Ketchup is a sauce with tomatoes in, but it generally includes vinegar, salt and quite a lot of sugar; tends to have a consistent, lump-free texture; it's applied to greasy food like fries and hamburgers; and only about one tablespoon would be used per meal.
On the other hand, a pasta sauce would generally retain chunks of tomato, use less (or even no) vinegar, salt or sugar per unit volume; and it would be applied to non-greasy pasta in much larger volumes :)
Historically, ketchup was a class of condiments that all had a lot of umami like fish sauces and oyster sauces. Over time, different ketchups were invented, one of which was tomato ketchup. Its popularity grew, and the other ketchups were forgotten, so these days ketchup is synonymous with tomato ketchup.
> Ketchup is a sauce with tomatoes in, but it generally includes vinegar, salt and quite a lot of sugar; tends to have a consistent, lump-free texture; it's applied to greasy food like fries and hamburgers; and only about one tablespoon would be used per meal.
What you've described is just called tomato sauce in my part of the world (Pacific Islands, Australia, New Zealand). So what we call tomato sauce, you call ketchup.
We do tomato paste and tomato puree. Typically use the paste for a pizza base, and if you're making your own pasta sauce, tomato puree with a dollop of paste to up the tomatoeness.
For the confused people in the audience: There is a product, in Australia, much like ketchup, marketed as “tomato sauce”. Yes, people make pasta sauce with it. Yes, pasta sauce made from scratch is better. It’s not so dissimilar from ketchup, just a little less vinegary.
I'm British, and I refer to ketchup as ketchup. This may be regional; I'm southern-English. I'd probably by default assume that if you said 'tomato sauce' you meant a generic tomato-based sauce, not the specific condiment Heinz &c make.
I’m British, from the South East, and it was tomato sauce in my family when I was a kid, but now it is ketchup. There was a transition at some point fairly recently. English evolves easily.
I think you've nailed it. I'm was Essex/Kent born and raised, with East End of London heritage. It was always "tomato sauce", was very rare to hear it referred to as "ketchup".
Yeah I don't think I've ever heard of that in Australia.
I know about ketchup and 'tomato sauce' as being essentially the same condiment, used on a hot dog or what have you.
I've never heard of someone using actual ketchup/tomato sauce condiment as a pasta sauce. Literal spaghetti and sauce (that we all ate as kids, don't deny it) from a can would taste better.
Apparently it's a thing here in Thailand, but given how most Thai places in western countries treat Thai food, Im not sure I have much place to tell them they're doing it wrong.
Tomato jam would be better description, though that’s also a whole other condiment which is apparently pretty popular in South Africa. We don’t typically serve our pasta with ketchup[1].
On the other hand, a pasta sauce would generally retain chunks of tomato, use less (or even no) vinegar, salt or sugar per unit volume; and it would be applied to non-greasy pasta in much larger volumes :)