a general name for a range of salty, spicy, rather liquid condiments. These belong to the cuisines of the western world, but all are descended from oriental ancestors. The word ‘ketchup’ comes from the Chinese (Amoy dialect) kêtsiap, meaning a fermented fish sauce, probably via the Malay word kechap, now spelled kecap, which means soy sauce. The word was brought back to Europe by Dutch traders who also brought the oriental sauce itself. The sauce has changed far more than has the word, although the name has appeared in a large number of variations such as catchup and catsup.
Tomato ketchup is the best known and almost the only ketchup left nowadays although formerly there were many different kinds, the only common features being their salty taste, their concentrated texture, and the fact that they kept well. Although tomato ketchup contains and indeed tastes principally of sugar and vinegar, mushroom ketchup contains neither, and is nothing other than a salted mushroom extract, differing also from tomato ketchup in its liquid transparent consistency. C. Anne Wilson (1973) believes that mushroom ketchup was the first kind in Britain; people used to pickle mushrooms, intending to use the mushrooms, but then started using the pickle too, and finally took to using the pickle by itself.
Oysters, mussels, walnuts, and many other ingredients have been used to make ketchup, and could be blended with spices, garlic or onions, wines, and spirits to vary the flavour. Stobart (1980) cites from the 19th century a host of ketchups including oyster, mussel, Windermere (mushrooms and horseradish), wolfram (beer, anchovies, mushrooms), and pontac (elderberries).
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
Smith, Andrew F. (1991), ‘The Rise and Fall of Home-Made Anglo-American Tomato Ketchup’, PPC 39.
Stobart, Tom (1980), The Cook's Encyclopaedia, London: B. T. Batsford. Also repr 1999, London: Grub Street.
Wilson, C. Anne (1973), Food and Drink in Britain from the Stone Age to Recent Times, London: Cookery Book Club.
