ASmith1946 wrote:
>
> > (Which is ketchup? I assume it's indian in origin
> >and I think of it as being heinz par excellence but I think of England
> >as an East west conduit)
>
> The word "ketchup" originated in China, but it is not likely from Mandarin--
> but some southern dialect. Initially, it mean fermented or pickled fish. As the
> word migrated through Southeast Asia, it shifted meanings. By the time it
> reached Indonesia, it meant (and continues to mean) fermented soy and other
> fermented products.
>
> The British ran into it in their colony in what is today Indonesia, and brought
> the concept back to England. Early ketchups were made from mushrooms,
> anchovies, walnuts, etc.


They still are available in the UK. I've bought bottled versions of all
three and cooked with them. Many people still make them at home too.


Eventually ketchup was made from every common
> vegetable and fruit. Tomato came into existence about 1800 in the UK and US.
> Tomato ketchup became dominant in the US after the Civil War, as a byproduct of
> the tomato canning industry. The low price of tomato ketchup eventually drove
> the other ketchups out of business in the US (by the 1930s) and in the UK by
> the 1960s.

Ummm the 'other' ketchups are still made commercially, although perhaps
considered specialty items now.

>
> And before anyone asks, yes, I did write a book on this too -- Pure Ketchup: A
> Social History of America's National Condiment (Columbia: The University of
> South Carolina Press, 1996) and the paperback edition was released by the
> Smithsonian Institution Press in April 2001.
>
> See what a misspent research/writing life I've led?
>
> Andy Smith

LOL!