Ketchup

When you unscrew the cap of a ketchup bottle, the enticing smell of  tomatoes  and vinegar fills your nostrils. But be careful – the red sauce contains not only tomatoes, but also a lot of sugar, flavor enhancers and often flavorings, thickeners and preservatives. Therefore, the question of whether ketchup is unhealthy or healthy is justified.

Is ketchup healthy?

Ketchup consists of only about 70 percent tomatoes, which means ketchup not only contains a lot of tomatoes and thus the healthy coloring lycopene, but also a high proportion of sugar. For this reason, a good ketchup should have as little sugar as possible, since too much sugar damages teeth and makes them fat.

Depending on the type, a single bottle of ketchup can contain up to 45 sugar cubes. As a result, there are  about 110 calories in 100 grams of ketchup  – quite a lot for a sauce. The consumption of ketchup is not the only problem, however: the greater concerns are about the foods that are eaten with ketchup and which taste even better thanks to the flavor enhancers  : French fries, currywurst, hamburgers and hot dogs.

Tomato as part of ketchup

Aside from sugar and flavorings, ketchup also contains healthy vegetables: according to regulations, it must contain at least 25 percent tomato paste. However, this only applies to tomato ketchup. With other variants such as curry or spice ketchup, the manufacturers have a free hand.

Fruity tomatoes are not only versatile – they also taste delicious. Tomatoes have a high water content, which means few calories and many vitamins and  minerals . Eating tomato products every day is good for your health.

The red dye lycopene is primarily responsible, which, like the well-known  beta-carotene,  belongs to the group of carotenoids; it also gives the tomatoes their intense red colour. Lycopene develops pronounced  antioxidant  and cell-protecting properties in the human organism. Lycopene strengthens the  immune system , serves to increase the body’s own defenses and also prevents, for example, cardiovascular diseases or  cancer  .

Tomato paste and canned tomatoes made from ripe tomatoes often contain significantly more lycopene than fresh tomatoes. The reason: the lycopene is broken down by cooking and can thus be better absorbed by the body.

Origin and history of ketchup

According to the dictionary, ketchup – which has recently been called ketchup – is a spicy tomato sauce for seasoning, with Malaysian-English origins. In China, as early as 1690, a dark, sweetened soy sauce called “ketsiap” was served with fish and poultry. The sauce made its way to Europe and America in the luggage of traders in the 18th and 19th centuries. However, the ketchup we use today bears no resemblance to it .

It wasn’t until the tomato became native to North America that the ketchup we all know today was created: tomatoes refined with spices. From the USA to England, ketchup spread throughout Europe and has also been available in Germany since the 1950s. The composition of the red sauce, which all children and many adults love – after all, Germans consume more than three bottles of the spicy sauce a year – is subject to strict guidelines. Today there are countless varieties of ketchup, from hot to spicy to sweet, everything is available.

Remove ketchup stains

Ketchup only becomes unpopular when it adorns clothing or tablecloths as an ugly red stain. Ketchup stains are best removed when they are fresh. Then simply wash under running water with a little gall soap, if necessary rub in with vinegar.

Dried ketchup stains are a lot more stubborn and can usually only be treated with glycerine or a special stain remover.

Make your own ketchup recipe

Opinions are divided when it comes to ketchup: ketchup is part of the fast-food cuisine, which many people reject for health reasons. So some banish it completely from their kitchen, while for others it is a “must have”. The truth, as always, lies somewhere in the middle. A small delicacy can be produced from the ripe, aromatic tomatoes with refined spices. The basic recipe for today’s ketchup is originally based on tomatoes, sugar, vinegar,  salt , allspice, and  cloves . Onions ,  garlic , celery and other spices were also commonly  used. Here is a ketchup recipe:

• Wash a kilogram of ripe tomatoes and cut into pieces.
• Put in a saucepan with 80 ml of white wine vinegar, one peeled onion, 2-3 cloves of garlic, 40 g of sugar, 2 cloves, nutmeg, pepper and salt and “simmer” for an hour.
• Then pass the mixture through a sieve. Pour back into the pot and bring to the boil again.
• Immediately pour into boiled jars with screw caps or glass bottles and seal tightly. Homemade ketchup doesn’t keep as long as industrially made ketchup, so it should be kept cool and used quickly.