Ketchup’s Curious History

A Saga with Some Unlikely Ancestors

It may not be the best-selling condiment in America. (Mayonnaise is.) But ketchup is full of history and, incidentally, as a great example of a non-Newtonian fluid, even physics. (Photo: Wikimedia)

Now that fall is officially here, it won’t be long before the first frost comes along to bring a swift end to peak tomato season.

As long as these little wonders last, though, I’ll keep loading up on them at the market and looking for things to do with them once I get them home, reaching for one after another to chop up and add to salads and load onto sandwiches or stir into sauces or stews.

Still, on those days when I walk past the pile on my kitchen counter and begin to worry that I’m not making much of a dent in it, I start to feel like it’s time to put those perfect tomatoes to good use in some sort of project.

That’s why this week, I have one: Why not show your kids how simple it is to make their own ketchup? Not only is it better than anything you can buy in a bottle; it also offers a fascinating story that spans several centuries.

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