How many calories in ketchup
A tablespoon of ketchup has about 17 kcal, mostly from tomato and sugar.
Portion
To burn it off
A tablespoon of ketchup is 17 kcal and 4 g of carbs, with no fat. It's tomatoes, vinegar and a fair bit of sugar.
Next to mayo it's tiny. One spoon of mayo is about the same as six of ketchup.
Even a generous squeeze next to your chips is likely 50 or so. It's rarely the part of the meal worth worrying about.
Tips
- 1If you're choosing between sauces, ketchup is one of the lighter ones.
- 2Go for the reduced sugar version if you have it on everything.
- 3Squeeze it on the side rather than all over, then you dip as you go.
Where it comes from
Ketchup started out as a fish sauce. The word probably comes from a pickled fish brine from southern China and Southeast Asia that European sailors met in the 1600s, and early English ketchups were made from mushrooms, walnuts or anchovies. One of the first American tomato ketchup recipes appeared in 1812 in a book by Philadelphia doctor James Mease, who called tomatoes love apples.
Read the full story · Where does our food come from? · Source: Smithsonian Magazine, The birth of non-alcoholic ketchup
Just type it
a squeeze of ketchup
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Questions
Is ketchup high in sugar?
It has some, about 4 g of carbs a tablespoon, but the amounts people use are small.
How many calories in a sachet of ketchup?
A sachet is usually a bit less than a tablespoon, so under 17 kcal.
Is ketchup lower than mayo?
Much lower. Ketchup is 17 kcal a tablespoon, mayo 100.
Is BBQ sauce higher in calories than ketchup?
A bit. BBQ sauce is about 30 kcal a tablespoon, nearly twice ketchup's 17, because it has more sugar.
Does ketchup need to go in the fridge after opening?
Yes, most bottles say so on the label. It keeps its taste and colour for longer in the fridge.
