Banana Ketchup

Easton Reed Banana Ketchup with Banana and Mango

Easton Reed Banana Ketchup is the banana-based ketchup in their lineup. Banana puree sits just ahead of tomato paste, mango adds a tropical sweetness, and a mild curry with a hint of cinnamon provides the seasoning.

Banana Ketchup is the banana-based ketchup from Augsburg-based Easton Reed, bottled in 280-milliliter jars. Banana puree leads the ingredient list at 25 percent, closely followed by tomato paste. Mango puree, spirit vinegar, diced tomatoes, curry, and cinnamon round out the recipe.

Tropical sweetness over robust tomato

The ketchup glows in a bright orange-red, revealing even in the jar that there is more than just tomato in the pot. It is thick and slides off the spoon as slowly as one would expect from a fruit reduction.

Up front is the banana, soft and rounded, with the mango layering a second, brighter fruitiness on top. Only then does the tomato appear, bringing back the acidity that makes a ketchup a ketchup. Without it, the product would be more of a chutney than a condiment.

Finally, the curry emerges with a warm, mild spice, and the cinnamon rounds it off without making it taste like Christmas. Fruity, sweet, and gently spiced—that is the taste from start to finish, with no heat added at any point. According to the label, the curry contains mustard.

With chicken, rice, and grilled sausage

In the Philippines, banana ketchup is served alongside everything fried or grilled, and it fills that role well here, too.

It is the obvious choice for chicken legs, skewers, and grilled sausage, and it replaces any other sauce over rice or fried noodles. It also works well with fried fish, as the fruitiness balances out the saltiness. It also goes well with fries, spring rolls, and baked vegetables, and in a poultry marinade, the fruit sugar ensures quick browning.

For something classic, there is the Tomato Ketchup; for something earthy, there is the Truffle Ketchup. The remaining varieties from the company can be found on the Ketchup shelf.

Invented in the Philippines

Banana ketchup is not a modern gimmick; it is an invention born out of necessity, and it has a name and a date.

In the 1930s and 40s, food chemist Maria Ylagan Orosa developed a recipe in the Philippines that did not require tomatoes, as they were scarce, while bananas were abundant. Orosa had studied food chemistry in the United States and worked on securing the country's food supply using local ingredients.

The country's National Historical Commission still credits Orosa with the idea, and mass production of the first banana ketchup began in 1942. Since then, it has been as commonplace in the Philippines as tomato ketchup is in our country.

Unlike the Philippine original, Easton Reed's version has tomato almost on par with banana, which brings the ketchup closer to local habits. Anyone trying it for the first time will still immediately recognize it as something new. The line was developed by Ryan's Specialties in Augsburg; more information can be found in the Easton Reed product range.