Ketchup: health benefits and harms

Scarlet and juicy ketchup - a sauce popular throughout the world. Not only Europeans and Americans love the sharp-burning taste of the product. The sauce is also widely used by the peoples of Asian and Eastern countries, since it can quite replace some gravy and give special piquancy to meat and fish dishes.

What is ketchup

Ketchup is a versatile tomato sauce suitable for almost any dish. A culinary supplement can be prepared according to various recipes and have a varied taste depending on the ingredients of the composition. Ripe tomato sauce is widely used as a flavoring additive for pasta, potatoes, sausages, meat and fish. In almost every refrigerator in a European family, there is certainly a bottle of red spicy ketchup.

The original sauce was first invented by the Chinese in the 17th century. However, at that ancient time tomatoes were completely absent in gravy. The product included spicy herbs, garlic and a mixture of crushed anchovies and mushrooms. In the taverns, the sugary taste of the sauce was diluted with red wine. The supplement was extremely popular, so very soon the recipe for universal sauce quickly spread outside of China.

The chefs of the best restaurants have never stopped experimenting with delicious gravy, as a result of which the ketchup recipe has changed dramatically. The sauce began to look more like Aztec, chili peppers and ripe meaty tomatoes began to be added to it. Herbal supplements changed, various aromatic seasonings, herbs and roots joined. Sauce with exquisite taste was served at that time exclusively in expensive restaurants. He was not accessible to poor people.

The product boom came in the 20th century. The sauce began to be used for making pizza, the product served as an excellent addition to pasta, meat, fish, poultry. There were hamburgers and sandwiches with the addition of ketchup. Red hot pepper, pickled cucumbers, mushrooms, apples were placed in the sauce to add spicy notes.

Modern supermarkets offer a huge selection of different types of ketchup. Manufacturers make it according to various recipes, including especially unique ones. Many housewives enjoy cooking ketchup at home. Homemade sauce does not include harmful stabilizers and thickeners and is undoubtedly more healthy.

Views

There are sharp varieties and non-sharp ones. Ketchups differ among themselves and in the composition of the ingredients. What kind of preference to give depends on personal culinary preferences. However, always when choosing this product should take into account your age and health characteristics. The use of ketchup is banned for many diseases.

In cooking, there are several types of sauce:

• Tomato
• for national dishes;
• barbecue;
• spicy;
• spicy with chili;
• with additives (apple, bell pepper, onion, herbs, olives).

On the shelves of stores there are sauces of the class "Extra" and "Premium". You should know that natural raw materials occupy only 40% in these products, the remaining 60% - various thickeners and flavor enhancers, dry impurities, additives. There are ketchups of the highest category and economy class - in the latest products the percentage of natural raw materials is minimal. Of course, such sauces are not very healthy and have little nutritional value.

What is the difference between ketchup and tomato paste

Tomato paste is a boiled tomato mixture without additional additives. In many recipes, tomato ketchup successfully replaces it. The product has a more intense pronounced taste, different in the composition of the ingredients.

Tomato paste is the main component of the sauce. All kinds of spices enhance its taste. Tomato paste is used in cooking in the cooking process to get a delicious sauce. Ketchup is a ready-made sauce that is served with the dish.

Composition and calorie content

The composition of a traditional sauce includes:

• ripe tomatoes;
• starch;
• salt;
• water;
• sugar;
• acetic acid;
• garlic;
• bow;
• chilli;
• preservatives;
• flavorings;
• thickening additives.

The key ingredients in the sauce are hot and spicy spices. There are special varieties of the product with the inclusion of unique herbs and seasonings. The industrial product contains preservatives and a variety of stabilizers. In some types of ketchup, the concentration of additional substances is excessively high. Consumers should pay particular attention to this fact.

The calorie content of the sauce is about 97 kcal.

The energy value of 100 g of the product is:

• 1.75 g of protein;
• 24.9 g of carbohydrates;
• 0.35 g of fat.

What is ketchup good for?

General benefit

The product contains beneficial substances and compounds that have a beneficial effect in the human body:

• vitamins PP, groups B, K, C;
• magnesium;
• potassium;
• iron;
• phosphorus;
• calcium;
• sucrose;
• fructose;
• lycopene;
• tyramine;
• serotonin.

During the initial heat treatment, useful substances practically do not break down and completely enter the human body when ketchup is consumed.

The sauce is extremely useful in the development of cardiovascular diseases. The product improves blood circulation and stabilizes the function of blood vessels. Lycopene, present in ketchup, strengthens the vascular walls, stabilizes cholesterol metabolism.

The substance also has a beneficial effect on intestinal motility and improves digestion. Ketchup normalizes the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, strengthens the immune system, and lowers the risk of tumor development.

The sauce contains serotonin, a well-known hormone of happiness. Therefore, it is extremely useful to use ketchup for the development of depression and disturbance of emotional balance. It is worth periodically adding ketchup to the diet for those who suffer from insomnia or experience stress.

For women

The basis of ketchup are tomatoes. They are known to be rich in carotene. This substance is a powerful natural antioxidant. The main objective of carotene is to deliver retinol to the human body. Carotene also protects cells from free radicals and prevents the development of atherosclerosis. Vitamin A:

• lowers cholesterol;
• prevents the development of cardiovascular diseases;
• improves skin condition;
• strengthens hair follicles;
• starts regeneration processes;
• inhibits natural aging;
• improves eyesight.

The substances contained in the product stabilize childbearing function, enhance women's health, normalize the microflora of the mucous membranes. However, it is worth paying attention that a woman should use only the highest quality sauce. Such a product is rich in healthy natural substances and contains few additives.

Ketchup contains a large amount of phosphorus and potassium. These substances play an important role in the functioning of all body systems. Potassium salts regulate the balance of water, therefore, contribute to the withdrawal of excess fluid, eliminate swelling of the limbs, improve facial tone and skin elasticity. Potassium helps to stabilize cardiac activity, improve the functions of the nervous system, and normalize blood pressure.

The product contains a large amount of healthy lycopene. The substance is a natural antioxidant, helps prevent the development of cancer, removes harmful cholesterol, and prevents its deposition on the walls of blood vessels. The concentration of the substance increases when the ketchup is heated. Heat-treated tomatoes contain more beneficial lycopene than fresh ones.

Lycopene in ketchup prevents the development of cataracts and improves visual acuity. The substance helps in cleansing the body of toxins, toxins, fungal infections, and thrush.

For men

The composition of ketchup is extremely useful for men. The natural substances contained in tomatoes prevent prostate cancer, normalize the function of the prostate gland, and urination. In the male body, the product has an anti-inflammatory effect, and also triggers the necessary regenerative processes.

Lycopene strengthens the immune system, slows down natural aging, helps to actively fight infections. In reasonable quantities, ketchup must certainly be present in the diet of men. The product improves blood circulation, helps to survive strong physical exertion, restores strength after a hard day's work.

Vitamins and other substances contained in the product:

• regulate the functioning of the immune system;
• improve performance;
• stabilize brain activity;
• wounds heal;
• improve spinal cord function;
• strengthen bones and ligaments.

A man who uses ketchup does not experience potency problems, since the product contains substances that enhance blood flow to the genitals and regulate their functions. Periodic inclusion of sauce on the menu enhances sexual desire, as ketchup contains many different spices and various types of pepper, which are natural aphrodisiacs.

During pregnancy

There is an opinion that it is not worth abusing ketchup during pregnancy. This is partly true - excessive use of sauce can serve poorly and has a negative effect on the pancreas. However, in this matter, the expectant mother should adhere to some recommendations:

1. Use only non-spicy types of sauce.
2. Eat the minimum amount of ketchup no more than 1 time in 1-2 weeks.
3. Do not combine sauce with fatty high-calorie foods - fried potatoes, etc.

Ketchup improves cell metabolism and metabolism, so it can be eaten by expectant mothers, but in small quantities and quite rarely. Abuse of any product will not lead to anything good, therefore, it should be wise to treat your diet.

When breastfeeding

Pediatricians and attending physicians recommend completely eliminating ketchup from the diet during lactation. The use of ketchup can cause a baby:

• allergies
• digestive upset;
• colic
• pain and stomach cramps;
• insomnia
• excited state.

To avoid such problems, a nursing mother should carefully weigh the risk and benefits of all foods consumed in food. Lactation is not a period for experimentation with products. It is better to refrain from spicy sauces for some time, and after breastfeeding is over, return to your favorite ketchup.

For children

Ketchup is contraindicated for small crumbs - the sauce can cause an allergic reaction, constipation, diarrhea, flatulence, abdominal pain. However, children over 8 years of age can give their parents a minimum amount of mild ketchup per sample.

Do not forget that ketchup contains various thickeners, dyes, stabilizers. Their excessive amount is extremely harmful to the child's body.Ketchup is not recommended for use in baby food. In children, the product can cause unwanted reactions from the gastrointestinal tract, the development of pancreatitis and allergies.

Can I eat ketchup while losing weight

The question that worries many - is it possible to use the sauce for weight loss? The tomato puree, which forms the basis of the product, is low-calorie. However, when dieting, it is worth considering that many unscrupulous manufacturers change the sauce recipe and add a lot of different additives to its composition. A variety of thickeners, sweeteners and flavorings are harmful to health and do not promote metabolism. As a result, the use of ketchup can serve poorly when dieting.

Ketchup can provoke fat deposition and the appearance of extra pounds. A strict diet certainly excludes the use of any sauces and gravy.

Ketchup in medicine

Doctors accurately determine the risks of complications of chronic diseases when using ketchup. Only in minimal quantities and with rare eating can a product be useful. In special cases, the sauce must be abandoned forever.

With diabetes

Tomato sauce contains a lot of sugars and starch, which is harmful for diabetics. Many manufacturers add enough sugar to the product to add special sweetness to the sauce.

In diabetes, a person should consume a minimum of sugar per day - not more than 80 g. It is important to consider the use of products containing sucrose and fructose. Doctors strongly discourage the inclusion of any kind of ketchup in the diabetic menu. The consequences of deciding to try the sauce can be very negative. If you do not want to worsen your well-being, you need to forget about tomato sauce.

Important: the glycemic index of ketchup is 15 units.

With pancreatitis

Pancreatitis is a chronic or acute inflammation of the pancreas. With this disease, you must follow a strict diet so as not to provoke an exacerbation. Normally, iron produces the necessary amount of important enzymes that promote digestion. With inflammation of the gland, the synthesis of enzymes is disturbed, organic tissues become inflamed. This condition excludes the consumption of any spicy foods, canned food, fried and fatty dishes.

The use of ketchup is strictly prohibited even with persistent remission of pancreatitis. The sauce can trigger a severe exacerbation, as a result of which a ketchup lover will end up in the hospital.

With gastritis

Healthy, proper nutrition is required for all patients with gastritis. The use of tomato sauce is prohibited in remission of gastritis, as well as with exacerbation. A similar ban is due to the fact that the composition of the product includes substances that cause severe irritation of the gastric mucosa. As a result, several spoons of sauce provoke an exacerbation of the disease.

Ketchup is generally contraindicated for any diseases of the epigastric region. Even relatively mild sauce causes dyspepsia, heartburn, pain and abdominal cramps. Do not worsen your well-being for the desire to try a spoonful of ketchup.

With gastritis, it is important to adhere to a fasting diet. In some cases, therapeutic fasting or taking mucous porridges is indicated for healing the inflamed parts of the digestive organ. Ketchup enhances the secretion of gastric juice, which literally corrodes the inflamed mucosa.

With gout

Eating the right diet is an important factor in treating gout. The use of the wrong foods provokes increased salt deposition and pain.To eliminate gout attacks, it is important to help the body remove excess salts and acids.

Compliance with a diet for gout provides:

• normalization of weight;
• the exception of pain attacks;
• decreased uric acid levels in the blood masses;
• improved cell sensitivity.

With gout, it is important to abandon foods that contain a large number of purines, since these substances increase the degree of uric acid in the blood. This factor leads to exacerbation of gout and a deterioration in well-being.

Ketchup is not a useful product for this disease. Gout meals should not include store sauces with lots of fructose. Ketchup is completely excluded from the patient’s diet.

Harm and contraindications

Ketchup is contraindicated in exacerbations of various chronic ailments of the gastrointestinal tract and in childhood. The sauce should not be consumed by people who suffer:

• metabolic disorder;
• Obesity
• diabetes mellitus;
• hypertension
• swelling.

With great care, the minimum amount of product can be consumed in diseases of the liver and kidneys, but in cases of exacerbation of the disease, the sauce is contraindicated.

How to choose and store

Typically, the product is sold in bags with a special dispenser or in plastic bottles. GOST divides ketchup into several categories:

• Economy class;
• extra;
• highest category;
• I category;
• II category.

The highest class of the product contains 30% of natural tomato raw materials, extra-class - 15%. In choosing a product, it is important to focus on the category of sauce and its composition. Be sure to carefully study the production label when buying ketchup. According to GOST standards, ketchup should contain 60–85% of water.

Be sure to look at the date of manufacture of ketchup. Shelf life is important for any product, including sauce. The sterilized product lasts longer.

It is worth paying attention to the shade of tomato sauce. Ideally, the product should have a reddish, saturated color. Brown color indicates the addition of fruit and vegetable purees. The fact that the manufacturer added a lot of dyes will indicate a pinkish rich shade of the paste.

Sterilized ketchup is stored in unopened packaging for about 2 years. A glass jar can be left for a whole year, and the sauce in a plastic bottle is stored for no more than six months. Adding preservatives allows you to store ketchup at room temperature - from 0 to +25 degrees. Many consumers store sauce on the shelf of the refrigerator. At the same time, the product does not lose its taste.

How to make ketchup at home

Standard option

An excellent alternative to the purchased product is a sauce prepared at home according to a proven recipe. To prepare a standard version of tomato sauce you will need:

• 2.5 kg ripe tomatoes;
• 0.5 cups of sugar;
• ½ tbsp salts;
• 20 peas of black pepper;
• 10 peas of coriander;
• 2 pcs. cloves;
• 2 tbsp vinegar 9%.

Tomatoes should be sorted, washed and stalks removed. For the sauce, leave the meaty part of the fruit, which is cut into slices with a knife. Put the tomato pulp in a pan and heat on the stove for 20 minutes. During this period, the tomatoes boil and get a homogeneous consistency.

Then rub the tomato sauce through a sieve to eliminate the seeds. Boil the resulting tomato juice until thick, evaporating the excess liquid. Boil the sauce for at least an hour, constantly stirring with a spoon.

When the mass is thickened, add all the seasonings in this way: put the peas of coriander and pepper in a cloth bag, tie it and put it in a saucepan with sauce. At the end of cooking, remove the bag and discard it. At the end of cooking, salt the sauce, pour sugar into it and gently pour the bite.

Pour hot ketchup into bottles and jars, close tightly and store for a long time in the refrigerator after the product has completely cooled down.

With basil and lemon

To prepare the sauce, take the following components:

• 2 kg of ripe tomatoes;
• 8 cloves of garlic;
• 140 g of granulated sugar;
• a bunch of basil;
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar;
• 50 g of salt;
• 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp tomato paste;
• 0.5 kg of onions;
• vegetable oil for frying.

Ketchup becomes original in taste and gains special piquancy thanks to a mixture of spices. It is necessary to take:

• 0.5 tsp ground black pepper;
• 1 tsp dry basil;
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 0.5 tsp cloves;
• 0.5 tsp nutmeg;
• a pinch of ground coriander;
• 0.5 tsp red hot pepper.

You need to start cooking the sauce with peeling and slicing the onion. Coarsely chop the vegetable. Also peel the garlic. In a pan with a thick bottom pour vegetable oil, heat it and pour the onion into the dishes. Add garlic and sugar immediately. Mix the ingredients thoroughly.

When preparing foods, it is important to ensure that sugar does not crystallize. When the onions are soft, add chopped tomatoes. The mixture, stirring constantly, bring to a boil. It is important that the mass does not burn, so if necessary, reduce the heat of the burner.

When heated, the tomatoes will start juice. In a separate bowl, mix lemon juice and a small amount of balsamic vinegar. Pour the mixture into tomatoes, mix well.

Then add the right amount of salt, keep on fire for a while, stirring the mass. Add leaves of aromatic basil separated from the stems. After 10 minutes, remove and discard the grass. She will simply give up her taste and aroma to the tomato mass.

Gently pour all of the above spices. Stir the mass thoroughly and boil it until thick. Grind the finished sauce to pasta with a blender. Then wipe the mass through a sieve, separate the crusts and seeds of tomatoes.

After all the actions, ketchup acquires an even consistency without any lumps or impurities. The resulting tomato puree is put on the fire again, heat it well and put hot in sterilized jars. Close tightly with lids. Ketchup is ready. Wait for the product to cool completely and put the cans on the shelf of the refrigerator for storage.

Ketchup without vinegar in a slow cooker

To prepare the sauce, take:

• 2 kg of fleshy ripe tomatoes;
• 500 g of sweet Bulgarian pepper;
• 450 g of onions;
• 1 tbsp dry mustard;
• 2 little hot peppers;
• 200 g of granulated sugar;
• 2 tbsp salts;
• 15 ml of vegetable oil.

Gently cut the stem from the tomato. Cut the tomatoes into cubes, chop in a blender or pass through a meat grinder. Also chop and chop a mixture of peppers, onions. Add mustard to the resulting puree, it will give the sauce the desired piquant taste and slight spiciness.

Pour sugar, salt into the mass and pour vegetable oil. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly and transfer the resulting mass to a slow cooker. Set the timer for 45 minutes in baking mode. The mass after cooking is dense and dense. During cooking, you should ensure that the tomatoes do not burn, periodically opening the lid of the multicooker and stirring. Wipe the finished hot mixture through a sieve, eliminating the mass of crusts and seeds.

Boil the mass again in a slow cooker for about 40 minutes. During this period, all excess liquid will evaporate. For storage for the winter, put the hot paste in sterilized jars, cover with lids, cool and put in the cold.

Is it possible to eat ketchup during fasting

Many people strictly observe fasting, so they ask themselves, is it possible to use ketchup in this period? In the post, preference is given to boiled foods or steamed dishes. Vegetables become the basis of nutrition. They are stewed, boiled, baked.

It is useful to eat peas, corn, beets, potatoes and other plant products. Meat and fish, pastries, dairy products, white bread, eggs are excluded from the diet.Tomatoes are plant food, and the prepared ketchup does not contain protein products.

However, sour and spicy foods are forbidden in fasting. Ketchups, which are based on vinegar, hot spices and spices, are forbidden to eat in fasting. An alternative can be a homemade tomato sauce without the presence of hot spices, pepper and vinegar.

Interesting Facts About Ketchup

1. Many ketchup lovers may not be aware that the largest sauce bottle is in Illinois. The giant tank-shaped tank holds almost 500 liters of liquid. The tank is a decoration tip of a water tower of 50 m high, which supplies water to the shops of the ketchup factory. A bottle of ketchup of immense size is the main attraction of the town for tourists. Various festivals are often held near it.
2. The second interesting fact about ketchup is amazing and pleasing at the same time. The chef from Scotland Domenico Kroll draws on his pizzas with the help of world famous ketchup. Such portraits were bothered by Kate Middleton, Rihanna, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Marilyn Monroe.
3. Despite the large selection of varieties of tomato sauce, many cooks like to experiment with the composition of home-made ketchups. Any ingredients are used - mushrooms, anchovies, apples, peppers. Every housewife will be able to cook universal ketchup in her kitchen.

Ketchup photo