Ketchup Used to Be Sold as Medicine
Before it became the favorite partner of French fries, ketchup lived in the medicine cabinet. In the 1830s, people didn't see it as a sauce - they saw it as a powerful cure for an upset stomach.
The Tomato Pill Craze
In 1834, an American doctor named John Cook Bennett claimed that tomatoes could cure indigestion, diarrhea, and even jaundice. He turned ketchup into a recipe for "tomato pills" and sold them across the country. For a while, people rushed to pharmacies to buy these pills instead of going to the grocery store.
It Wasn't Always Tomato-Based
Early versions of "ketchup" were actually made from fish, mushrooms, or walnuts. It was Dr. Bennett's push for the health benefits of tomatoes that helped popularize the tomato version we know today. He believed the natural ingredients in tomatoes were exactly what a sick body needed.
From Medicine to Sauce
The "ketchup medicine" era didn't last forever. Soon, other people started selling fake tomato pills that didn't work at all, and the medical claims fell apart. By the 1850s, people stopped taking it as a pill and started enjoying it as a tasty condiment. Eventually, companies like Heinz made it the famous sweet and salty sauce we love today.
In Short
In the 1830s, ketchup was sold in pharmacies as a cure for stomach problems. A doctor turned it into pills, claiming tomatoes were a "miracle medicine." Today, we know it's just a delicious sauce, but for twenty years, it was the world's most famous medicine.