Ketchups: With Tomatoes Or Preservatives?

Ketchups: with tomatoes or preservatives?

According to statistics, men consume ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard more often than women consume chocolate and sweets, and the amount of sugar and calories in these products may exceed the amount of those in a small cake or pastry.

Initially, ketchup was considered the king of sauces and was made from the most ripe tomatoes with garlic, pepper, salt and many different herbs. Now such a delicacy can only be prepared at home, and all the visible variety of ketchup on supermarket shelves is made from tomato paste with the addition of not only spices, but also numerous chemical additives. First of all, modern ketchup was supplemented with starch and water - and this is not surprising, because the number of tomatoes in a can cannot be counted, and the volume of the product increases by 30-40%. Of course, there is no harm from water and starch, but so that the sauce itself does not lose its taste, you have to use a lot of tricks: first of all, instead of very ripe tomatoes, they began to pick unripe ones - more sour and bitter, they "compensated" for the flavor saturation. The amount of pepper and garlic has also increased rapidly, especially since the 70s, when large crops of cheap pepper appeared in Central Asia.

However, it is quite obvious that in order for the sauce not to spoil, a preservative is needed, thus not only a large amount of sugar will get into its composition, but also all kinds of stabilizers, flavorings and flavor enhancers. Sugar and salt practically do not taste, since tomatoes act in a special way on receptors in the human mouth, weakening the richness of the taste of these two components. At the same time, the regular use of ketchup can lead to the accumulation of unwanted calories, diseases of the oral cavity and a specific unpleasant odor, however, it will not be so easy to determine the cause - we practically do not feel the taste of sugar in ketchup.

Let's dwell on food additives. By removing a certain amount of tomatoes from the jar and replacing them with water and starch, the grower obtains a thinner mixture with a faint taste and aroma, which has a pale pink color instead of a rich red. To bring the content into shape, a number of additives are added: E211, E414, E415, E412, E1422, E331, E124, E954. After reading the label, you can find this bouquet of chemistry in full or partial composition, or even supplemented with other elements. All of these additives are allowed in Russia, but their regular use can cause unwanted changes in the human body.

The most unpleasant of these is E211 or sodium benzoate, a substance that inhibits the activity of yeast and fungi and enhances the color of ketchup. It is considered one of the strongest allergens in the food industry, there are numerous studies confirming the negative effect of this substance on the nervous system, it stimulates the development of Parkinson's disease, negatively affects the liver, up to cirrhosis. Gum arabic (E414) and xanthan gum - natural thickeners, create thick ketchup from liquid "compote", serious disadvantages for the body - flatulence, indigestion, pain, nausea, intestinal colic. Of course, such a result can be achieved only with regular use or when taken in large quantities, however, there is no benefit to humans from such stabilizers either.

E1422 - modified starch, causes serious diseases of the stomach, clogs the esophagus, sticking to the walls, is an additional burden for the body. E124 is banned in many countries, as it is considered a carcinogen that causes cancer, and also aggravates and provokes asthma attacks.

Most medical professionals recommend ketchup as a health food, but the real sauce made from natural tomatoes has nothing to do with the starch-based chemical mixture that most manufacturers offer. If real ketchup is useful in that it lowers cholesterol levels, improves metabolism, contains vitamins B, PP, K, organic acids and carotenoids, pectins, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, then in the usual factory there is hardly a tenth of these necessary for the body of elements, but numerous preservatives and thickeners are provided. In order not to consume unnecessary allergens and carcinogens under the guise of vitamins and trace elements, you must carefully read the label, carefully consider the color of the sauce: thickeners give a lighter pinkish tint, real tomatoes are dark,sometimes a brownish color, the smell should be natural, rich, aromas give a resinous accent, you should not buy products of dubious companies or at a deliberately reduced price, you should always pay attention to the observance of shelf life.

Author: Maria Lev (specially for Calorizator.ru)

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