Today we imagine ketchup as the ultimate modern American food (and it is true that we like to put ketchup on…well, a lot of things). But ketchup’s origins are found in Asia, and its adaptation *cough - appropriation into the thing that resembles our thick, modern-day ketchup began in early modern Britain. ⠀⠀ The word “ketchup” is borrowed either from the Chinese Fujian dialect (鲑汁 kôe-chiap, a brine of pickled fish or shellfish, with “kôe” as a kind of fish, and “chiap” as juice or sauce), and/or from Malay (with “kecap” or “kicap,” soy sauce). It’s likely that Britons encountered this tasty sauce – a thin, black-brown liquid that was either a type of fish sauce or a type of soy sauce – during acts of travel and colonization. ⠀⠀ In other words, ketchup wasn’t necessarily made with tomatoes, at least not at first. Back in the day, according to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the “most esteemed kinds” of ketchup were mushroom, walnut, and tomato, which emerged around 1800 in the U.S. and predominated from the early 20th century. ⠀⠀ Flavor, spice, and shelf-life were clearly important to early modern British ketchup-makers as they attempted to replicate the soy and fish sauces that had come to them via acts of travel, conquest, and colonization. But just as these Britons worked to use and enjoy Chinese and/or Malay sauces, they simultaneously adapted them, changing the recipes to suit their own tastes, needs, expectations, and palates. ⠀⠀ White Europeans appropriated, gleaned, bought, and stole knowledge and knowledge-systems from indigenous. You’re welcome. #aznsauceoflove . . . #hokkien #kecap #kicap #kecapmanis #originsofketchup #soysauce #asianlovelanguage #howasianparentsshowlove #asianfoodstory #asianpacificheritagemonth #aphm #aapiheritagemonth #aapi #aapi2020 #aapimonth #aapiheritage #asianaf #asianfoodie #cultureappropriation #asianmomsbelike #asiansauce #sauceinmyfridge #asiancreative #asianartist #wocartist #asianmoms #aaphm #immigrantsmakeamericagreat #bloodygirlgang (at Malaysia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CAIX1k6h6P4/?igshid=8oz3exfmrt1
