Ketchup or Catsup?

Johnny-on-the-Spot … by John Foster …

One of my favorite Simpson episodes of all time is the one where C. Montgomery Burns has to go grocery shopping for himself.

Normally the task would have been handled by his loyal assistant Waylon Smithers.

Charles Montgomery Burns is in one of the grocery store aisles, with a bottle of “catsup” in one hand and a bottle of “ketchup” in the other.

He looks right and left, mumbling “catsup” or “ketchup”, unsure of which one he should purchase.

The choice befuddled Monty Burns, the owner/operator of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant.

So, which is it?

“Catsup” or “ketchup”?

It mightily concerned Monty.

But that might have been because he was somewhere between 81 and 120 years old.

“Catsup” or “ketchup”?

They are essentially the same thing.

Much like the word for a carbonated beverage.;

Depending on where you live, it could be a “soda”, “pop” or “Coke”.

In the 17th century, “ke-chiap” (ke-tsiap) was a pickled fish sauce popular in China.

Some say Indonesia had “ke-cap” or “ket-jap” which included brined shellfish, herbs and spices.

In 1711 we find the first mention of ketchup in Europe.

Then, in 1730, a Jonathan Swift poem included catsup.

In the 1800’s, the tomato-based version of the condiment grew in popularity in America.

In 1876, the H.J. Heinz company started making “catsup” but later changed the name of it’s product to “ketchup” as part of a marketing ploy.

The Del Monte brand was one of the last firms to switch it’s labeling to ketchup in 1988.

Whether you call it “ketchup” or “catsup”, today it includes the same, basic ingredients;

tomatoes, vinegar, salt, allspice, cloves and cinnamon.

During the Reagan administration in the 1980’s, “ketchup” (not catsup) was deemed a vegetable when school lunch guidelines were established.

You’ll still hear “catsup” in parts of the southern U.S. today.

Collinsville, Illinois is home to the world’s largest bottle of ketchup, although it’s actually a water tower painted to look like one.

Remember when ketchup used to come in those bottles with a long, narrow neck?

You needed a table knife to get the flow started, followed by a few quick slaps on the bottom of the bottle to get it to exit.

Usually that resulted in a big “Splotch” of ketchup on everything except the intended target.

I thought the plastic containers with the lid on the bottom was one of civilizations’ greatest inventions.

Made ketchup distribution so much easier.

Then fast food restaurants came up with those ketchup pumps that you could shoot the condiment into those little plastic cups.

Many times, the pumps were empty or the pump line got air in it, creating a pneumatic ketchup “Splotch” that usually missed the cup and sprayed on the counter.

Now we get those little packets of ketchup that are supposed to tear off at the corner and allow you to distribute ketchup evenly on your food.

Sometimes.

I usually find a triangular corner from one of those packets in my food.

Here’s my ketchup joke.

Three tomatoes, Papa tomato, Mama tomato and Baby tomato are walking down the street.

Baby tomato starts to lag behind.

This makes Papa tomato angry.

He goes over to Baby tomato and smooshes him, yelling “Catch up!’

It’s interesting to note that this entire feature is centered on America’s 3rd most popular condiment.

Mayonnaise leads the way, followed by ranch dressing, “ketchup” or “catsup” then hot sauce and mustard.

Hopefully I’ve answered all your concerns regarding “ketchup” or “catsup”.

Maybe we can next move on to shoes.

As a kid, we used to call them “tennis shoes”.

Others called them “sneakers”.

We also had a version known as “boat shoes”.

Pretty much the same thing, right?

Now we know them from brand names.

Just different names for the same footwear.