re: Spin-off of spin-off of spin-off: Ketchup or Catsup

Catsup came first and was a name given to many types of condiments.

Ketchup came later and is pretty much only used for the tomato based condiment.


I ate at a restaurant in DC years ago, that basically did a 'history of food in America' theme and they had the original catsups.

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The line of eight catsups at the bottom of the menu is unique, too. Oyster catsup. Gooseberry catsup. Blueberry catsup. Mushroom catsup. Thinner and often spicier, these 19th-century catsups are nothing like the Heinz 57 you’ve been squirting on burgers since you could squeeze a plastic bottle. Long before tomato became the dominant ingredient in catsup/ketchup, Andres says, American cooks were creating condiments flavored with all manner of ingredients. The only problem, he notes, is that even though catsup recipes were prevalent in many cookbooks, the authors didn’t “tell you how they ate them.”

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