Using The Condiment Ketchup In Your Cooking

Ketchup is a versatile condiment that has a world of culinary possibilities beyond the standard burger and fries or hot dog topping.

This tomato-based sauce, typically made with tomato paste, vinegar, sugar, and spices, can add depth and flavor to a wide range of dishes.

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It can be used as a base for barbecue sauces, marinades, and glazes, lending a tangy sweetness that complements savory flavors.

Using ketchup in marinades contributes some seasoning with the added function of its sugar helping to encourage efficient browning.

Its acidity can help balance rich dishes, while its tomato base adds a subtle umami quality. Read more about that here: Cooking With The Flavor Umami.

It doesn’t take but a small amount of ketchup to add a pop of umami to balance out a recipe and to get the savory flavor it offers.

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Ketchup can color, body, and depth plus salt, sugar, and acid.

Many home cooks may not realize that if the recipe asks for tomato paste and you have none in your pantry, you can use ketchup.

The condiments base ingredient is tomato paste, which is used as a thickener in a recipe, particularly in tomato sauces for pasta and some Asian sauces.

When adding the condiment to a recipe, you don’t taste the ketchup itself, but rather its ability to take a recipe to a new level of deliciousness.

American’s Test Kitchen in their cookbook, “The New Cooking School Cookbook,” suggests on page 18 under the page title, “Stocking Your Pantry And Refrigerator,” stocking with ketchup made with sugar rather than high-fructose corn syrup, it has a cleaner, purer sweetness, with fewer off-flavors.

Facts About Ketchup

Ketchup can be found in 97% of American homes.

Heinz was thus the first brand to popularize ketchup. They have sold more than 11 billion packets of ketchup and more than 650 million bottles around the globe.