ketchup
kê-tsiap
Hokkien Chinese
“Fish sauce from Fujian became America's favorite tomato condiment.”
Ketchup began as Hokkien kê-tsiap (茄汁 or 鮭汁) — fermented fish sauce from southern China. The exact etymology is debated, but it was definitely Asian and definitely not tomato.
British and Dutch sailors encountered the sauce in Southeast Asia and tried to recreate it. Their 'ketchups' used mushrooms, walnuts, anchovies — anything savory and fermentable.
Americans added tomatoes in the early 1800s. By 1876, Heinz was selling 5 million bottles annually. The tomato version completely supplanted all others.
Today 'ketchup' means tomato ketchup everywhere except a few British specialty shops. The Chinese fish sauce's only trace is its name.
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Today
Ketchup's transformation is one of etymology's wildest stories. Chinese fish sauce → British mushroom sauce → American tomato sauce.
When you squeeze Heinz on fries, you're using a Chinese word for fermented fish. Etymology is full of surprises.
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