AWA: Academic Writing at Auckland

When I was a child, I loved tomato sauce. The bottle was ever-present at the dinner table to enhance the flavour of my broccoli, eggs, fish, sausages, and potatoes...basically any savoury food. I even tried it on ice-cream once as a dare, and my cousins still tease me about it today. The best tomato sauce was Grandpa’s; made from the home-grown tomatoes I helped him harvest. It was always a special treat to share with fish and chips at my grandparent’s place, sitting on a rug on the living floor, their cat sitting there with us. A bottle was considered a prize in our family.

Tomato sauce or ‘ketchup’ has a long history. The sauce originated in China where it was called ‘ke-tsiap’ and made from fermented fish. It spread to Indonesia and Malaysia where it was discovered by British and Dutch sailors in the 17^th Century. The sauce gradually went through changes in both name and constituents. It was known as ‘catsup’, ‘catchup’, ‘katsup’ as well as ‘ketchup’ in early cookbooks in Britain and commonly made of pickled mushrooms, oysters, walnuts or anchovies, resembling Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce more than modern tomato sauce. The addition of tomatoes occurred during the 1700’s. Mushroom ketchups were more popular in Britain, while Americans preferred tomato ketchup.  Tomato ketchup was sold commercially in America by 1837, and Heinz ketchup has been bottled since 1872 using the same formula (BBC h2g2, 2004).

Recipes for tomato ketchup had already appeared in British cookbooks by the time settlers arrived in New Zealand (Hingston, 2009). It is difficult to determine its popularity and some evidence suggests that tomatoes were initially regarded with suspicion (Bailey, 1993). However, by the end of the 18^th century, tomatoes were being grown commercially in New Zealand, often by Italian immigrants (Hingston, 2009). Heinz ketchup was imported to New Zealand as early as 1907 (H.J. Heinz Company, n.d.) and Wattie’s began bottling its tomato sauce following WW2, when demand for canned meat products was reduced and the company decided to shift their focus back to the produce that they had originally specialized in. (Heinz Watties Ltd., n.d.-a).

While tomato sauce is not a uniquely New Zealand product, it is a vital accompaniment to many ‘Kiwi’ foods. Fish and chips, meat pies, sausage sizzles, bacon and egg pie are all commonly consumed with a side of tomato sauce, making tomato sauce an essential component of New Zealand’s food identity.

It is difficult to quantify how consumption of tomato sauce has changed in New Zealand, although it seems likely that is has increased significantly. Today in New Zealand 80% of children (Minstry of Health, 2003) and 48% of adults (Russell, 1999) consume tomato sauce weekly. A U.S. survey from 1955 found that the percentage of households using ‘catsup’, an alternative name for tomato sauce, was 40%. (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1956). In the U.S., the per capita consumption of processed tomato products has increased from an average of 52 pounds in the 1960’s to 75 pounds in the 1990’s, with ketchup accounting for approximately 15% of that amount (Lucier, 2000). Although there is a lack of New Zealand data about processed tomato products specifically, tomatoes in general have become a staple vegetable in the New Zealand diet (Bailey, 1993).

Another aspect of tomato sauce consumption that has changed is the type of tomato sauce; that is, whether it is home-made or commercially produced. Home bottling in New Zealand reached its peak in the 1950’s and remained popular until the 1970’s when popularity declined. In 1962, for example, home bottled fruit consumption was four times that of canned fruit. (Bailey, 1993). While little information is available about the bottling of tomato sauce in particular, it seems likely that during this period in New Zealand, home-made tomato sauce was more common than it is today despite the early commercial  availability of tomato sauce. Partly, this has resulted from the decline in home-grown vegetables, which is part of a broader picture of urbanization and declining garden space that is related to other aspects discussed below. It is also likely to be related to economic factors such as increasing incomes, as well as the increased availability of commercially grown produce and the introduction of television as a recreational activity. (Bailey, 1993).  It is interesting to note that in recent years vegetable gardening seems to be increasing in popularity again, with an informal survey indicating that almost 60% of New Zealander’s have started a vegetable garden in the last year (Dickison, 2010). This probably reflects economic factors such as the recession and a perceived increase of the price of fresh produce as well as environmental concerns.

Interestingly, the components of tomato sauce or ketchup have remained relatively unchanged since the 1800s. The basic components remain tomatoes, vinegar, sugar and seasonings. My great-grandmother’s recipe is as follows;

3kg tomatoes

 1.5kg apples

 4 large onions

60g garlic

1 packet whole pickling spices

3tsp cloves

½ tsp cayenne pepper

700mL malt vinegar

500g brown sugar

1dsp salt

Small bottle of Lea and Perrin’s

This does not differ significantly from the ingredients on a label of modern tomato sauce. The Heinz tomato ketchup that is sold in New Zealand, for example, contains concentrated tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, salt, natural flavours and spice. The only real differences are the use of tomato concentrate and the substitution of apples for some of the tomatoes. Apples are commonly used in Kiwi homemade tomato sauce recipes, presumably to bulk out the sauce (Hingston, 2009; Johnston, 2008). This lack of change in the basic components of ketchup could in part be due to regulation in the United States. There, government standard regulations stated that ketchup must contain the above ingredients as early as 1901. (BBC h2g2, 2004). However, there have been some more subtle changes in recent years with the introduction of ‘lite’ varieties that have reduced salt and sugar that have occurred in response to health concerns. (H.J. Heinz Company, n.d.).

There are a number of factors that could have affected the changes in tomato sauce consumption. One broad trend is the increase in processed convenience foods and the increase in meals eaten away from the home. The shift to processed foods in general partly explains the decrease in consumption of home-made tomato sauce. These trends have complex explanations and I will only examine a few of them in this essay. However, there are some common factors that underlie these changes.

One important factor is the dramatic increase in the proportion of women in paid employment. Married women have traditionally had the responsibility of preparing meals for their families. Women continue to be responsible for the majority of household work, especially food preparation. On average, women spend twice as much time as men on preparing and cleaning up food and beverages. (Statistics New Zealand, 2001). Since the 1920’s however, there has been a sharp increase if the proportion of married women who work full time. In 1926, just 3.5% of married women were in paid employment, rising to 35.8% in 1981. This reflects a general increase in the number of women in the workforce. In 1926, women accounted for 20% of the workforce. By 1981 this number had increased to 33% and by 2001 to 47%. (Bailey, 1993; Else, 2003). The increasing pressure placed on women by employment as well as continued unpaid household work have increased demand for easy to prepare, convenient foods as well as for takeaway foods.

Another important factor is changing household composition. In New Zealand there has been a steady increase in the number of non-family households, a family household in the conventional sense meaning mum, dad and the kids. In 1966 non-family households accounted for 18% of households, rising to 24% in 1981 (Bailey, 1993). In 2001, the proportion of households that consisted of couples with children was just 42.1%. (Statistics New Zealand, 2002). People living outside a traditional household are also likely to face the pressure of having less time to prepare food, contributing to demand for fast, convenient foods.

One of the responses to this increasing demand has been an increase in the availability of takeaway and fast foods.  A simple search of the Yellow Pages identifies 1167 takeaway outlets in the Auckland region, not including places like McDonald’s that are categorized as restaurants (Yellow, n.d.).  This clearly reflects a change in eating patterns since the 1960’s when just 6% of people regularly ate away from home (Bailey, 1993).  Tomato sauce is commonly eaten with takeaway foods such as fish and chips and McDonald’s, and snack foods such as sausage rolls and pies. A U.S. study found that almost 60% of ketchup consumption occurred outside the home (Lucier, 2000). With a similar increase in meals eaten away from home in New Zealand, takeaway foods are likely to account for some of the increase in consumption. 

It is especially difficult to isolate the health effects of tomato sauce as it is consumed in relatively small amounts. It is high in both lycopene and sodium, however, both of which may affect health. Of perhaps greater concern is the pattern of increasing fast food consumption and the concurrent rise in obesity with which tomato sauce is associated. This is a complex issue that will not be examined here (World Health Organization, 2011).

Lycopene is an antioxidant found in tomatoes and other red fruits and vegetables. As the processed tomato industry likes to tell us, tomato sauce contains lycopene. What the tomato industry also likes to tells us is that lycopene is a powerful antioxidant, suggesting a health benefit if you eat tomato sauce.(H.J. Heinz Company & n.d.; Heinz Watties Ltd., n.d.-b) In fact, if you type ‘www.lycopene.org’ into your web browser, you will be directed to a ‘Health and Wellness’ page on the Heinz website. (H.J. Heinz Company & n.d.). While tomato sauce does contain lycopene and lycopene does have antioxidant properties, there is little evidence to date that suggests eating foods high in lycopene results in any health benefit (Schneeman, 2005).

Tomato sauce is high in salt. Although content varies, many have between 100 and 200mg of sodium per 15g serving. While it may not sound like much, this translates to around 5-10% of the recommended upper limit for daily sodium intake for adults in just one tablespoon of tomato sauce (National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia) & Ministry of Health (New Zealand), 2005). When you take into consideration the lower limits recommended for children and the consumption pattern of tomato sauce with other salty foods this becomes even more significant. The main health concern associated with sodium intake is increased blood pressure, as high blood pressure is a risk factor for renal and cardiovascular diseases (F.J. He & G.A. MacGregor, 2004; National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia) & Ministry of Health (New Zealand), 2005; Strazzullo, D'Elia, Kandala, & Cappuccio, 2009).

Tomato sauce has become a widely-consumed addition to many foods and has an interesting history. It is important to be aware of the possible health implications of excessive use and it will be interesting to see any future changes in consumption patterns in the future.

References

Bailey, R., Earle, M.,. (1993). Home Cooking to Takeaways: Changes in food consumption in New Zealand during 1880-1990. Palmerston North, N.Z.: Massey University.

BBC h2g2. (2004). Ketchup.   Retrieved 23rd March, 2011, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A2821781

Dickison, M. (2010). Canny Kiwi's give green thumbs-up to growing their own vegetables. New Zealand Herald   Retrieved 23rd March, 2011, from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10696723

Else, A., Bishop, B., . (2003). Occupational Patterns for Employed New Zealand Women: An analysis of the 2001 Census data. Wellington: Minstry of Women's Affairs.

F.J. He & G.A. MacGregor. (2004). Effect of longer-term modest salt reduction on blood pressure. Cochrane database of systematic reviews (Online)(3).

H.J. Heinz Company. (n.d.). Grown, Not Made.   Retrieved 23rd March, 2011, from http://www.heinz.com/our-food/products/ketchup.aspx

H.J. Heinz Company, & (n.d.). One of the World's most beloved superfoods.   Retrieved 23rd March, 2011, from http://www.heinz.com/health--wellness/focus-foods/dietary-preferences.aspx#diet/

Heinz Watties Ltd. (n.d.-a). Our History.   Retrieved 23rd March, 2011, from http://watties.co.nz/Our-History

Heinz Watties Ltd. (n.d.-b). Wattie's tomato sauce - New Zealand's favourite!   Retrieved 23rd March, 2011, from http://watties.co.nz/Our-Products/Table-Sauces/Tomato-Sauce

Hingston, J. (2009). The ABC of Kiwi Food: Afghans, barbecues & chocolate fish. Auckland: Hodder Moa.

Johnston, A. (2008). Ladies, a plate: Traditional home baking. North Shore, N.Z.: Penguin.

Lucier, G., Lin, B.H., Allshouse, J., Kantor, L.S.,. (2000). Factors Affecting Tomato Consumption  in the United States. In U. S. D. o. A. Economic Research Service (Ed.), Vegetables and Specialties Situation Outlook Report. Washington: USDA.

Minstry of Health. (2003). NZ Food, NZ Children: Key results of the 2002 National Children's Nutrition Survey. Wellington: Ministry of Health.

National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia) & Ministry of Health (New Zealand). (2005). Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand including Recommended Dietary Intakes. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.

Russell, D. G., Parnell, W.R., Wilson N.C, et al. . (1999). NZ Food: NZ People. Key results of the 1997 National Nutrition Survey. . Wellington: Ministry of Health.

Schneeman, B. (2005). Qualified Health Claims: Letter regarding tomatoes and prostate cancer (Lycopene Health Claim Coalition) (Docket No. 2004Q-0201).   Retrieved 23rd March, 2011, from http://www.fda.gov/Food/LabelingNutrition/LabelClaims/QualifiedHealthClaims/ucm072767.htm

Statistics New Zealand. (2001). Gender and unpaid work: findings from the Time Use Survey.   Retrieved 23rd March, 2011, from http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/people_and_communities/time_use/gender-and-unpaid-work.aspx

Statistics New Zealand. (2002). 2001 Census: Families and households. Wellington: Statisitics New Zealand.

Strazzullo, P., D'Elia, L., Kandala, N. B., & Cappuccio, F. P. (2009). Salt intake, stroke, and cardiovascular disease: Meta-analysis of prospective studies. BMJ, 339(7733), 1296.

U.S. Department of Agriculture. (1956). Food Consumption of Households in the United States: Household food consumption survey 1955. Washington, D.C.: Author.

World Health Organization. (2011). Obesity and overweight: Factsheet N311.   Retrieved 23rd March, 2011, from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/

Yellow. (n.d.). Takeaway foods in the Auckland Region.   Retrieved 23rd March, 2011, from http://yellow.co.nz/search/Auckland+Region/Takeaway+Foods-1.html