How

Ketchup

Went From Medicine To Must-Have Condiment

Quick Summary

From the iconic ‘ketchup on fries’ in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, to mimicking blood in multiple movies, ketchup has come quite far. Today, ketchup has infiltrated pop culture and fast food like few other condiments have, getting squeezed onto millions of burgers and fries daily.. But before the red squeeze bottle became a global icon, ketchup was once… a medicine. 

Deep Dive

Ketchup’s evolution is as rich as its flavour – a sauce that started out as a fermented fish brine in Southeast Asia, later masqueraded as a medicinal pill in 19th-century America, and ultimately ended up as the sugary, tomato-based condiment we know today. This was achieved through years of trade and colonisation, war shortages, and globalised fast food. In this journey, ketchup has quietly mirrored the story of modern food itself – adaptation, industrialisation, and global appeal.

Tomato’s Early Medicinal Form In America

In the early 19th century, the concept of tomato ketchup as more than just a food item emerged largely due to Dr John Cook Bennett, an Ohio physician. Around 1834, he claimed that tomatoes could treat digestive ailments like diarrhoea, indigestion, and jaundice, and marketed a ‘tomato pill’ made from dried tomato extract. For a period, these tomato-based medicines were sold as cure‑alls. But by about 1850, the medical claims were discredited, and the tomato pill fad collapsed.

The British Caught Wind Of It And Adapted

While the delusional Bennett was selling tomato pills, elsewhere, the ancestor of ketchup was lurking away from the puny hands of the explorers. It was the British who first encountered the precursor of ketchup via trade routes with China, in a sauce called ‘ko-cheup’ or ‘ke-chiap’, originally a fermented fish brine. 

By the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the idea had been adapted in Britain, but using local ingredients: mushroom, walnut, oyster, or anchovy sauces were made to replicate the savoury umami quality of the East Asian originals. 

Ketchup From British Shores To Every Home

The man behind the world’s first modern ketchup was Henry J. Heinz, who introduced it to the British shores in 1886. He tapped into the existing familiarity with ketchup-style condiments but offered something new: consistency, sweetness, and shelf-stability. It was stocked by Fortnum & Mason in London and gained mass popularity later. 

Industrialisation And Shortages

By the 1920s, Heinz stepped up and its ketchup was being produced in large quantities in the UK – at one point over 10,000 tonnes in a year. However, during World War II, ingredient shortages meant production halted, and Heinz Tomato Ketchup vanished from British shops, only returning after the war. Absence does make the heart fonder in this case, and further built an appetite for the product, reinforcing it as a desirable pantry item once it returned.

Expansion And Everyday Use

Fast forward to 1959, Heinz opened its now-iconic Kitt Green factory in Wigan, a major food production site that would go on to make millions of bottles of ketchup for British and European consumers. Then, in 1967, ketchup became even more accessible with the launch of single-serve packets in the UK, making it a convenient option for takeaways, cafes, and school meals, embedding it further into everyday food culture.

Heinz Goes Big On The Marketing

This is where the global domination begins, and in 1999, Heinz ran a £30 million UK marketing campaign with the explicit goal of turning its ketchup into the ‘world’s number one sauce’ and reinforcing its status as a staple of British mealtimes. Fast-forward to 2021, Heinz announced a £140 million investment to resume local ketchup production at Kitt Green – a move that not only reduced reliance on imports but also reflected the continued centrality of ketchup in British diets.

Global Expansion And American Dominance

While ketchup gained traction in Britain, it was in the United States that it became a full-fledged mass-market product. Tomato‑based ketchup’s first recipe was published by James Mease in the U.S. in 1812, but British households and cookbooks still used non‑tomato ketchup variants well into that period. As for Heinz, it revamped its formula in the 1870s, using ripe tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, and spices – creating a shelf-stable product free from the preservatives (like sodium benzoate) used by competitors. 

By the early 20th century, Heinz ketchup became the gold standard, dominating the American market and setting a global template. The bottle’s design, branding, and taste consistency helped establish consumer trust. As American fast food culture grew, ketchup became a default condiment, served with burgers, fries, and hot dogs, and was exported alongside chains like McDonald's and Burger King.

Cultural Becomes A Cultural Icon

By the mid-to-late 20th century, ketchup had cemented itself as a cultural symbol of convenience, modernity, and American taste. It transcended borders, appearing in kitchens from the Philippines to Germany. There were local adaptations in some regions, too, like the banana ketchup in the Philippines or curry ketchup in Germany. Meanwhile, debates over ketchup’s place in cuisine (especially with foods like steak or pasta) only reinforced its ubiquity. 

Ketchup Isn’t Just a Sauce

Despite occasional backlash from chefs and purists, ketchup's appeal as a universally palatable sauce has endured. Today, there are as many brands as there are types. And no meal, whether in a fancy restaurant or roadside stall, is complete without this thick, red sauce. Despite its “fishy origins” and brief stint as a medicinal pill, ketchup is today the most loved star of the sauce parade.