Tomato ketchup
Kétchup de tomate
- Date
- 1812 · confidence medium
- Place
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
- Credited to
- James Mease (first published recipe); H. J. Heinz (industrial version)
- Field
- Life & health
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
The first published recipe for a tomato sauce called ketchup dates from 1812, derived from the fermented fish sauces of Fujian (kê-tsiap). Heinz industrialised it in 1876 with more sugar and vinegar so that it would not spoil.
The word comes from Hokkien kê-tsiap, a fermented fish sauce; English versions of the 17th-18th centuries used mushrooms, walnuts or anchovies. The 1812 date corresponds to the first printed tomato recipe.
What it led to
- industrial table sauce for mass sale
- branded packaged condiments (Heinz)
- the fusion of ketchup with American tomato