Ketchup: why does the word come from Hokkien, a Chinese dialect?

Question

AhaDaily · Accepted Answer

Hokkien ke-tsiap, fermented fish brine Ketchup comes from Hokkien ke-tsiap, the salty brine of fermented fish and shellfish, with no tomato in it. Fujian fishermen salted small fish in clay jars; the brine was called ke-tsiap in Hokkien, a fish sauce. The word survives in Malay and Indonesian kecap, and English sailors took it home in the 1690s. English cooks used mushrooms; tomatoes came in 1812.

Ketchup: why does the word come from Hokkien, a Chinese dialect?

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