Ketchup as we know it was introduced in 1812. Before that tomatoes weren’t used in the condiment. In ancient China, “ge-thcup” or “koe-cheup”  was made with soybeans and scraps from fermented fish and meat. When English travelers brought the condiment home, they changed the recipe to a spicy paste of mushrooms, walnuts, celery, fruit, or shellfish such as oysters or mushrooms. The bottle pictured here is from the early to mid-20th century. Luey and Abercrombie made this ketchup in Greenfield, Massachusetts, and advertised its “home made perfection.”