
Did George Washington Use Ketchup? (2012) - smacktoward
https://savoringthepast.net/2012/08/01/did-george-washington-use-ketchup/
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h2odragon
The "fermentation" aspect of these sauces is kinda scary now. This isn't just
making beer or bread level; this is (can be) next level fermentation where
evil ktulu looking things come out of the jar and eat the rest of the shelf
sometimes. "Goodie Weston's breads are fine but watch out for the fish sauce,
it'll make you talk to God."

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zdragnar
? Lactofermentation has been around for eons- everything from sauerkraut to
kimchi, to yoghurt to soy to any number of other things.

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h2odragon
True and I'm thinking of the fancier and harder things like the Worcestershire
sauce or such that would've been around but still the realm of specialists.
you can make likker with rats and water, but you can also make incredibly
nasty things you'll wish you hadn't :)

See also curing meats and some of the uglier cheeses. We've tamed many
microbes in service of foods.

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pretzel_boss
Jame's Townsend's YouTube channel fantastic if you are interested in colonial
history or just the time period in general.

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kleiba
Dan Jurafsky's take on the topic:
[http://languageoffood.blogspot.com/2009/09/ketchup.html](http://languageoffood.blogspot.com/2009/09/ketchup.html)

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tyingq
Offtopic, but it's interesting to me that "Ketchup" is a very different thing
depending on where you live. There are wide variations of how sweet it is, or
how much vinegar, etc.

I'm aware that's also true for things like mustard, but the taste differences
with ketchup were more abrubt to me.

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chrisseaton
My wife has this thin black vinegar thing made from mushrooms that she calls
'ketchup' so yeah. Where I live people say 'tomato ketchup' or 'tomato sauce'
when they mean the thick stuff made from tomatoes.

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oltrusty
The word originates from eastern China (Xiamen or previously know as Amoy),
the Minnan-hua language uses kôe-chiap or kê-chiap. Originally a sauce of
pickled fish with spices.

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huhtenberg
It's one several theories, apparently -
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketchup#Etymology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketchup#Etymology)

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oltrusty
Yes, interesting. I think there was an active spice trading route from Japan
through Xiamen hundreds of years ago. Perhaps a true international product.

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ninjapenguin54
Catsup

