Ke-tciap - the so-called marinade for shellfish and fish. Then the recipe became more complicated - the sauce was prepared from anchovies, walnuts, mushrooms and beans seasoned with spices. In the culinary publications, today you can find recipes for "nontomatic" ketchups (olive or mushroom). And yet modern ketchup is always tomato.
We all remember how they loved Bulgarian ketchup. But very few people know that we had our own, and not worse. It appeared in the distant 1930s, when the canning industry was only being created, and even there was no regulatory and technical base. Therefore, at first, American standards were used for ketchup and other preserves. Starting from 1939, tomato products were produced already in accordance with domestic regulations.
Then tomato sauce and tomato paste (or "kat-soch", "katchop") were defined as "pure healthy foods made from well-squeezed tomatoes, with spices, salt, sugar, vinegar, onions or garlic, or without them and containing no less than 12% of tomato solids. " In practice, this reflects the original recipe developed by Henry Heinz, because it was vinegar, spices and seasonings that turned an ordinary tomato paste into a world-famous sauce called ketchup. This recipe is still considered classic.
PECULIARITIES OF THE NATIONAL KETCHUP
In addition to the traditional on our market today, there are many variations on its subject. Spicy, barbecue, ketchup mustard, ketchup curry, ketchup chili, ketchup adzhika and even ketchup mayonnaise. Our producers produce them according to their own recipes. In addition to the same mustard, chili pepper or adzhika, they often include crushed vegetables (onions, garlic, carrots) and dried or fresh herbs (parsley, dill). But, in addition, there are other ingredients in sauces.
Consistency regulators. This is a very extensive group, which includes thickeners, stabilizers, emulsifiers. By the way, until the beginning of the 1980s, their use in the production of ketchup was not allowed. Thickeners improve the structure of the sauce, increase its viscosity. They can be natural, as, for example, pectins, or semisynthetic. The latter are similar to starch or cellulose and are often made from them. A typical thickener is modified starch (do not confuse it with genetically modified products). Fruit and vegetable purees (for example, apple, plum). These additives also affect the consistency, as well as the taste. And yet they can be separated into a separate group, since their main purpose is to reduce the consumption of tomato paste and thus the cost of the product.
Improvers of appearance (natural and artificial colors). In the tomato itself contains a lot of its pigment, so there is no special need to add it. Still, tomato sauce and tomato paste are sometimes tinted. Of course, it is better if the dyes are of natural origin - alpha, beta or gamma-carotene, which are derived from carrots.
Regulators of taste and food flavors. Spicy plants that enhance taste and aroma in ketchup can be not only in the form of pieces of dried or fresh herbs, but also extracts, concentrates or their essential oils. Food flavors, identical to natural, are substances obtained by chemical synthesis, their structure completely corresponds to natural ones. But there may be completely synthetic additives. Recently, ready-made flavor-aromatic mixtures are used that contain not only flavorings and flavor enhancers, but also dyes.
And finally, various preservatives and antioxidants. In order to preserve more vitamins, as well as other valuable substances, in ketchups, as well as in other canned foods, preservatives such as sorbic or benzoic acids are added to them. They prevent the reproduction of bacteria and other harmful microorganisms. In order to preserve the original taste and aroma for a long time, antioxidants (ascorbic acid, tocopherols and others) are added to them.
Many of these additives have a special encoding in the form of the letter E and a number of digits. But it is worth to know that not all "E" are allowed to be used on the territory of Russia, for example, you can not add dyes E121 - citrus red or E123 - amaranth.
Tomato sauces and tomato pastes that are produced abroad, also differ from each other. Norms allow variations not only in composition, but also in quantitative characteristics (for example, for such important indicators as the content of dry substances of tomato and soluble solids). So, Singapore produces ketchup with a mass fraction of tomato dry substances of at least 6%, and in Uruguay - from 12%. The technology of production also varies: in Bulgaria, ketchup is prepared from tomato concentrate, in Spain both from tomato paste or puree, and from fresh tomatoes, and in Singapore only from puree. The content of table salt in Cuban ketchup should not exceed 1.9%, and for most others - 4%. Slightly vary in sauces of different origin standards for acidity and sugar content.
It seems that today there is no single concept of ketchup. And yet many experts agree that only a classic recipe gives him the right to be called ketchup, and numerous vegetable supplements (in the form of pieces or purees), thickeners and flavorings make ketchup into a tomato based sauce.
SAUCE VARIATIONS: DOES THERE ARE TOMATOES?
Persistence, with which many producers continue to call such sauces ketchup, is easy to explain: ketchup is understandable and familiar. It's not for nothing that experts call it a mono-sausage: it resembles a long-known tomato paste, only tastes better than it. But sauces on a tomato basis are a "thing-in-itself". Their composition is complex and diverse, and the names are often unfamiliar. Therefore, until now, the sauce market itself is considered separately from the market of ketchup. However, gradually everything changes. The interest in new products and the growth of incomes bring us closer to the Western fashion for complex sauces: they were bought more often, and tomatoes were bought. So already today, tomato sauces for spaghetti company "Baltimore" are popular. This is a sharp "Salsa", and soft "Bolognese", sauces "With mushrooms", "Vegetable stew" and actually "For spaghetti". Among other famous brands - sauces "Heinz", "Calvet". We also liked the new tomato sauces of Exotini by Sinko Group, a group of famous "Bamboo Stalk" sauces.
TOMATO SAUCE IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES
What we are just beginning to get acquainted with has long been in the culinary traditions of different peoples. And in every national cuisine - its own characteristics. Sauce Sauce usually contains nuts and spices, typical for Georgian cuisine (coriander, blue fenugreek). But in Italy very much like oregano and basil. They are often added to sauces, along with olives, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Italian salsa di pomodoro ("salsa" in translation means simply "sauce") is prepared by adding to the tomatoes spicy herbs, onions, garlic and red pepper. Mexican cuisine is even sharper than Italian with special types of peppers. Mexican sauces "salsa" and "chili" are distinguished by a bright burning taste and special astringency. It turns out an acute seasoning, the same as an incendiary dance, named after her. But notice, salsa is prepared only from fresh tomatoes, from roasted sauce is called otherwise and it turns out with a completely different taste. And in Greece, it is customary to combine the ingredients so that the taste of the main dish is not interrupted. The tomato sauce of the Greeks turns tender and not sharp, because in it, as a rule, soft spices are added.
It is simply impossible to list all supplements to tomatoes. In addition to spices, particles of vegetables and mushrooms, spices, vegetable oil, some sauces are also added pieces of meat, ham, poultry. Therefore, we can safely say that the tomato sauce and tomato paste have already passed from the category of additives to the dish in the category of the dishes themselves - very tasty and diverse.
SIGNS OF GOOD SAUCE
How can we tell a good sauce from everyone else? Easily! The quality sauce has its own distinctive features. A good sauce is a natural sauce. Absence of flavorings and colorants in the composition, which means - naturalness of color and aroma. Absence or small content of thickeners, for example modified starch. It's good when the sauce is moderately liquid. In addition, it does not have to "shake out" with the risk of staining everything around. Homogeneous consistency (without particles of skin or seeds, but inclusion of particles of vegetables and spices is allowed). Balance of taste. All its shades should be harmoniously combined. Only for special varieties are allowed flavoring accents, which must be reflected in the name (for example, tomato sauce "chili" or "salsa"). Individuality. A good sauce should be recognizable.
A GOOD BUY
Why do we buy tomato sauces and tomato pastes? It's very simple - they are delicious, besides useful.
1. Quality sauces are really good for health. One kind of delicious seasoning can cause appetite, and its taste and aroma - even more so. Looking at it, we immediately begin to develop gastric juice and the food is easily digested.
2. Those who sit on a diet, it is necessary to make your "sazotec" - a set of your favorite sauces. Then you can make a simple rice unrecognizable and easily do without the products "heavyweights", such as roasted meat. The main thing is that the sauces are also light. Tomato seasonings are one of the most low-calorie.
3. Ready tomato sauces can be served in different ways, including in the form of marinade. Pre-pickled meat in the sauce is not only easier to prepare - it is easier to digest. Unlike the acute and non-invasive acetic marinade, tomatoes contribute to the breakdown of proteins, not greatly increasing the overall acidity.
4. Sauces not only stimulate and facilitate the digestion of other products, they themselves contain valuable ingredients and substances. In tomatoes contains lycopene, which helps fight against prostate cancer. Moreover, it does not break down during heat treatment, which means that in concentrated tomato products (tomato paste or sauce) it is more than in tomatoes.
5. Many spices and spices have long been used in folk medicine. In the sauces they are also very useful. For example, pepper-chili prevents the deposition of fat, and turmeric - a real medicine for the stomach.