Crossword Dictionary

KETCHUP 

Ketchup or catsup is a type of table condiment with a sweet and tangy flavor. The unmodified term ("ketchup") now typically refers to tomato ketchup or tomato sauce, although original recipes used egg whites, mushrooms, oysters, grapes, mussels, or walnuts, among other ingredients.

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. Tomato ketchup is most 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.

Modern ketchup emerged in the early years of the 20th century, out of a debate over the use of sodium benzoate as a preservative in condiments. Harvey W. Wiley, the "father" of the Food and Drug Administration in the US, challenged the safety of benzoate which was banned in the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act. In response, entrepreneurs including Henry J. Heinz, pursued an alternative recipe that eliminated the need for that preservative.