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The original recipe for ketchup was invented in China.

The idea of a fermented food paste derives from the Hokkien Chinese word "kê-tsiap."
Richard Heathcote/Getty

Ketchup may be synonymous with the Pennsylvanian entrepreneur H.J. Heinz, but the idea of a fermented food paste actually derives from the Hokkien Chinese word "kê-tsiap," which was originally a fermented fish sauce, according to National Geographic.

Ketchup paste was copied by the British in the 18th century, but often used ingredients like mushrooms, walnuts, oysters, or anchovies.

The first-ever ketchup recipe featuring tomatoes was published by American horticulturalist James Mease, but it lacked vinegar or sugar. It was not until 1876, when H.J. Heinz came up with a new safer way to preserve tomato ketchup, that "Heinz ketchup," and thus ketchup as we know it, was born.

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