"Throughout the summer, Americans joyfully adorn their patriotic cookouts with the vibrant hue of ketchup.
This tomato-based condiment has captivated the nation for two centuries, boasting authentic American flavor credentials.
We owe gratitude to Dr. James Mease, a multi-talented Philadelphia native. He was not only a scientist, but also an author, horticulturalist, civic activist, Pennsylvania polymath—a truly brilliant individual—and even served as a wartime military surgeon."
He also really loved "love apples." That was his term for tomatoes.
"In 1812, Mease concocted the inaugural batch of what we now recognize as ketchup.
"Dr. Mease held a prominent position in Philadelphia during his era," Anthony DiGiovanni of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania shared with Fox News Digital. "He engaged in a wide array of endeavors and extensively documented various subjects, spanning from medical remedies to agricultural practices in Philadelphia, vineyard cultivation, and even matters of navigation and ocean currents," DiGiovanni added.
Mease embodied patriotism and fervently supported the burgeoning nation.
It's fitting that he bestowed upon the nation he passionately served the condiment that has since captured the hearts of Americans more than any other."
"He wrote prolifically about … medical cures, pattern farming in Philadelphia, vineyards, as well as navigation and ocean currents."
"His father, a notable merchant and patriot, bravely served in the Philadelphia Troop of Light Horse, a cavalry militia, during the American Revolution.
This troop, alongside Virginia General George Washington, journeyed north in 1775 to assume leadership over the eclectic army of New England militiamen encamped around Boston, who were engaged in a siege against the British."
Continuing the family tradition, the younger Mease pursued medical studies at the University of Pennsylvania, earning his title of Dr. Mease in 1792.
In a testament to his commitment to national service, he took up the role of a military surgeon during the War of 1812, which many regard as America's second war for independence.
His intellectual interests went far beyond just the human body.
"Historian Henry Simpson noted in his 1859 collection of biographies, "The Lives of Eminent Philadelphians, Now Deceased," that Dr. Mease did not greatly immerse himself in the practice of his profession."
Mease played a significant role in the creation, editing, or contribution to several influential intellectual works and reference books. His dedication primarily lay in horticulture and agriculture, aiming to cultivate more sustenance for a burgeoning nation.
According to an online profile by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Mease was a notable figure within The Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture.
He "was a prominent member of The Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture."
In the era, Americans were accustomed to a condiment resembling ketchup, albeit spelled 'catsup' by Mease. However, this sauce bore only a resemblance to the ketchup he later popularized; its taste remained an exotic foreign flavor in the 1700s, both in Europe and the American colonies.
According to Smithsonian Magazine's 2018 report, China is believed to have been the probable birthplace of the condiment, originating from something resembling 'ke-chiap.' Initially, it likely began as a fish-based sauce.
Variants of the sauce included ingredients such as anchovies, mushrooms, walnuts, and wine.
More spellings followed as the sauce crossed language barriers: kecap and katchup among them.
"Katchup" was a condiment in need of an identity.
Mease knew just the fruit for the job.
Love apples and brandy
Among his various intellectual and civic pursuits, Mease was involved as one of the managers of the 'Company for the Improvement of the Vine,' where he played a role in the development of a vinegar, as mentioned by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
The position either reflected or inspired his interest in a popular vine-growing fruit.
Love apples.
The phrase is hardly used today. But "love apples" was common in the centuries after Christopher Columbus landed in the New World for the first time in 1492.
"China … was likely the original source of the condiment with something that sounded like ‘ke-chiap.'"
The "Columbian Exchange" that followed created a dramatic revolution in worldwide cuisine. The Western Hemisphere welcomed apples, among many other new foods, for the first time.
The Old World enjoyed a sudden influx of foods from the Americas, including tomatoes. They were perceived by Europeans to have aphrodisiac qualities.
The French dubbed tomatoes pomme d’amour – "apples of love."
The same Romance-language root gave Italy its word for tomato, known by almost any American who's plucked tomato sauce off a supermarket shelf: pomodoro.
Mease's first reference to love apples appeared in 1804, according to the 1996 book, "Pure Ketchup: A History of America's National Condiment, with Recipes" by Andrew F. Smith.
OUTDOOR KITCHEN AND GRILLS TO KICK OFF SUMMER
Mease, noted Smith, claimed that love apples made "a fine catsup."
The doctor published the first-known recipe for tomato ketchup in 1812.
"Slice the apples thin, and over every layer sprinkle a little salt," Mease wrote in his "Archives of Useful Knowledge, Vol. 2."
He continued, "Cover them, and let them lie 24 hours; then beat them well, and simmer them half an hour in a bell-metal kettle; add mace and allspice. When cold, add two cloves of raw shallots cut small, and half a gill of brandy to each bottle, which must be corked tight, and kept in a cool place."
Mease’s ketchup had a long shelf life while its acidity added bright flavor to bland foods. Yet it was neutral enough to pair with just about everything.
It exploded as a national phenomenon after the Civil War.
Ketchup gained popularity in the decades that followed, largely as an easy homemade condiment.
It exploded as a national phenomenon after the Civil War. Credit a man whose name appears in the refrigerator of almost every American home today.
Henry John Heinz improved the recipe. Ketchup became sweeter, most notably, in 1876. He patented what became his iconic Heinz bottle in 1882.
He also spelled his product "ketchup" to distinguish his product from the more common catsups of the 19th century.
Ketchup was here to stay.
The New York Tribune in 1892, according to an online report by NPR, declared that tomato ketchup was "on every table in the land."
Henry John Heinz improved the recipe. Ketchup became sweeter, most notably, in 1876. He patented what became his iconic Heinz bottle in 1882.
He also spelled his product "ketchup" to distinguish his product from the more common catsups of the 19th century.
Ketchup was here to stay.
The New York Tribune in 1892, according to an online report by NPR, declared that tomato ketchup was "on every table in the land."
‘Intelligent, dedicated and thoughtful’
Dr. James Mease died on May 14, 1846, and was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia. He was 74 years old.
"He passed a long and active life in our midst, with credit to himself and advantage to his fellow citizens," Simpson wrote in "The Lives of Eminent Philadelphians."
His vast intellect was celebrated by an impressive range of intellectual institutions, including the American Philosophical Society and the Athenaeum of Philadelphia. He’s an icon today in the world of numismatics — coin collectors.
It's given birth to many other condiments, too. Shrimp cocktail, barbecue, sweet & sour and Utah fry sauce all use ketchup as a base.
So, too, does thousand island dressing.
"While ketchup is indeed an American staple — 97% of households have a bottle on hand — it’s very popular around the world, where the condiment is used in a lot of surprising ways," Smithsonian Magazine reported in 2018.
Ketchup is squirted on pizza, the magazine notes, in Lebanon and Poland; paired with pasta in Japan; and mixed with curry powder to accent streetcart wurst in Germany.
Mease, a brilliant child born to a veteran of the American Revolution — and someone who served himself in wartime and devoted his life to improving the nation — created more than a condiment.
He turned the love apples of the Western Hemisphere into a worldwide ambassador of the United States.
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