Ketchup, catsup, catsiup, catchup… no matter what you call it or how you spell it, the name sounds pretty silly!
The origin of the name “ketchup” is usually traced to Malaysia and, before that, to China, where people used a sauce known as “kichap” or “ke-tsiap” or “ketjap.” This sauce was actually not very much like the tomato-y ketchup we eat today. – Its main ingredient was fish brine!
As the popularity of the fish brine sauce traveled around the world, different ingredients were used according to the availability of certain regions. Ingredients in some of these variations included mushrooms, walnuts, oysters, and cucumbers.
At some point, tomatoes were added to the recipes and eventually, they stuck! (Particularly for those making or eating this sauce in the United States.) Unlike the ingredients, the name stayed pretty close to its original, and so today we eat “ketchup”!