Ketchup and sauce to refer to the same thing, although they are different they serve the same purpose, to add flavour and taste to the food that we eat.
The Indian substitute for ketchup is chutney which is made from the same ingredients and adds to the experience of eating healthy and good food.
Although chutney is a favourite of anybody who eats Indian food, there has been a change in eating habits and people prefer to eat ketchup instead of chutney.
The question is how did our eating habits change and why do we love eating ketchup?
Here are some of the reasons why ketchup has replaced chutney:
2. I have eaten chutney, home made and from restaurants, for example, idlis, vadas, samosa etc. and chutney is prepared using tomato, mint, coconut, garlic etc. whereas ketchup is prepared from tomato, hence the name tomato ketchup.
3. The earlier generations used to eat chutney but today's generation love ketchup because every time you order something, the food is accompanied by small packets of ketchup which are sweet and spicy and go well with fried chicken, Burger, Pizza and French fries.
4. Ketchup has replaced chutney because it is readymade, easily available in bottles that you can buy from the shop and use it to add flavour to what you eat without any extra effort.
5. Advertisements showing ketchup brands on television and online have worked effectively to convince us that it makes eating food a fun and exciting experience.
6. There are many ketchup brands in India, domestic and foreign such as Maggi, kissan, Veeba, Cremica and Heinz, research has shown that we prefer the natural taste of local brands over foreign brands contrary to popular opinion where it is assumed that we prefer anything that comes with an unusual name.
7. Ketchup has become a part of our daily lives because we can eat it with a variety of foods like pasta, noodles, tandoori chicken, shawarma etc. the list goes on.
8. When we think of ketchup, we automatically think of tomato ketchup, this is where the manufacturers decide what's good for us, there are different ketchup flavours such as sweet and sour, chilli, hot and sweet, masala ketchup etc. to excite our taste buds.
9. Tomato ketchup is something that exists only in name, it has less tomato due to the high cost of tomatoes and more of tomato paste and other ingredients that makes it tasty and coming back for more.
10. Most people eat ketchup without checking the label which is dangerous because it could have an adverse effect on your health without knowing it.
In the end, ketchup is popular because it adds to the taste of the food that we eat and it combines different types of flavours such as sweet, sour and salty to make for a memorable food experience.
