Although ketchup is defined by Merriam-Webster as a “seasoned pureed condiment usually made from tomatoes,” in the past it has been concocted from a wide variety of ingredients.
China was likely the original source of the condiment with something that sounded like “ke-chiap.” It likely originated as a fish-based sauce many centuries ago, a condiment akin to the many fermented sauces one finds throughout southeast Asia. It was primarily used as a seasoning for cooking.
From there it made its way to the Malay Peninsula and to Singapore, where British colonists first encountered what locals called “kecap” in the 18th century. Like soy sauce, it was deemed exotic and perked up what was a comparatively bland British cuisine, such as roasts and fried foods.
English cookbooks of the era reveal how it was soon transformed into a condiment made with other bases such as mushrooms or pickled walnuts, rather than only fish. E. Smith’s “Compleat Housewife” includes an anchovy-based “katchup” with wine and spices, more akin to Worcestershire sauce than what we think of as ketchup.
A more significant transformation took place in the early 19th century in the U.S. when it was made with tomatoes, sweetened, soured with vinegar and spiced with cloves, allspice, nutmeg and ginger – pretty much the modern-day recipe.
The first published recipe for tomato ketchup was written in 1812 by Philadelphia scientist and horticulturalist James Mease in his “Archives of Useful Knowledge, vol. 2.”
