Is the foundation of any ketchup or tomato paste sauce. In ketchups "premium" and "extra" share of tomato paste should be 40%, the highest category in ketchup - 30% in ketchup first and second category - not less than 15%.
Low content of tomato paste in cheap ketchup offset by various substitutes, namely, vegetable and fruit puree (for example, beetroot and apple), starch, flour and gum. Unfortunately, natural starch and gum is rarely used - instead use cheaper synthetic analogues.
To make the ketchup "economy class" sour, it adds vinegar or citric acid. The taste of ketchup also affects the quality of water used, which depends entirely on the integrity of the manufacturer.
Modern types of ketchup difficult to imagine without all kinds of condiments: onions, garlic, peppers, carrots, mushrooms, mustard seeds, herbs and others. In the high-quality ketchup condiments share must be at least 27%, in a cheap ketchup - not less than 14%.
Most of the industrial method made ketchup also contain various chemical additives: stabilizers, preservatives and flavors. In low-quality ketchup dose of these synthetic substances is too high, so they can trigger allergies and gastrointestinal diseases. This ketchup is bad - especially for people suffering from obesity and metabolic disorders.
A positive effect on the health of only high-quality ketchup. Its use is due to its high content of carotenoid pigment lycopene, which is not produced in the human body. This material can be ingested with food alone. And tomatoes, which are the basis of ketchup are the champions among the fruits and vegetables on the content of lycopene.
Studies have shown that lycopene has a strong anti-cancer effects, and prevents diseases of the cardiovascular system. Interestingly, when the heating amount of lycopene is increasing. Since tomatoes for sauce are exposed to heat, the concentration of lycopene increases by about half.
Tomatoes are also rich in other valuable vitamins and trace elements, turning into ketchup. This complex vitamins, vitamin C and P, potassium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium and calcium.
In addition, high-quality ketchup contains serotonin, which regulates the vascular tone, normal blood clotting, improving mood and sleep.
To avoid purchasing low-quality product, try to buy ketchup only "premium" and "extra". Be sure to read the label: If the sauce is no vegetable or fruit puree, modified starch, acetic acid and dyes - in front of you, most likely, a quality product. In addition, it is desirable that ketchup was made by the guests, and the wrong.
It remains to add that it is better to buy ketchup in glass containers rather than in plastic. After a while the plastic starts to produce harmful substances that go into the sauce.