Heather Thomas - The Ketchup Lovers Cookbook: Over 60 Spectacularly Saucy Recipes

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First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2021

FIRST EDITION

HarperCollinsPublishers 2021

Cover design HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2021

Cover photographs by Sam Folan HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2021

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

Heather Thomas asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

Photographer: Sam Folan

Food Stylist: Katie Marshall

Prop Stylist: Max Robinson

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Source ISBN: 9780008492359

Ebook Edition Aug 2021 ISBN: 9780008492366

Version 2021-07-29

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WHO DOESNT LOVE KETCHUP? ITS EVERYONES FAVOURITE CONDIMENT AND WE ALL HAVE AT LEAST ONE BOTTLE IN OUR KITCHEN CUPBOARDS. INDEED, ITS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO ENVISAGE EATING A BURGER, HOT DOG OR FRENCH FRIES WITHOUT IT. KETCHUP PLAYS AN INTRINSIC ROLE IN OUR GLOBAL FOOD CULTURE, TRANSCENDING DIFFERENCES IN TRADITIONAL AND NATIONAL CUISINES. IT HAS TRAVELLED WAY BEYOND THE BORDERS OF THE UNITED STATES, WHERE IT WAS FIRST MADE WITH TOMATOES, AND IS NOW CONSUMED ALL OVER THE WORLD.

The name ketchup has its origins in China, where a spicy, dark pickled fish sauce was known as ke-tsiap. From there it travelled to Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia where it was known as ketjap or kechap. British sailors brought it back to Europe in the seventeenth century and it soon became a popular spicy condiment, usually flavoured with mushrooms, walnuts or salty anchovies. Later, the early settlers took it across the Atlantic to America where the prototype of our familiar tomato ketchup was born. The first mention of a spicy tomato ketchup (or catsup) was found in a recipe dating from 1801, and soon it was being bottled commercially and sold as ketchup. The classic ketchup is made with ripe tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, salt and spices but this was not always the case. Until the 1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act, which banned the preservative sodium benzoate, in the United States, unripe green tomatoes were used in ketchup production and the consistency was much thinner.

Changing the traditional recipe to use ripe, red tomatoes for their colour, flavour and natural pectin (setting) content, as well as using vinegar and salt as preservatives instead of sodium benzoate, is how our beloved modern ketchup was born. The rest, as they say, is history.

You can now buy ketchup everywhere and in a wide range of packaging its available in traditional glass bottles, squeezy plastic bottles, tubes and sachets. And it comes in a variety of flavours low-sodium, reduced-sugar, honey-sweetened, hot ketchup, jalapeo and sriracha ketchup, and even ketchup with added vegetables. Organic alternatives are also common.

What makes ketchup so special is its unique flavour: sweet, slightly salty, tangy, spicy, sharp, mellow and piquant. Its magic lies in the fact that it can spice up even the blandest foods, making them more palatable, as well as enhancing crispy fried foods. This may be because it is one of the few foods that combines all five taste elements: salty, sweet, sour, bitter and umami. Many condiments and sauces only deliver at most two or three. The deep savoury umami quality of ketchup is probably what makes it so irresistible and universally liked.

And as well as having an awesome flavour, ketchup is nutritious, too. Its low in fat, and recent studies have shown that it can help to reduce bad cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein). Its also a good source of vitamins A and C, which help to boost our immune system.

Almost anything savoury. You can serve ketchup for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner and snacks. As well as French fries, burgers, hot dogs, chicken nuggets and eggs, its great with hash browns, French toast, toasted sandwiches, pies and grilled (broiled), barbecued and fried meat, poultry, fish and vegetables.

And you can use it as a flavouring ingredient as well as a condiment even top chefs and Michelin-starred restaurants add ketchup to some of their dishes. In this book we have recipes for dips, marinades, sauces and salad dressings made with ketchup, including the classic seafood cocktail and barbecue sauces and glazes as well as Thousand Island dressing and a ketchup vinaigrette. Ketchup can add a tangy piquancy to Mexican nachos, burritos, quesadillas, pico de gallo (spicy salsa) and guacamole.

In the following pages, you will find Italian pasta sauces and pizza toppings enhanced with ketchup and salads with ketchup-spiked dressings, as well as soups, casseroles, Thai and Chinese suppers (pad Thai and even crispy duck with pancakes), Mediterranean baked fish and the great American favourites meatloaf, baby back ribs, buffalo wings and Reuben sandwiches. There really is something for everyone.

Vegetarians and vegans can enjoy cooking with ketchup, too, whether its a TLT sandwich (tofu, lettuce and tomato), jackfruit carnitas or refried bean tacos. And we have delicious comfort food, including ketchup mac n cheese, a vegetarian shepherds pie and clam chowder, to warm you up and lift your spirits. And if you want to be really adventurous and take your devotion to ketchup one step further, you can make it yourself with our easy recipe.

HOW ABOUT GOING THE WHOLE HOG AND MAKING YOUR OWN KETCHUP? ITS SO DELICIOUS AND WILL ENHANCE THE FLAVOUR OF SO MANY OF YOUR FAVOURITE DISHES. ITS EASY TO PREPARE AND MAKE BUT YOU MUST CHECK ON IT REGULARLY WHILE ITS COOKING TO MAKE SURE IT DOES NOT BURN - ITS WELL WORTH THE EFFORT.