all the recipes from apple ketchup to walnut.

You say ketchup - I say what kind

I once read a question posed on line, a woman wanted to know how to make squash ketchup. The answer given was, "You can't, ketchup is made from tomatoes." This is, oh, so very untrue! Well, only in part. The truth is, that squash doesn't make a very good ketchup, however ketchup isn't made with only tomatoes. There is a world of flavorful, and surprising ketchups out there. But before we get to that, we need to know a bit about this very popular condiment.

The word ketchup is based on the Chinese word ke-tsiap, and started off as a fish sauce. The most common was anchovies that were fermented and dissolved in brine. Sailors discovered this little treat, and brought it to Europe in the 1600's. This created a stir with cooks, and they began to experiment with it, adding and subtracting various ingredients over the next several centuries. The 1700's brought in the use of the tomato and was known as tomato soy. In the 1780's ketchup, which was runny, and had little or no sugar, was brought to the Americas. James Mease published the first tomato ketchup recipe in 1812, even though you can find references to ketchup in print as far back as 1690.

Tomato ketchup can be found in 97% of homes. Which is good, because the inclusion of this condiment can also be a powerful tool in fighting cancer and heart disease. The latest studies show that lycopene, which is found in the tomato, as well as carotenoid, is found in high concentrations in ketchup, as well as other tomato products. Lycopene is an antioxidant which reportedly fights the free radicals that mess with normal cell growth and activity, thus helping with the premature aging, possible cancer and heart disease that comes from those free radicals.

Unusual ketchups

But enough about tomatoes. You can find all kinds of different benefits in different base ingredients. Tomato ketchup can be boring and predictable, how about a little bacon ketchup, or tamarind ketchup on your burger? Maybe some blackberry ketchup, of some hot pepper ketchup with those fries? Sometimes it is beneficial to your taste buds to branch out, add a little something extra and surprising to your mundane meals. And for you home canners that are up to your ears with a certain food, and tired of the same old same old, can add a new dimension to your canning exercises.

Maybe a little beer ketchup for that special man in your life. It's sure to make him fall in love with you all over again. Or maybe a little banana and mango ketchup for the kids to dip their chicken in. The possibilities for ketchup is almost limitless. There are a few vegetables and fruits out there however that can't stand up to the ketchup process.

On the side, there is a list of world ketchups, some not common place since the medieval times, A-almost Z

Many of these go great with your hamburgers, fries, brats and dogs. Some go better with fish. But the possibilities of what they can go on is limitless, as long as your are adventuress. Some of the recipes listed are variations on your tomato ketchup.

Remember ketchup is a balancing act between the sweet and savory, so that they are able to accommodate many types of foods. Now off with you, find that to die for recipe, and yes, you may call me the catsup queen, I'm ok with that.