Where do you keep ketchup?

4 points for an unnecessary abbrev.

You have a point Malcolm, but I am simply quoting what the manufacturers use on their labels. Marks and Spencer, private limited company sell Egg Mayo and Prawn Mayo sandwiches but I seem to recall that they have some varieties that feature Mayonnaise.

Does the label on your ketchup say- tomato concentrate-distilled vinegar- high fructose corn syrup . corn syrup , salt,spice.onion powder as US versions ? quote- most bottled ketchup consists of overcooked tomatoes and a large bolus of sugar , usually in the form of genetically engineered corn syrup .”Natural flavorings ” (US spelling ) which are really flavor boosting chemicals one being MSG . Or are the UK versions fully kosher ? PS- they sell ketchup in cans in the US. I found one US website with the heading -avoid Heinz tomato ketchup like the plague I am sorry the new browser I used to get this doesn’t allow downloads or storage of URL,s etc

Don’t panic, Duncan. Courtesy of Ocado, Heinz Tomato Ketchup contains: “Tomatoes (148g per 100g Tomato Ketchup), Spirit Vinegar, Sugar, Salt, Spice and Herb Extracts (contain Celery), Spice”, and says that it is Kosher. I could not find this on the Heinz site.

Are we meaning “kosher” in the sense of compliant with Jewish law, or in the slang sense of “all right” [or “cushtie” as Del Boy had it]? I would imagine that tomato ketchup would pass both tests.

John the American version wouldn’t pass strict Jewish law everything has to be natural , no man made (synthetic ) food nor clothing for that matter (mixed fabrics ) on the other hand “cushtie ” would pass the British version but if you check the “Green ” websites you will find they agree with natural ingredients. I wouldn’t eat tomato leaves/root /stem -poisonous from the nightshade family although tomatoes are supposedly good for the heart.

When you were asking whether the UK tomato ketchup was “fully kosher” I was just wondering in which sense you meant that, because the word ‘kosher’ is frequently used in a slang sense, and indeed I seem to recall you have used the word in that sense in respect of hi-fi equipment.

I am not sure why we are considering the US versions of tomato ketchup. The bottle of Heinz ketchup in our cupboard [address: Hayes, Middlesex] , says it contains no artificial colours, no artificial flavours, no artificial preservatives, and no thickeners. If, as Wavechange reports, Ocado describes Heinz tomato ketchup as Kosher I take that to mean it complies with the Jewish doctrines. As you say, this is important also to many people outside the Jewish faith. I think it is helpful of Ocado to declare it.

There are several other makes of tomato ketchup available including supermarket own-label versions. There are also several different varieties of Heinz tomato ketchup with numerous flavours and additives to appeal to particular tastes. The extent to which they contain artificial ingredients might be interesting.

How many people have died from not refrigerating their ketchup? To treat this problem seriously we need some factual analysis that can be passed to Hayes Trading Standards Dept. What about those who cannot read? Those without fridges? Those who prefer warm ketchup? We need to think about others, not just ourselves.

What about those, like Duncan presumably, who pronounce it ‘tom8o’?

My parents always called it ‘tomato sauce’ – when did we start calling it ‘ketchup’? – Is this another annoying invasion from the USA?

Malcolm – From the information provided about Heinz Tomato Ketchup, it appears that refrigerated storage is useful to maintain quality of the product once the bottle has been opened. I’m not aware that there is a safety issue.

The composition of some products has been changed, making them more likely to spoil without refrigeration. For example the sugar content of many jams and marmalades has been decreased, making them more susceptible to mould growth if stored for without refrigeration. Since brands differ it is obviously wise to follow the guidance on the labels.

Even more disgusting is “Catsup”. The English language is perverse but entertaining. They are tomartos, and they are pot8os – I like your concise illustration John. We should resist transatlantic language and uphold true English with all its colour, and our sauces with all their flavour (both words that this Convo wants to Americanise (oops – Americanize)) – just as the Welsh have preserved their language. Unnecessary but life is about more than that.

I’m thinking we shall have to get a little fridge to go inside the food cupboard.

I presume the appeal of ketchup results from the popular sweet/sour combination combined with the bright red colour (due to lycopene in red tomatoes), which makes food more appealing. Brown cooked meat may not be appealing to children without a dose of ketchup.

We buy M&S Tomato Ketchup at half the price and as nice, or nicer, in our view. I wonder how people survive the ketchup stored in plastic tomatoes in cafes? Do you think that having been out in the steamy atmosphere of the greasy Spoon all day they are put in a fridge? All that might do is to arrest the development of whatever until they spend another18 hours out in the warmth the following day. I wonder whether the local councils food inspectors have this on their check list?

It is probably better to supply sachets of tomato and brown sauces because they only get opened and used up.

They are nasty little things that, when you manage to tear them open, seem determined to squirt material in the most inappropriate places. I also dislike tiny packs of frozen butter that never spread on your toast, and are too small to cover it, and little tubs of Jam that lack proper pieces of strawberry. They all waste plastic and add to landfill. I can happily work with a dish or jar of jam, and a decent pot of butter or even those squirls on a dish. I won’t die. 🙂

Hmmm….without wishing to become ostracized or exorcize any linguistic demons might I remind folks that the -ize suffice is originally English and listed in the full OED as the correct spelling.

I don’t like sachets but have no problem with their sauce contents as found in pubs and eating places. Better than dirty bottles or open dishes. I haven’t encountered a squirt problem – I think it’s a question of how you go about opening them; I have seen people try to do it with their teeth.

The problem with the butter packs is that they are chilled and have not been taken out of the fridge early enough for service – a catering malfunction rather than a product deficiency.

Some ‘jam’ sachets seem to contain just jelly. In the UK we prefer places where there is a selection of Tiptree jams and marmalade in little glass jars on the table which the waiters will gladly replenish. What you get overseas is anybody’s guess.

Oxford Dictionaries:
“The situation is slightly complicated by the fact that certain verbs must always be spelled with ‘-ise’ at the end in British English, rather than ‘-ize’: this is generally because they have come into the English language in a different way. You can also check out a list of these verbs. The difficulty in remembering which words belong to this group is perhaps one of the reasons that –ise spellings were adopted more widely in British English.

The dictionary on the UK/World side of our website gives alternative ‘-ise’ spellings at the main entries for all ‘-ize’ words where it’s appropriate. In British English, it doesn’t matter which spelling convention is chosen: neither is right or wrong, and neither is ‘more right’ than the other. The important thing is that, whichever form you choose, you should use it consistently within a piece of writing.

ostracize (also ostracise) exorcise (also exorcize)”

The Americans still keep many of the older English forms and still use the subjunctive mood in both speech and documents.