Ketchup. We all know what it is. But do we? It's not a thing. It's actually a category.
Where's the word come from? How was it originally used? When was the first ketchup recipe? How has it become the condiment we know today?
We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough, authors of over three dozen cookbooks. This podcast is about our major passion in life: food and cooking.
If you'd like to check out our latest cookbook, COLD CANNING, please click here.
[00:55] Our one-minute cooking tip: Click on "like" for any online content you in fact like.
[02:18] All about ketchup! Where'd it come from? Where's the word come from? It's not a thing. It's a category of things. How'd it get to be the stick, thick tomato sauce we know today?
[22:02] What’s making us happy in food this week: Sichuan fish stew and Chinese food demystified!
Hey, I am Bruce Weinstein and this is the podcast
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which is really not about cooking
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we're gonna talk all about the ketchup.
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:Mm-hmm.
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:Something that you may not know it's
history, where it comes from, even the
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:weird way, the word formed ketchup.
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:Before we get to the big part of this
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:Podcast and all those kind of things.
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:We've already, uh, basically done that.
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:So let's just get on to ketchup.
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:bruce: What is ketchup?
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:It's obvious, isn't it?
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:It comes in those little foil packets
or plastic packets at McDonald's.
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:Oh, it does.
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:It does.
70
:I thought it came in bottles.
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:It comes in bottles at home.
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:It's always sitting on
the tables and diners.
73
:You put it on everything from
eggs to burgers to french fries.
74
:Wait,
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:mark: what?
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:You put it on what?
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:bruce: Scrambled eggs.
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:Oh.
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:I grew up eating ketchup on eggs.
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:My grandfather put ketchup on
everything and I learned from
81
:him everything, everything.
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:Every,
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:mark: your grandmother, who knows
what happened back there in the ettl.
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:Oh, oh, oh my God.
85
:Um, alright.
86
:Uh, so, uh, yeah, sure.
87
:No, not eggs.
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:That's disgusting.
89
:Mm-hmm.
90
:It's good on eggs.
91
:No gross.
92
:But.
93
:Let's first say something
about the name of this thing.
94
:Ketchup.
95
:Yeah, of course.
96
:You probably know ketchup.
97
:It can be spelled Kaupp.
98
:K-S-E-A-T-S-U-P.
99
:It's still pronounced ketchup,
no matter which way you spell it.
100
:bruce: Growing up, what my grandparents
had and they refrigerator was.
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:Catsup.
102
:That was the big divide, right?
103
:There was Heinz ketchup and Hunts catsup
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:mark: there.
105
:That's exactly right.
106
:But mostly catsup, which is still
pronounced ketchup was the term
107
:used for this sauce before 1900.
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:By the mid 19 hundreds, 19 50, 19 60.
109
:It's becoming.
110
:Almost solely ketchup
with a K, not catsup.
111
:There was some holdover as
Bruces when we were kids, right?
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:That was cat sup.
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:But most of that has gone away and now
we see some uh, gen Z entrepreneurs
114
:of people who are making various
kinds of catsup spelling it.
115
:Yeah, cat sup.
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:And I think they're trying to be
throwback and old school anyway,
117
:no matter which way you spell it.
118
:It's pronounced ketchup.
119
:So I should say.
120
:Where this word comes from
is really highly contested.
121
:Believe it or not, there are a
lot of people who fight over this.
122
:So let me just start.
123
:I'm gonna start.
124
:Mm-hmm.
125
:With Miriam Webster, which is
of course your friend, Miriam.
126
:Well, we start, no, my copy editor
for our books always corrects me
127
:about anything and says, well, our
friend Miriam says, and what she means
128
:by that is Miriam Webster defines
word, when was Miriam alive, but.
129
:Hundreds of years ago.
130
:So, uh, it's Daniel Webster and
Miriam, and anyway, it doesn't matter.
131
:It's now Miriam Webster.
132
:So the claim there is that it comes from a
melee word, which is basically ketchup up,
133
:or I'm nce, I'm sure I'm brutalizing it.
134
:Ketchup and it means soy sauce
or particularly savory sauce.
135
:And if you know anything about.
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:Indonesian condiments.
137
:This word has stuck around.
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:bruce: Yeah.
139
:And because the Indonesian sauce, that
is still called a ke cap, manis, and I
140
:know that's not the way you pronounce it.
141
:It's ketchup.
142
:Ketchup, manis mess doesn't resemble what
we consider in the West ketchup at all.
143
:No, it's not a tomato base.
144
:It's not that sweet and vinegary
thick tomato thing that I want.
145
:Oozing out of my hamburger bun
and sitting on my french fries.
146
:Oh, done.
147
:It's a, my god, almost a sweet
and thick soy sauce that catch
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:mark: it.
149
:My ass.
150
:That was really too graphic for me.
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:Oozing out.
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:I, no, I just can't.
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:If you put enough,
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:bruce: it oozes out.
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:Uh,
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:mark: you know, when I was a
kid, uh, if we dared to put.
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:Ketchup on a hamburger.
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:My mother drew herself upright and
said, I reared you better than that,
159
:because that was just considered so low
class to put ketchup on a hamburger.
160
:I guess
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:bruce: us Yankee, New York
liberals were just lower class.
162
:mark: You were lower class
from her Southern Heights.
163
:Anyway, legendary food writer,
Elizabeth David, and culinary historian
164
:Karen Hess, both claimed that the
word catchup is actually from.
165
:Arabic from an Arabic word
that means pickling in vinegar.
166
:Mm-hmm.
167
:And it shows up in French as
Es, and in Spanish as esche.
168
:Well, it kind of
169
:bruce: makes sense, right?
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:mark: They claim that this is
the derivation of the word.
171
:And when it was anglicized that
E es first syllable was dropped
172
:because it was considered foreign
sounding and you ended up with.
173
:Kaveh or kave, which have slowly
morphed into what we now say is ketchup.
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:bruce: That kind of makes sense to me.
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:I mean, 'cause every kind of ketchup that
we're used to now, and we'll get to what
176
:kinds there are all have a vinegar base.
177
:Right.
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:They all are some kind of
ly preserved something.
179
:Right.
180
:Right.
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:So that kind of makes sense.
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:And
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:mark: I, yeah.
184
:Also, it's just for the sake of
completeness, Hey, there is a.
185
:Folk etymology, meaning it's not
documented, you can't prove it, but
186
:there's a folk etymology out of Cantonese.
187
:That dialect of Chinese, because
the word there used that is similar
188
:to ketchup means tomato sauce,
and it's actually derived from two
189
:Chinese characters, foreign eggplant.
190
:It was thought that the tomato
was considered a foreign.
191
:Eggplant and this word then kind of
fused of these two characters, and
192
:then it came to be tomato sauce.
193
:But there's very little evidence that
this is the actual derivation of word.
194
:Yeah.
195
:That
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:bruce: I, I, I agree.
197
:That's probably not really based in
reality because there isn't anything in
198
:the Cantonese world that I know of, of.
199
:Course, there's a lot I don't know
about, but I'm pretty familiar
200
:with Chinese condiments and I don't
know of anything that is a tomato
201
:base in a condiment in China.
202
:Sweet potato base?
203
:Yes.
204
:And soy, but not tomato, tomato.
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:mark: Okay.
206
:So that's where it comes from.
207
:Now, lemme tell you about how it first
makes its way into print in English.
208
:It first appears it is word
ketchup in the late 16 hundreds
209
:entities, not tomato base.
210
:Mm-hmm.
211
:It is mushroom based and the first
derivations and types of ketchup
212
:that come into print that we can
actually trace are mushroom sauces.
213
:One of the first published recipes is
from Eliza Smith's:
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:house wipe, and she makes there in
the recipe a thin sauce of mushrooms.
215
:Anchovies and horseradish.
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:bruce: That actually sounds really good.
217
:It also sounds like the base of a lot
of modern steak sauces, doesn't it?
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:Well, it
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:mark: is, and this is the
thing that you should know.
220
:A one steak sauce and other steak
sauces like that are probably much.
221
:Closer to the original notion of ketchup.
222
:Mm-hmm.
223
:Minus the sugar because A
one sticks mostly sweet.
224
:It is sweet, right.
225
:And if you just listen to me, mushrooms,
anchovies, and horseradish, there
226
:is absolutely nothing sweet in that.
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:That is a powerful condiment.
228
:So it comes along basically as a really.
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:Thick mushroom and fish reduction until
:
230
:US medical doctor and horticulturalist,
back in the day when you could be both
231
:at the same time, he actually published
a recipe for tomato-based ketchup.
232
:And I really wanted read you this
recipe 'cause it cracks me up.
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:So here was me's recipe in 1812.
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:Okay?
235
:Already I'm gonna make
236
:bruce: this so I'm gonna follow you.
237
:mark: Oh God.
238
:Please don't.
239
:Okay, so he mashes up a gallon.
240
:A gallon.
241
:I'm just telling you what it is.
242
:In the actual print.
243
:Mm-hmm.
244
:A gallon of chopped tomatoes.
245
:Yeah.
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:bruce: Got it.
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:No problem.
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:mark: And he adds a pound of salt to it.
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:bruce: Salty.
250
:mark: A pound to a gallon.
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:bruce: Puffy.
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:I'm gonna be puffy.
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:mark: Right.
254
:So he mixes a pound of salt into a
gallon of mushed up tomatoes, and
255
:he lets that sit for three days.
256
:bruce: It's not even gonna
ferment this so much salt.
257
:It's gonna kill even the good bacteria.
258
:I don't know
259
:mark: exactly what he's doing here.
260
:I think he's pulling a lot
of the juice out, right?
261
:He's
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:bruce: definitely getting
all the moisture out.
263
:mark: Okay.
264
:Then you're supposed to divide
that into courts and to.
265
:Each quart, you add a pound of anchovies.
266
:Mm-hmm.
267
:So a huge amount of anchovies.
268
:bruce: Is he adding filets of the
whole thing with the heads and guts?
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:I think
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:mark: it's filets, but I, I think so.
271
:Okay.
272
:Two ounces of mint shallots, and then,
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:bruce: oh, only two ounces.
274
:God forbid it be too many shallots.
275
:mark: Ounce of ground black pepper.
276
:That's a lot.
277
:That's a couple
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:bruce: tablespoons.
279
:That's
280
:mark: gonna be fiery.
281
:It's gonna be like
Vietnamese fiery pepper food.
282
:Mm-hmm.
283
:Okay.
284
:So you boil all that for 30
minutes and then you add all these
285
:spices, mace, all spiced ginger,
nutmeg, coriander, and kaile.
286
:bruce: Oh, that's that
red insect food coloring.
287
:Exactly.
288
:Except in
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:mark: 1812 when James Meese writes
this, he means the insect illa.
290
:He put the whole insect in, which is the
derivative of the red food coloring dog.
291
:Yep.
292
:So you put a couple of those dead
insects in there to turn it red.
293
:Oh geez.
294
:They're dead.
295
:I guess so.
296
:So you pound it all together, you sve
it through a jelly bag, you ba bottle
297
:it, you cork it, and Meese claims
that it will last for seven years.
298
:What would
299
:bruce: a pound
300
:mark: of salt, it might, I
don't know, a pound of salt.
301
:It seems as if this is a
botulism nightmare to me.
302
:bruce: I don't think anything
can grow in a pound of salt.
303
:mark: Yeah, maybe.
304
:Okay.
305
:So then we we're gonna come
up into the late 18 hundreds.
306
:So you say, what happens to ketchup?
307
:bruce: Okay.
308
:So then by the late 18 hundreds, this
thin, runny, spiced tomato sauce that was
309
:salty and peppery and fishy, um, it, it.
310
:It's that way into the late 18 hundreds.
311
:We get to 1913 and now Webster's
Dictionary says it is a table sauce.
312
:mark: That means it comes to the
table, is not used in the kitchen.
313
:bruce: Ah.
314
:So it's, no, it's not an ingredient,
but it is now truly a condiment.
315
:Correct.
316
:Of tomatoes.
317
:Mushrooms, and.
318
:Walnuts.
319
:Yeah.
320
:I love that.
321
:Because walnuts, no
322
:mark: mushrooms have stuck around in this.
323
:Mm-hmm.
324
:bruce: I Well, but mushrooms are so
easily available, readily available.
325
:At that time they were free 'cause
you go out and harvest them.
326
:So mushrooms were a great ingredient
for big households, small households.
327
:And I love the idea of walnuts.
328
:'cause walnuts, when you pound them and
grind them, they give a thickness so they
329
:can thicken, they add an earthiness, they
add a great flavor, and they add some fat.
330
:What they're gonna do though
is they are going to add an
331
:ingredient that can turn rancid.
332
:So nothing is gonna last as long and it's
333
:mark: also gonna be grainy.
334
:Yep.
335
:There's no way.
336
:It's not gonna be grainy
with walnuts in you.
337
:bruce: No.
338
:'cause they didn't have a neutral bullet.
339
:mark: No, they did not
have a nutri bullet.
340
:But you notice that in all
this discussion about ketchup.
341
:We have never mentioned sugar ketchup.
342
:As a sauce, mushroom or tomato
baze was not sweetened until
343
:the early 20th century, and a
huge divide happens right here.
344
:While across the world,
it starts being sweetened.
345
:Many forms of ketchup, for
example, today Australian ketchup
346
:is far runnier than us ketchup.
347
:Annie is far less sweet.
348
:It's more sour.
349
:So there, there's a divide that
starts to develop between the thick.
350
:US condiment, Canadian condiment
and other parts of the world where
351
:it's a thinner, more sour sauce.
352
:Oh, so
353
:bruce: that fabulous 1980s,
uh, advertising campaign for
354
:Heinz Ketchup, would they used
anticipation, that song anticipation.
355
:Yes.
356
:Right.
357
:Where they couldn't get the
ketchup outta the bottle.
358
:They can't run that ad in Australia.
359
:mark: Well, I guess
360
:bruce: not.
361
:mark: So the initial industrial
production, uh, of ketchup.
362
:Involved sodium benzoate,
which is a pickling agent.
363
:You may know it if you ever pickle
foods or ever read labels, but
364
:sodium benzoate is thought to have
very adverse effects in humans.
365
:And in fact, the US Department of
Agriculture will ban the use of
366
:sodium benzoate as a preservative
in the early 19 hundreds.
367
:So now you gotta figure out how to
make this thing so shelf stable.
368
:bruce: Enter Henry Hines.
369
:Yeah.
370
:Right.
371
:Who's he would be very proud of his
company and his children and his
372
:great-great-great-great grandchildren.
373
:Yeah, because they are still making
ketchup after experimenting with
374
:vinegar and sugar ratios that would
allow his ketchup to become shelf
375
:mark: stable.
376
:And he is part of the wave of
the thickeners, the people who
377
:start to add pectin from jelly
making and preserve making.
378
:To make it thicker and thicker.
379
:And also we should say that pectin
also has a preserving function, as
380
:we know from cold, cold canning.
381
:Yeah.
382
:It has a preserving function.
383
:bruce: Yeah.
384
:But today we kind of, most ketchup
makers have gone away from the pectin
385
:and the way their ketchup is thickened,
it was just by using a blend of
386
:tomato concentrates, they often start
with tomato paste or even the double
387
:tomato paste, which is twice as thick.
388
:And yes, you have your vinegar,
you have your high fructose
389
:corn syrup or corn syrup, some.
390
:Only use sugar.
391
:And I have found even finds,
there are some, has a sugar
392
:only ketchup that's out there.
393
:Uh, they have spices, onion
powder, and preservatives.
394
:And of course they cook it so it
reduces even more and it concentrates.
395
:And then of course they
process it for shelf stability.
396
:And it can last in your pantry couple
years if you get a fresh bottle
397
:off the shelf in the supermarket.
398
:mark: And you'll notice
what Bruce just said there.
399
:There's no pectin in that mix.
400
:Yep.
401
:And here's the deal.
402
:Once more and more sugar was added,
and then once it flipped over
403
:to the high fructose corn syrup
and corn syrup additions in some
404
:types of ketchup, you didn't need
the pectin for thickness anymore.
405
:The sugar gave it mm-hmm.
406
:To it.
407
:In the same way that like you can make
blackberry preserves without adding pet.
408
:Thin and by just boiling it out in
the sugar and the natural pectin in
409
:the blackberries makes it thicker.
410
:Same idea.
411
:And the corn syrup is particularly,
makes it super thick as it boils down.
412
:It does.
413
:And that's part of the removal
of pectin from this process.
414
:bruce: And ketchup has gotten to a
point where it is kind of fetishized.
415
:I mean, there are so many
artisanal ketchups out there.
416
:Oh my God.
417
:mark: And some people, like
my sister-in-law will not eat
418
:anything but Heinz ketchup.
419
:I know.
420
:She won't even.
421
:Touch any other ketchup
except Heinz ketchup.
422
:bruce: I know.
423
:I'm surprised she doesn't
bring a bottle with her.
424
:She does.
425
:mark: She does.
426
:I've seen her bring
bottles out to restaurants.
427
:bruce: Remember that Seinfeld
episode where they try and bring
428
:their own maple syrup and they're
not allowed to bring it in?
429
:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
430
:You can't bring outside condiments.
431
:Well, so speaking of maple syrup, maple
syrup is at a point where it's grated.
432
:Right?
433
:You know what's in it.
434
:Ketchup is the same way.
435
:So you can get a GR of ketchup
called Fancy in the us.
436
:In the us, in the us.
437
:'cause the USDA is given that grade,
and if you see that word, fancy.
438
:On ketchup.
439
:It doesn't mean that it's fancy.
440
:It means that there is a
higher concentration of
441
:tomato to everything else.
442
:Yeah.
443
:Which is kind of nice.
444
:I
445
:mark: think.
446
:I didn't, I know, I didn't know
that until I did the research for
447
:this podcast episode because I've
seen fancy ketchup on bottles and I
448
:didn't know that was a, that was a.
449
:Actual governmental, I didn't know.
450
:Degrade of ketchup.
451
:So that's basically how what
we now know as ketchup happens.
452
:But you should know that
there are lots of ketchup.
453
:Mm-hmm.
454
:Remember where this came from?
455
:Mushroom sauces.
456
:Yeah.
457
:With anchovies.
458
:So lots of ketchups.
459
:And I just wanted to, um, maybe
mention a few, and these occur
460
:actually in our book mm-hmm.
461
:Called Canning.
462
:And I thought I'd let Bruce
talk about them for a minute.
463
:So talk for a minute
about curried ketchup.
464
:bruce: Yeah.
465
:So Curried ketchup is.
466
:Is something that you find
very common in Germany.
467
:Um, they eat curried ketchup
with, uh, sausages and avers.
468
:You can, you can easily just mix a little
curry powder into standard ketchup,
469
:but we give you a recipe for making a
curried ketchup, uh, from scratch, which
470
:is, you know, you saute some onions and
garlic and curry powder and paprika, and
471
:you have dried mustard and cloves and
all those spices that go into curries.
472
:And of course, there's a canned
tomato puree instead of sugar, we
473
:use honey, which is really nice.
474
:A little vinegar, some wor here,
you boil that thickens and it's
475
:really nice and it's nice to have
it on sausages or on french fries.
476
:It's a nice change from
your standard ketchup.
477
:Okay,
478
:mark: let me talk to you.
479
:Bruce is getting all excited about
the recipe as the chef always is.
480
:So lemme talk to you about banana
catchup because that is actually in a
481
:recipe in the book and we've actually
made that in demos promoting the book.
482
:Yeah.
483
:So what is Banana cast?
484
:bruce: Well, it's a Filipino
condiment and in the Philippines.
485
:There's a ketchup that's made from
bananas, and you know, in the tropics
486
:you get bananas that are so much more
flavorable and sweeter than most of the
487
:bananas we can get here in North America.
488
:But still, and nonetheless, I tried
to create a banana ketchup that was
489
:close to the bottles of Filipino
banana ketchup that I have eaten.
490
:And again, it starts by sauteing onions.
491
:And here you get red chilies.
492
:So it's a spicy thing and you have ginger
and garlic and turmeric and all spicy.
493
:It's a sweet, spicy sauce.
494
:Island, you know, all those island kind of
spices and then very, very ripe bananas.
495
:'cause you want that super
intense banana flavor.
496
:That's, you know, bananas have to
be one step away from fermenting.
497
:Yeah.
498
:Then have perfect.
499
:Yeah.
500
:To be as, as I always
501
:mark: say, these bananas are liquid.
502
:Yeah.
503
:They have to be, become
just basically kind liquid.
504
:So.
505
:Okay.
506
:That's, uh, banana ketchup.
507
:Curry ketchup.
508
:Now we also have a recipe
for mushroom ketchup.
509
:So what's
510
:bruce: that?
511
:So this one is really, dates back, as
you said, centuries and I try to, uh.
512
:To recreate what that original
ketchup might've been like using.
513
:And so it's very thin.
514
:This is a much thinner, almost
like a steak sauce, ketchup.
515
:And I put the, the mushrooms just plain
old button mushrooms in a food processor.
516
:And really you want to chop
them really fine and you put
517
:them into a pan, you add salt.
518
:Not a pound of salt, but for a pound of
mushroom, it's just a tablespoon of salt.
519
:And you let that sit.
520
:You don't put it on a flame, you just put
the cover on the pan and set it aside.
521
:At room temperature, 24 hours, what's
gonna happen is all that moisture is
522
:going to leach out, and it's going
to become something unappealing at
523
:that moment, but it's gonna change
because you're gonna add to that.
524
:Malt vinegar and shallots and garlic and
brown sugar and thyme, and all spice and
525
:cloves, and a little Worcester shear.
526
:And you're going to cook that until it
is just fragrant and deep and complex.
527
:Thicken it with a little corn starch,
and you will have something that's
528
:not quite the old mushroom ketchup.
529
:Not quite a steak sauce, but something
that is better than both combined.
530
:mark: So we also have in the book
various fruit ketchups because there's
531
:no reason if this is, uh, to use the
19th century word, a table sauce.
532
:This table sauce.
533
:You can have plum ketchup, you can
have blueberry Chipotle, ketchup.
534
:We have all of those in the book.
535
:Yeah, right.
536
:We have all those in the book.
537
:And really, honestly, all
these things are ketchups.
538
:And in fact, as I already said to you,
steak sauce can be considered a ketchup.
539
:Mm-hmm.
540
:And we have a recipe for our mates.
541
:Steak sauce.
542
:What does it involve?
543
:bruce: Well, I tried to model this
one on the classic A one, which
544
:means we've gotta put in raisins,
we've gotta put in oranges, 'cause
545
:those are definitely in there.
546
:It is a sweet and sour balance of raisins
dates, uh, shallots, garlic chilies,
547
:molasses or black treacle if you could
find it, which is a UK condiment that is
548
:like molasses but thicker and more intense
549
:mark: with, better with bite trickle.
550
:Yeah,
551
:bruce: there is some tomato paste
and vinegar, and here's the key, the
552
:orange zest and tamarind concentrate.
553
:For that sour and fruity edge.
554
:mark: Right, right, right.
555
:And it gets that very fruity stuff
from the tamarind concentrate
556
:and that steak sauce like that.
557
:That really classic steak sauce is in
fact, in the tradition of what ketchup is.
558
:Yep.
559
:Although most of us think of ketchup as
the red stuff that comes out of a bottle.
560
:So that's our complete rundown of ketchup.
561
:Anything else you wanna say about it?
562
:bruce: Yes.
563
:I'm gonna say try some ketchup.
564
:Un scrambled eggs.
565
:Oh, do not put it on fried eggs.
566
:That's disgusting.
567
:You don't wanna mix ketchup into the yo.
568
:mark: Yeah.
569
:Oh, there is such a.
570
:Fine distinction between fried eggs
and scrambled eggs and ketchup.
571
:But yeah.
572
:Right.
573
:Ketchup
574
:bruce: omelet is amazing.
575
:Oh
576
:mark: my God.
577
:So when I met Bruce, he also liked
something that is so New York to me.
578
:It makes me barf.
579
:And that is a jelly omelet.
580
:Oh yeah.
581
:Uh, that's disgusting.
582
:Discu tell Jelly down
the middle of an omelet
583
:bruce: Concord grape jelly
in the middle of your omelet.
584
:Oh
585
:mark: my
586
:bruce: gosh.
587
:My dad used to make that for me.
588
:All right,
589
:mark: well I'm glad you have
a good memory about jelly.
590
:Disgusting omelets.
591
:That's lovely.
592
:Um, okay, that's all about that.
593
:Just to be shamelessly self-promotional,
our new book is called Cold Kenny and
594
:includes all of these recipes and.
595
:400 and, I don't know, twin 15 more
recipes for these kind of things.
596
:Condiments, preserves all in tiny,
small batches without the use of
597
:any pressure or steam canner around.
598
:So check out cold canning.
599
:Okay.
600
:As is traditional, the last
segment of this podcast, what's
601
:making us happy in food This week,
602
:bruce: I'm gonna tie mine back to
our one minute cooking tip, and I'm
603
:gonna give a shout out to a food
content creator, um, in social media.
604
:Where their stuff always makes me happy.
605
:And that is Chinese food demystified.
606
:They have a YouTube channel,
they have a newsletter.
607
:Um, they have a Substack.
608
:They, they're great and it's a
couple, um, she's Chinese and he's
609
:Western, but he speaks fluent.
610
:Many languages in Chinese and
others, and they live in Asia
611
:and their recipes are amazing.
612
:And my favorite one that you're probably
going to get in the next few days,
613
:mark, is their Siwan beer, braised duck.
614
:And he goes and step
by step how to make it.
615
:And I love their stuff.
616
:mark: I do too.
617
:And I'm gonna speak about another
Sichuan dish, which we had for
618
:dinner last night, which was.
619
:Bruce makes this, uh, fish
dish, which is a soup, right?
620
:Mm-hmm.
621
:A little bit of a thickened soup with
preserved soured, mustard tubers.
622
:Mm-hmm.
623
:And we use, he uses, I don't do anything.
624
:He uses ocean perch for it.
625
:What else goes in there?
626
:Uh,
627
:bruce: fermented, urging to chilies.
628
:mark: And, uh, lots of ginger
and, uh, Chuan peppercorn oil.
629
:Mm-hmm.
630
:Over the top of it is
really hot and numbing.
631
:It's a really tasty soup.
632
:In New England, we have switched to
fall, believe it or not, where we live.
633
:It's cold.
634
:It's gotten cold.
635
:It was in the forties this
morning, so soup is on the table.
636
:And last night we had an incredibly.
637
:Sour Delicious fish soup that Bruce
made, again, from one of the Chinese
638
:content creators that he follows.
639
:Chinese food demystified.
640
:There you go.
641
:He got it from there.
642
:Okay, that's the podcast for this week.
643
:Thanks for being part
of this journey with us.
644
:Uh, thanks for always making time for.
645
:In your schedule
646
:bruce: and while you're out there
scrolling and liking everything,
647
:scroll around TikTok and find our
feed cooking with Bruce and Mark.
648
:We're putting up tons of videos on
our TikTok channel, cooking with
649
:Bruce and Mark, and unlike a lot of
other things which you may not know
650
:are AI and they're not even real.
651
:Ours is real, and it'll always be real.
652
:No AI here on cooking with Bruce and Mark.