ketchup

Ketchup is a table sauce usually made from tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, and spices. Today, most people think of it as a thick red sauce for foods like French fries, hamburgers, hot dogs, and other savory dishes. It can also be used in cooking, for example in sauces, marinades, meatloaf, or dressings.

The history of ketchup is older and more varied than many people expect. The word is thought to come from an old Asian name for a kind of sauce, and early versions were not made with tomatoes at all. Over time, English speakers developed new forms, and the modern tomato version became the best-known one.

People often talk about its balance of sweetness, sourness, and thickness. Some love putting it on almost everything, while others think it belongs only with a few foods. In everyday English, the word usually means the common tomato-based sauce, even though the idea behind it has a much longer history.