Before it became a staple condiment for burgers and fries, ketchup was marketed as a cure for various physical ailments.
The Tomato Pill:
- 💊 In 1834, an Ohio physician named Dr. John Cook Bennett claimed tomatoes could treat diarrhea, indigestion, and jaundice
- 🧪 He published recipes for tomato ketchup and later had them concentrated into pill form to be sold as a universal medicine
From Medicine to Sauce:
- 🍔 It wasn't until the late 19th century that ketchup shifted from a medicinal tonic to a popular household sauce
- 📉 The "medicine" empire collapsed when copycats started selling fake pills made of plain flour, leading people to use it only as a condiment