[4 - 4] there's one thing that strikes fear into
[4 - 6] me at a restaurant like nothing else
[6 - 9] it's the words homemade ketchup now I
[9 - 11] understand even admire the desire to
[11 - 12] make ketchup from scratch scratch
[12 - 15] cooking is 9.5 times out of 10 so much
[15 - 17] better than anything store-bought but
[17 - 19] the fact of the matter is a long time
[19 - 21] ago one brand decided what ketchup
[21 - 22] should taste and feel like and we all
[23 - 25] drank the Kool-Aid or ketchup wait do
[25 - 27] you guys drink it yeah yeah me neither
[27 - 30] me neither I don't I don't do that and
[30 - 32] now here we are that brand is Hines even
[32 - 33] here at America's Test Kitchen our
[33 - 35] unbiased reviews team held a blind
[35 - 37] tasting of eight different ketchups and
[37 - 39] Hines Rose to the top one person called
[39 - 41] it the ketchup of my youth another
[41 - 43] identified it as Hines admitting it's my
[44 - 45] standard and I'm attached does this ring
[45 - 48] true for you if so and especially if not
[48 - 49] I want to hear in the comments maybe we
[50 - 51] even have some homemade ketchup fans in
[51 - 53] the mix so how do we get here what
[53 - 55] exactly is it that makes Hines the
[55 - 57] platonic ideal of ketchup what makes
[57 - 58] ketchup so popular in the first place
[58 - 59] and what does it have to do with running
[60 - 62] on a tub of cornstarch and water well
[62 - 64] you're about to find out hines's
[64 - 65] complete and utter market dominance
[65 - 68] dates back to 1876 when pittsburgh-based
[68 - 71] first generation German American Henry J
[71 - 72] Hines a guy who'd been in the business
[72 - 74] of bottling and selling graded
[74 - 76] horseradish introduced Americans to a
[76 - 79] thicker Tangier sweeter more tomatoey
[79 - 81] version of ketchup than anyone had ever
[81 - 83] tasted ketchup's Origins are unknown and
[83 - 85] have long been disputed by historians
[85 - 86] many claim it's a derivative of
[86 - 88] vinegar-based pickling marinades and
[88 - 90] treatments like Spanish escavation
[90 - 92] others say it's distantly related to gam
[92 - 94] the fish sauce of ancient Greece and
[94 - 96] Rome or to various preparations from
[96 - 98] east or southeast Asia like sweet soy
[98 - 100] sauce known as Kat Manis none of these
[100 - 102] theories definitively answers the origin
[102 - 104] question but they do help explain why
[104 - 106] there's no agreed upon spelling for
[106 - 107] ketchup which is sometimes referred to
[107 - 110] as ketchup or my favorite catsup early
[110 - 112] American ketchup prototypes were pretty
[112 - 113] thin and watery they're made from
[113 - 115] ingredients like boiled mushroom cooking
[115 - 118] liquid wine vinegar Ginger and warm
[118 - 120] spices even when tomatoes and ented the
[120 - 121] formula in the 19th century most
[121 - 123] commercial versions lacked body because
[123 - 125] they were made from unripe Tomatoes they
[125 - 126] didn't provide enough pectin to give the
[126 - 128] sauce much body the other drawback to
[129 - 130] those early ones was that many ketchups
[130 - 132] contained benzoate preservatives which
[132 - 134] the USDA had deemed unsafe producers
[135 - 136] allegedly Ed these preservatives to mass
[136 - 138] the crummy unripe Tomatoes they were
[138 - 140] using as well as the subpar sanitation
[140 - 142] standards delicious Hines had a better
[142 - 144] idea replace the unripe tomatoes with
[144 - 146] ripe ones and replace the chemical
[146 - 147] preservatives with lots of vinegar and
[147 - 149] sugar which essentially pickled the
[149 - 151] tomato to preserve them in doing so he
[151 - 153] made it thicker sweeter and much better
[153 - 155] tasting that was the beginning of
[155 - 156] ketchup we all know today and it became
[156 - 158] the most iconic condiment in hines's
[158 - 160] Fleet of products which by the way
[160 - 162] totaled more than 57 even when Hines
[162 - 164] launched the 57 slogan at the end of the
[164 - 166] 1800s the company was making more than
[166 - 168] 60 different products and hin supposedly
[168 - 170] chose that number because he wanted to
[170 - 171] convey that his company had a ton of
[171 - 173] options and because 57 was the
[173 - 175] combination of his and his wife's lucky
[175 - 177] numbers five and seven quirky guy sweet
[178 - 180] gesture hard to say history is all well
[180 - 181] and good but what I really want to dig
[181 - 183] into is what makes ketchup so good in
[183 - 185] the first place and for that we need
[185 - 187] science one big reason is that it
[187 - 189] features the four basic tastes that are
[189 - 191] pretty universally loved sweet sour
[191 - 193] salty and Umami and it skips the bitter
[193 - 195] taste that we humans learn to appreciate
[195 - 197] and love but we don't R out of the gate
[197 - 199] ketchup is the condiment definition of a
[199 - 201] crowd pleaser and tomatoes are a huge
[201 - 203] part of the appeal they contain both
[203 - 205] glutamates and ribonucleotides which are
[205 - 206] both naturally occurring substances and
[206 - 208] foods that make them taste really Savory
[208 - 210] foods that contain just glutamate or
[210 - 212] just nucleotides are pretty darn Savory
[212 - 214] on their own but when both are in the
[214 - 216] mix they synergize and can increase
[216 - 218] savoriness Eightfold ketchup contains
[218 - 220] tomato concentrate which is all that
[220 - 222] intense savoriness minus most of its
[222 - 224] water so it's Ultra Umami there's also
[224 - 226] plenty of sugar and salt in the mix
[226 - 228] which complement the zami tastes as well
[228 - 230] as vinegar that adds brightness super
[230 - 232] Savory onion powder spices and natural
[232 - 234] flavorings most ketchup producers won't
[234 - 236] divulge any specifics about their
[236 - 238] seasoning formulas but judging purely by
[238 - 240] smell and taste my guess for Hines is
[240 - 241] that there's Trace Amounts of maybe
[241 - 244] celery powder carway or all spice warm
[244 - 246] spices like all spice and cloves have
[246 - 247] been part of the ketchup formula for
[247 - 249] centuries and they obviously add to the
[249 - 251] appeal but only if used in moderation if
[251 - 253] you ask me too much spice is one of the
[253 - 255] downfalls of homemade ketchups another
[255 - 257] is texture rarely are they as smooth as
[257 - 259] starbot speaking of texture that
[259 - 261] perfectly smooth clingy consistency is
[261 - 263] also part of its appeal and Mystique
[263 - 264] it's thick enough to spread nicely on a
[264 - 266] burger into coat a french fry but not
[266 - 268] starchy thick or clawing on the tongue
[268 - 269] it's a liquid when it squirts from the
[270 - 271] bottle but then it sits in a tidy pile
[271 - 273] on your plate there's a specific term
[273 - 275] for that consistency a sheer thinning
[275 - 277] non- neonian fluid say what non-
[277 - 279] nutonian fluids are liquids that do not
[279 - 281] behave like water water flows in a
[281 - 283] predictable Manner and its viscosity is
[283 - 285] constant with non nutonian fluids
[285 - 288] viscosity actually changes when force is
[288 - 289] applied there are sheer thinning non-
[289 - 292] nutonian fluids of which ketchup is one
[292 - 294] and there are sheer thickening liquids
[294 - 297] let's start there with o o is a mixture
[297 - 298] of corn starch and water and Its
[298 - 300] Behavior is pretty wild check it out
[301 - 302] I've mixed up a batch here and watch
[302 - 304] what happens when I punch it it hits
[304 - 306] right back my hand basically bounces off
[306 - 308] the surface it is not unlike punching a
[308 - 310] super firm mattress now before you all
[310 - 312] go out and buy 200 lb of cornstarch to
[313 - 315] start making your own mattress hold up
[315 - 316] because look what happens when I slowly
[316 - 319] push my hand in it it easily sinks in so
[319 - 321] cool right but that's actually nothing
[321 - 323] check out this video of test cook Joe
[323 - 325] gter sprinting on top of a giant vat of
[325 - 327] OAC Joe's a really fast runner and as
[327 - 329] his feet applies Force by slamming
[329 - 331] against the surface the liquid thickens
[331 - 333] and acts like a solid which prevents him
[333 - 334] from sinking in then when Joe stops
[335 - 337] running the liquid Thins and he sinks
[337 - 339] like a stone don't worry we did get Joe
[339 - 341] out ketchup along with other kitchen
[341 - 343] Staples like mayonnaise oyster sauce and
[343 - 345] mustard are the opposite of oble they
[345 - 347] are sheer thinning liquids they get
[347 - 349] looser when force is appli the iconic
[349 - 351] demo of sheer thinning is shaking up a
[351 - 353] glass bottle of ketchup if you gently
[353 - 355] agitate the bottle to get just a dollop
[355 - 357] for your burger it stays put like a
[357 - 358] solid shake it harder and then all of a
[359 - 360] sudden ketchup flows really fast and
[360 - 362] comes gushing out this is why ketchup
[362 - 364] producers introduce squeeze bottles that
[364 - 366] made it much easier and less messy to
[366 - 368] get the ketchup out and aim it at the
[368 - 370] Target so we understand ketchup flavor
[370 - 372] and ketchup texture and we understand
[372 - 374] how to get it out of the container I
[374 - 376] think it's time to eat now the best way
[376 - 378] to enjoy ketchup is of course a dip for
[378 - 380] hot salty fries now if ketchup just did
[380 - 382] that I'd still call it a success but for
[382 - 384] us Cooks ketchup is so much more than a
[384 - 386] condiment it's sweet Tangy flavor and
[386 - 388] viscosity make it a go-to base for
[388 - 390] meatloaf glaze Barbe sauce cocktail
[390 - 392] sauce and Catalina and thousand island
[392 - 394] dressings and even more one of my
[394 - 396] all-time favorite uses is in cocktail
[396 - 398] the camaron Mexico's iconic shrimp
[398 - 400] cocktail rather than dipping plain poach
[400 - 402] shrimp in a thick sauce you toss poach
[403 - 404] shrimp in a thinner ketchup based
[404 - 406] mixture that season with lime juice hot
[406 - 409] sauce cucumber onion avocado and
[409 - 412] cilantro basically all the good stuff
[412 - 413] then you scoop it up with saltin or
[413 - 415] other crackers or chips it's bold it's
[415 - 418] refreshing it's so dang good and the
[418 - 420] recipe is linked below ketchup also
[420 - 422] allegedly has a lot of hidden talents
[422 - 424] I've read about mixing it with sugar and
[424 - 425] rubbing it on your skin as an
[425 - 427] exfoliating facial scrub lathering it
[427 - 429] onto a dirty dog like shampoo to
[429 - 431] deodorize its fur or even freezing the
[431 - 432] little single serve packets you get in
[432 - 435] restaurants as mini ice packs shooting
[435 - 438] these videos is not easy chill out a
[443 - 443] here now I'm still working my way
[443 - 445] through most of these if you have a muy
[445 - 446] dog I can borrow that would be a huge
[446 - 448] help and if you have other weird ketchup
[448 - 450] tips I'd love to hear about those in the
[450 - 451] comments in the meantime I'm going to be
[451 - 453] eating my fries and ketchup and scooping
[453 - 455] up bite after bite of cockel De Cameron
[455 - 461] because this is definitely how to eat
[463 - 463] ketchup thanks so much for watching
[463 - 464] please let me know in the comments what
[464 - 466] your favorite brand of ketchup is and
[466 - 467] why and it's okay if you like homemade
[468 - 469] ketchup I want to know that too thanks
[469 - 471] to Andrew F Smith author of pure ketchup
[471 - 473] and by all accounts the world's leading
[473 - 475] expert on the subject his book is full
[475 - 477] of little known ketchup Intel I highly
[477 - 479] recommend you check it out I also owe a
[479 - 480] huge thanks to Joe gter and especially
[481 - 482] to our senior science research editor
[482 - 484] Paul Adams for helping me mix up those
[484 - 487] 800 gallons of Ock yes 800 gallons we
[487 - 489] use a cement mixer thanks for watching
[489 - 492] and I'll see you next time