Ketchup
Ketchup or catsup (/ˈkɛtʃəp, ˈkætsup, ˈkɑːtʃəp/) is a table condiment with a sweet and sour flavor. The unmodified term ("ketchup") now typically refers to tomato ketchup,[1] although early recipes for various different varieties of ketchup contained mushrooms, oysters, mussels, egg whites, grapes or walnuts, among other ingredients.[2][3]
For other uses, see Ketchup (disambiguation).Type
United Kingdom (Mushroom variant) United States (Tomato variant)
Tomatoes (or other main ingredients), sugar (or high fructose corn syrup), vinegar, salt, spices, and seasonings
100 per serving (serving size 1 tbsp) kcal
Tomato ketchup is made from tomatoes, sugar, and vinegar, with seasonings and spices. The spices and flavors vary, but commonly include onions, allspice, coriander, cloves, cumin, garlic, and mustard, and sometimes include celery, cinnamon, or ginger. The market leader in the United States (60% market share) and the United Kingdom (82%) is Heinz Tomato Ketchup.[4][5] Tomato ketchup is often used as a condiment to dishes that are usually served hot and are fried or greasy: french fries and other potato dishes, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken tenders, hot sandwiches, meat pies, cooked eggs, and grilled or fried meat. Ketchup is sometimes used as the basis for, or as one ingredient in, other sauces and dressings, and the flavor may be replicated as an additive flavoring for snacks, such as potato chips.[6]
Terminology
The term used for the sauce varies. Ketchup is the dominant term in American English and Canadian English, although catsup is commonly used in some southern US states and Mexico.[26]
In Canada and the US, tomato sauce is not a synonym for ketchup but is a sauce made from tomatoes and commonly used in making sauce for pasta.[27]
Separation
Ketchup is one of the many products that are leachable, meaning that the water within the product migrates together as the larger molecules within the product sediment, ultimately causing water to separate out. This forms a layer of water on top of the ketchup due to the molecular instability within the product.[45] This instability is caused by interactions between hydrophobic molecules and charged molecules within the ketchup suspension.
Pectin is a polysaccharide within tomatoes that has the ability to bind to itself and to other molecules, especially water, around it. This enables it to create a gel-like matrix, dependent on the amount within the solution. Water is a large part of ketchup, due to it being 80% of the composition of distilled vinegar. In order for the water within the ketchup to be at the lowest possible energy state, all of the hydrogen bonds that are able to be made within the matrix must be made.[46] The water bound to the polysaccharide moves more slowly within the matrix, which is unfavorable with respect to entropy.[45] The increased order within the polysaccharide-water complex gives rise to a high-energy state, in which the water will want to be relieved. This concept implies that water will more favorably bind with itself because of the increased disorder between water molecules. This is partially the cause for water leaching out of solution when left undisturbed for a short period of time.
