Ketchup Food Americans Appeared Heinz Companies Bottles Opening

Ketchup has a long "culinary" (related to food and cooking) history, and it has "undergone" (experienced) many changes over time. A "recipe" (instructions for making a particular type of food) for the tomato-based ketchup that most Americans are familiar with today first appeared in writing in a cookbook in 1801. But ketchup was not sweetened until the 19th century.

For many years, Americans feared that "raw" (uncooked) tomatoes were not safe for "consumption" (eating). They preferred to cook their tomatoes, so ketchup "fit the bill" (seemed appropriate and met their needs). Ketchup was first distributed nationally in the 1830s, and the popular Heinz brand first appeared in 1876. Early advertisements presented "commercial" (made by a company) ketchup as a "time-saver" (something that makes a process faster and easier) for "housewives" (women who do not have a job outside of the home).

Today, food manufacturers continue to "innovate" (make changes and try new ways of doing things) with ketchup products. For example, in 2000, Heinz launched ketchup in bright colors, including green and pink. Many children liked the brightly colored ketchup, but the product was "phased out" (discontinued; no longer available) in 2006. Companies are also innovating in terms of the packaging. Ketchup used to be sold in glass bottles, but it was difficult to get all the ketchup out of the bottle. So companies put ketchup into squeezable plastic bottles, and then they changed the direction of the label so that the opening was at the bottom. That way, the ketchup is always resting against the opening and it is easier to squeeze out.