Ketchup's CRAZY Past! It Was Once Sold As MEDICINE!

Long before it graced our plates as a beloved condiment, tomato-based ketchup held a surprising role in the medical cabinets of the 19th century. In an era when many Americans still harbored suspicions that tomatoes were poisonous, a physician from Ohio named Dr. John Cook Bennett championed the fruit (Review) for its supposed healing powers. Around 1834, Dr. Bennett began marketing ketchup as a potent remedy, claiming it could cure common ailments such as indigestion, diarrhea, and jaundice. His assertions were so convincing that he even concentrated his tomato concoction into "tomato pills," which quickly gained popularity.

The belief in tomatoes' medicinal properties stemmed from early, albeit unscientific, understandings of nutrition. While the concepts of vitamins and antioxidants were not yet fully formed, Dr. Bennett and others believed tomatoes contained beneficial compounds like pectin and lycopene that could alleviate various bodily complaints. This led to a "tomato pill craze," with numerous companies scrambling to produce their own versions of the supposed miracle cure.

However, the unregulated market for these medicinal tomato products proved to be their undoing. As demand soared, some unscrupulous manufacturers began to cut corners, using rotten tomato pulp, adding harmful chemicals like boric acid and formalin for preservation, and even substituting actual tomato content with laxatives. By the 1850s, after widespread reports of ineffective or dangerous imitations, public trust in medicinal ketchup plummeted, and the craze faded. It wasn't until later in the century, with figures like Henry Heinz focusing on quality and food safety, that tomato ketchup truly began its journey to becoming the culinary staple we recognize today.