History reference

China is considered to be the ancestral home of ketchup. In Europe, this type of sauce appeared in the 17th century and was delivered to England by sea. Soon the recipe for ketchup spread throughout the continent, while tomatoes were not originally included in it. It consisted of fish pickle (or shellfish), wine, anchovies, mushrooms, beans, walnuts, garlic and spices.

The beginning of the industrial production of ketchup in its modern form dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, when American industrialists, including the Heinz family business, began to produce sauce with a thick consistency by vacuum evaporation of tomato paste without heating and the use of sodium benzoate preservative. Ketchup produced in this way has a long shelf life at room temperature.

Since then, in ketchup, its density has been especially appreciated: the more tomato paste in the composition of the sauce, the better it is. However, today, to achieve these properties, manufacturers often resort to using a cheaper thickener, such as starch or pectin, which entails the introduction of stabilizers, dyes and flavors.

Benefit and harm

Ripe tomatoes, which are the basis of any ketchup, contain vitamins C, B, vitamins P, PP, K, natural organic acids (malic, citric, oxalic), sucrose, ascorbic acid, carotenoids, fructose, pectin, iron salts, magnesium , potassium, calcium and phosphorus. At the same time, part of the useful substances is destroyed during pasteurization of the product.

Ketchup packaging - choose glass or plastic?

Plastic bottle allows you to conveniently dose the sauce and squeeze it completely out of the package. Such a container is lightweight, not afraid of falling and is made not only from matte red plastic, but also from transparent material. To store the product in this package for more than six months, alas, preservatives are used. The net weight of the sauce in plastic is 400-900 grams, and its minimum cost is from 30 rubles.

Ketchup expiration date

How to choose?

Why is Sushi Wok telling you about ketchup? Because for the first time this sauce was made in China. The recipe that formed the basis of the modern dish has almost nothing to do with what is sold in stores today. And its taste would hardly please anyone who has tried ketchup at least once. From its inception to the present day, tomato sauce has traveled around the world, has undergone major changes under the influence of national traditions and tastes, but continues to occupy a leading position in the ranking of the most sought-after and popular sauces in the world.

Composition of classic ketchup

Ketchup is synonymous with tomato sauce. Cooking it correctly from ripe fleshy tomatoes is the basis of the basics. And what corrects the taste and gives tomato puree piquancy is only additives. These include salt, pepper, vinegar, and in some cases sugar.

Depending on the method of use, combination with certain ingredients, it is allowed to add to ketchup and other seasonings. It can be citric acid, black pepper, red, jalapeno, chili, ginger, cinnamon, onion, garlic, celery, cloves, mustard seeds, nutmeg, bay leaf. Exclusively natural and natural ingredients.

It is this ketchup that is meant when they start talking about the benefits of tomato sauce, medicinal properties and the possibility of using it for baby food. What is sold today in stores, a recipe put into mass production, cannot be called a classic and healthy sauce.

The composition of ketchup in store packaging

Most ketchup from the store is not ketchup. That is, the main ingredient - tomatoes - may not be there at all. Quite often, cheap ketchup-like products are prepared from any available puree or substances replacing them. For these purposes can be used:

• Vegetable puree (not tomato);
• Plum puree;
• Applesauce.

Also, tomatoes can be present in the composition of the sauce only nominally, so that you can write about it. Their inclusion in the recipe in the amount of 15% of the total volume will not make the sauce better. But to give the desired consistency and even density, starch is more likely to be added to such a sauce.

The following indicators of not the best product are preservatives, stabilizers and flavorings in the composition. If the sauce is not made from tomatoes, dyes are added to it. Therefore, today the expression "tomato ketchup" is not at all a speech error and a tautology.

History of ketchup

The first ketchup was not made from tomatoes, but from fish. They were treated in Fujian province, and also served to Europeans in Canton. Ge-tsup tasted very unusual, but quite interesting. So the British brought the recipe home to try and reproduce it. But it turned out to be very difficult to get canonical ingredients, so experiments began.

As a result of experiments with anchovies, beer, mushrooms, walnuts, Worcester sauce was born, which still exists. Tomatoes were added first as a condiment. They were not eaten, considering them poisonous fruits. Recognition took place in 1830, after which the first version of ketchup appeared, close to today's familiar recipes.

However, ketchup could be truly tasty, fragrant and healthy only if it was prepared at home. The product that was sold in stores in the second half of the 19th century was simply deadly in 90% of cases.

First batch production of tomato sauce

The tomato season lasted only 2-3 months. Only from July to October it was possible to get fresh fruits. It was impossible to store them longer, so factories and concerns went to various tricks and sophistications: they made mashed potatoes from tomatoes, tried to keep it for future use until the next season.

The lack of a proven technology, state control, and accepted standards led to a real disaster. During storage, the blanks of mashed potatoes became moldy, fermented, bacteria started in them. In the struggle for the presentation, boric, benzoic and salicylic acid, formalin, coal tar were added to the mass. The dishes in which the future ketchup was boiled were made of copper and reacted with the contents. 90% of store-bought ketchup in the middle of the 19th century contained deadly substances, the use of which could lead to serious illness and death.

The most famous ketchup in the world

It is produced under the Heinz brand. Henry Heinz was the first manufacturer to focus on product quality and strict adherence to recipes and technology. Against the backdrop of the sorting that was littered with store shelves, his sauce was really tasty and healthy.

Today, Heinz remains the leading manufacturer of ketchup and a whole line of other sauces. True, they did not succeed in completely abandoning preservatives.

Incredible facts about ketchup

Like any dish that has its own history, respect and honor in many countries of the world, ketchup boasts its own portfolio of amazing myths and facts. The most incredible of them:

• There is a monument to ketchup in the world. This form was given to the old water tower. It is located in Collinsville, Illinois and is 58 meters high.

• Ketchup is like fine wine. The taste of sauce from the same manufacturer will vary from batch to batch. It depends on the characteristics of the harvested crop;
• Ketchup is included in the grocery basket, which is delivered by an astronaut to the ISS. NASA allowed it to be included in the list of products;
• Ketchup can be eaten by pregnant women and children. We are talking about natural or homemade tomato sauce;
• According to statistics, each person consumes about 3 bottles of sauce per year. At the same time, children on average eat ketchup 50% more than adults;
• Tomato sauce is a source of antioxidants;
• To get sauce from a glass bottle, it is useless to knock on the bottom. This will make it run even slower. To achieve the desired result, you just need to shake the container.

What to eat with ketchup and what dish to add it to - decide for yourself. Every country has its own habits. The most common and acceptable combinations for Russians are pasta, meat, fast food and pizza. In China, it is traditionally served with rice and fish, in America it is often eaten for breakfast, and in Holland, tomato sauce is not added to hamburgers, hot dogs, or served with french fries. The only thing that the world community of gourmets unanimously agreed on was the issue of tomato ice cream. The vast majority didn't like it.

Tomatoes or tomato paste, salt, sugar, vinegar, spices. This is what ketchup is made from. Rather, they should. On many ketchups, tomatoes are only painted, but inside there are no tomatoes, not even tomato paste. Not a drop. They are made from apple and plum puree. They are cheaper than tomatoes. And to give a characteristic taste and color, dyes and thickeners are added.

For example, this plant mixes tomato paste and applesauce in equal proportions, which saves on production.

We noticed that the composition of tomato puree and apple puree gives a pleasant sweet and sour taste. We get tomato paste from China, as we do not have the ability to process tomatoes in our production. We get applesauce from Iran, as it is not possible to process apple fruits in our own production. Rimm Yakupova, chief technologist of the ketchup plant

Applesauce ketchup is perfectly edible. There are lovers who claim that such a sauce is even tastier than the one made from tomatoes. But the less tomato paste in ketchup, the more dyes and thickeners are added to it.

In order to obtain the necessary consistency in the manufacture of ketchup, a structurant is introduced into it. Starch can be used, but is a lesser choice as it has poor water retention in ketchup formulations. And in the process of storing ketchup on starch, water may be released. Alexander Kolesnova, Professor, Moscow State University of Food Production

The problem is that when we buy a jar labeled “Ketchup”, we are sure it contains tomatoes or tomato paste, and not applesauce. The apple and plum sauce should have been called something else.

These ingredients are prohibited. That is, applesauce is an illegal, unacceptable product for making ketchup. A product made from tomatoes and block puree, for example, may be called by a different name, have a different name, but not ketchup.

You can choose delicious ketchup by color and texture. Our expert will show you how.

Elena Sukhachova. An artist who has been drawing since the age of two. Even without trying, he can distinguish Tabasco from Georgian sauce. It’s just that Elena paints her paintings not with oil and watercolor, but with ketchup.

Drawing with ketchup is convenient, because you can always finish it during lunch. Elena Sukhachova, artist

Elena always carefully chooses ketchup for a new painting. It has a strict quality criterion.

I choose by color. A good ketchup should be a maroon color, something like this, because tomatoes become that shade when cooked. This ketchup is too runny and not the right color. This is not dark burgundy, it will spread on the picture, and you will not get the effect that you need. Elena Sukhachova, artist

When buying ketchup, pay attention to the color. Unnatural shades - orange, bright scarlet or pink - indicate that there are a lot of dyes in the sauce.

Another important rule not only for drawing, but also for nutrition: good ketchup should not contain starch. True, not all manufacturers honestly indicate it in the composition.

When I buy ketchup, I make sure that there is no starch in the composition, otherwise the drawing will not work. But, in fact, it is difficult to choose such ketchup, because almost all contain starch and vinegar. Elena Sukhachova, artist

Let's do a little test. These are two bottles of ketchup from different manufacturers. Each contains water, tomato paste, vinegar, spices, salt and sugar. This is exactly what quality ketchup should be. Now we will find out whether starch was added to some of them or not.

To do this, take ketchup, a plate and place a small slide on a plate. High-quality ketchup should not spread over a horizontal surface like a liquid. The slide will change its shape, that is, spread, but very slowly and gradually. Poor-quality ketchup or low-quality ketchup will change the area of ​​​​the base of the slide quickly enough, that is, it will spread very quickly. Vyacheslav Zykov, Executive Director of the Russian Association of Canned Food Producers

We drip sauces on napkins.

Look, this ketchup spreads quickly, and a water ring forms around it in a matter of seconds. This means it contains starch. And this drop of ketchup spreads more slowly, but a small water ring has also formed around it. This means that there is also starch in this sauce, but it is less.

The effect of water release from ketchup is called synderesis. In high-quality ketchup, it should be practically absent or appear after a sufficiently long exposure. And in less quality ketchup, it will appear quickly enough. This suggests that the ability to retain moisture in the composition of the product for this ketchup is very low. It can be concluded that a lower quality tomato puree or paste and a cheap structurant, for example, starch, were used in its manufacture. Vyacheslav Zykov, Executive Director of the Russian Association of Canned Food Producers

There is another way to find out if there is starch in the sauce or not. Squeeze the sauce onto a plate and swirl it around. If the drop trembles like jelly, then the sauce contains starch.

So, high-quality ketchup has finally been found. Now Elena will try it in action.

Well, the picture is ready, now you can dry it. I will leave it for a night or two nights, it will dry somewhere on the windowsill. Elena Sukhachova, artist

It seems that no one will argue that you can eat anything with good ketchup or mayonnaise. The reverse is also true: a bad sauce can easily spoil even the most worthy dish. The secret of good ketchups and mayonnaises is simple - it's all about the composition. The use of natural ingredients and a special production technology provides such sauces with a real taste close to similar home-made products. Yes, “homemade” ketchups and mayonnaises are not cheap. But saving on technology and raw materials could lead to the fact that the unnatural color, too harsh taste and strange texture would simply beat off the appetite. Even if you season dishes from expensive and high-quality products with sauce.

About how one of the few Russian "natural ketchups" and mayonnaises with unusual natural ingredients are created - in our report from Mr.Ricco, one of the largest sauces producers in Russia and Europe.

Why are natural sauces better?

Despite all the variety of varieties and flavors of ketchup, in fact there are only two varieties: natural and NOT natural. The former have a natural taste and color and contain substances that are beneficial to health. The latter often have a sharp "chemical" smell and taste, and sometimes an unnatural color - too bright, too pale or even orange (and not red, as it should be).

The composition of a typical cheap ketchup is as follows: water, starch and a small amount of tomato paste, and often not of the highest quality. For the sake of disguise as a real tomato ketchup, dyes, flavors and flavor enhancers are added to the starch sauce. Sometimes they add too much. In this case, the taste of ketchup is too sharp, so that the taste of the dish itself is not felt behind it.

The consistency is also different: “ketchup is NOT natural” either spreads on a plate, or vice versa, it stays cold and even trembles like jelly. If very cheap starch is used, the surface of the ketchup drop is smooth and glossy. Modified starch gives the sauce a grainy texture close to natural. And yet, the differences from real tomato ketchup are significant.

Natural tomato ketchup does not need chemicals: it has a minimum of components, the main component is expensive high-quality tomato paste seasoned with salt, sugar and ground spices. Depending on the recipe, pieces of vegetables or, for example, garlic may be added.

Special cooking technologies, which will be discussed below, make it possible to prepare “natural ketchup” while preserving all the healthy substances contained in tomatoes. So natural sauces are not only tastier, but also healthier than their starch counterparts.

Where are natural sauces made?

In the Republic of Tatarstan, 8 kilometers from Kazan, there is one of the largest production facilities for ketchup, mayonnaise and other oil and fat products not only in Russia, but throughout Europe. The production of sauces by NEFIS-BIOPRODUCT JSC, as well as the capacities of Kazan Fat Plant JSC and Kazan Oil Extraction Plant JSC, are located on a vast area. All of them are part of the Nefis group of companies.

Nefis Group of Companies is one of the leading Russian manufacturers of household chemicals and oil and fat products. The group of companies owns many well-known and beloved brands in Russia. Thus, Nefis Cosmetics JSC produces household chemicals under the brands AOS, BiMax, Sorti, Biolan and others. JSC "NEFIS-BIOPRODUCT" is known for the brands of sauces and vegetable oil Mr.Ricco, "Miladora" and "Laska".

Andrey Vladimirovich Kulikov, Deputy General Director for Innovation and Implementation, and Margarita Viktorovna Gerkina, Chief Technologist of the enterprise, conducted a tour of the Mr.Ricco ketchup and mayonnaise production lines for a group of journalists and bloggers.

JSC "NEFIS-BIOPRODUCT" today is one of the largest enterprises for the production of sauces in Russia, in the countries of the former USSR and in general in Europe. The volume of production is impressive - almost 200 thousand tons of finished products per year. The capacities of the enterprise allow to produce about 250 tons of mayonnaise, more than 100 tons of ketchup and 400 tons of butter per day. Yes, “natural ketchups” and “natural mayonnaises” Mr.Ricco are produced here in tens and hundreds of tons daily.

To ensure uninterrupted and rhythmic production of such a volume of oil and fat products with minimal dependence on external factors, the Nefis group is building a system of a complete closed supply cycle. The manufacturer strives to independently carry out all the processes from planting and harvesting the initial crops (for example, sunflower) to the delivery of finished bottles of oil to stores. Mayonnaises and other sauces produced by Nefis, of course, use oil of our own production.

The company has its own warehouses and elevator facilities for sunflower storage, its own oil extraction plant, oil storage tanks and its own packaging production.

The Nefis group also has its own extensive vehicle fleet: 220 sunflower trucks alone.

A dedicated railway line passes directly through the production area.

Production volumes are significant, therefore, raw materials are purchased from suppliers by whole trains. And the finished products are shipped in trains for export to neighboring countries and Europe.

In 2017, sauces and butter from Tatarstan began to be delivered to China. Partners and consumers from the Middle Kingdom were impressed by the high quality of Russian “natural ketchups” and “natural mayonnaises” from Nefis.

Thanks to automation and the widespread introduction of automatic lines and robots, Mr.Ricco ketchup and mayonnaise production practically does not use manual labor - “only” 800 people work on the lines of the enterprise. For such a large-scale production, this is not much at all. “Robots are working hard, a person is happy” - basically, the tasks of the staff involve monitoring the operation of automation.

How are containers and packaging made?

The Nefis group has its own packaging production - its capacities not only fully cover the needs of the enterprise, but even allow it to supply packaging to other manufacturers.

How is the packaging done? From suppliers, polymeric material comes in granules, which are melted down and turned into blanks for cans, bottles and lids.

Moreover, the suppliers of raw materials for packaging are Russian.

Here, jars for sauces and bottles for Mr.Ricco vegetable oil, ketchups and mayonnaises familiar to us are blown out of preforms, similar to test tubes, on a special machine. To create a jar, the neck of the preform is cut off. Non-waste production: the cut off parts of the blanks, as well as the rejection, are cleaned and processed back into granules, from which new blanks will be made.

Preforms, the so-called "cartridges", are transported to the warehouse by electric forklifts. Organized uninterrupted supply of "ammunition" to the production line. The Inzher system automatically sends containers with blanks from the warehouse to conveyors along a monorail laid under the ceiling. The Inzher company, a manufacturer of automated transport systems based on monorails, is based right there, in Tatarstan, in the city of Naberezhnye Chelny.

How is Mr.Ricco's natural ketchup made?

One of the most popular Nefis products is Mr.Ricco ketchups. They have received awards for quality several times, including taking first place in the Test Purchase program on Channel One and entering the top twenty best Russian goods according to the Roskachestvo project.

The main ingredient of Mr.Ricco ketchup - expensive high-quality tomato paste - is purchased mainly in Portugal, Spain and Chile. In Russia, unfortunately, there are no suppliers capable of ensuring uninterrupted supplies in the volumes Nefis needs - hundreds and hundreds of tons per month.

This is how one of the warehouses looks like, where barrels of high-quality natural tomato paste ready for ketchup are stored.

Only a small part of the huge vault fit in the frame. In addition to pasta, other ingredients for sauces are also stored there.

Large briquettes of dried mushrooms are securely packed in sealed packaging.

And here is what a pickled cucumber looks like ready for use in sauces.

And mushrooms, and cucumbers, we note, are also exclusively domestic production. But back to tomato paste. Tomato paste of "high pectin" varieties is stored inside barrels in aseptic foil bags. The machine with a special roller squeezes it out of these packages.

For the production of Mr.Ricco ketchups, a special tomato paste is purchased - from special "fleshy" varieties of tomatoes, especially rich in pectins and lycopene. In the preparation of the sauce, pectins act as a natural structure-forming agent (thickener) - instead of starch, which is used in cheap ketchups. Lycopene is a natural coloring agent that gives tomatoes their natural bright red color.

Pectin and lycopene are very healthy - they have a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system, remove harmful substances from the body and even help prevent the development of cancer: skin cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer.

You ask: “Why do most manufacturers make ketchup with starch and dyes, if the tomato paste already has everything you need? Out of harm? The whole difficulty is to properly cook ketchup - this requires expensive raw materials and a complex technological process. Even the temperature of preparation of tomato paste plays a role: pectins are destroyed during prolonged heating.

Mr.Ricco natural ketchups use a paste prepared using Hot-Break technology: it is briefly heated to 110 degrees Celsius and kept at this temperature for only 30 seconds, which allows the pectins to “activate” but not collapse.

Nefis prepares sauces in cooking pots of the well-known German manufacturer Stephan Machinery. One "Stefan" holds 1.2 tons of sauce and produces 3.6 tons of finished product per hour.

“Stefan” is smart and independent: he controls the temperature and pressure necessary to comply with the technology for preparing “natural ketchup”, “natural mayonnaise” and other Mr.Ricco products. "Stefan" tracks the proportion of ingredients with high accuracy - up to a gram.

The ingredients are stored in separate tanks connected to the Stefan by a complex system of pipes. In the case of Mr. Ricco's "natural ketchup", the ingredients are tomato paste, salt, sugar and spices. Vinegar and pieces of vegetables can be added to sauces, depending on the recipe.

Stefan cleans itself in the automatic washing mode, so that after cooking one type of product, it can quickly and safely switch to the production of another.

Stefan digesters cost about a million euros each, at the Nefis production there are 12 of them. Not every manufacturer in Russia and even in Europe can afford such expensive equipment, and even in such quantity.

“Ketchups are NOT naturals” are prepared in a completely different way. Often they use the cheapest tomato paste from China. Moreover, the most expensive ketchup ingredient - pasta - is used much less than in natural sauce. The main ingredients are starch and water.

Pasta for “NON-Natural Ketchups” is boiled at a temperature of 85 degrees for 45 minutes, due to which very few tomato pectins, vitamins and lycopene remain in the final product. To give the right consistency, manufacturers of inexpensive ketchup add starch or guar gum (E412) to the sauce. Artificial colors and flavor enhancers are used to add flavor and color.

Such “ketchups are NOT straight” are absolutely NOT useful for the figure. Starch is a fast carbohydrate. The feeling of fullness from such food does not last long, so you eat much more with the “NOT natural” sauce. In short, eating those extra pounds with "starchy" ketchup is much easier.

But on the other hand, such a “pseudo-ketchup” will get on the shelf with the lowest possible price. Since low price is the main factor of choice for a large part of consumers, most manufacturers do not bother with complex and expensive technology. Inexpensive "chemical" ketchups with starch or gum as a thickener and many additives - dyes, flavor enhancers, etc. are mass-produced.

But let's get back to naturals. Freshly made bottles are filled with ketchup under sterile conditions.

Each bottle with the finished product is hermetically sealed with a cork with a special foil gasket. The sealing gasket protects the sauce from oxygen and bacteria from the air entering the bottle. After filling and packaging, labels are applied to the bottles.

Then the army of ketchup bottles from the column is rebuilt into lines.

After that, the ketchup is packed in boxes and sealed in a film.

Next, the ketchup boxes go to a robot-packer named KUKA. Kuka stacks boxes on pallets, and not just one on top of the other, but in a special order that ensures stability. If necessary, Cook can turn the bottles in the boxes so that the labels “look” outwards.

KUKA robots are made in Germany, each costs about 10 million rubles and can replace a whole team of loaders. In general, human participation on the production line, which produces up to 40 tons of products every hour, is minimized - only six people work here. Their tasks are to control the operation of automation and robots, as well as transport the product ready for shipment to the shipping warehouse.

The formed pallets are placed by KUKA on a machine that wraps them in polyethylene film. The number of layers is regulated depending on how and over what distance the packaged product will be transported.

In this warehouse, stacks of finished products can be stored several floors up to the ceiling. To prevent the product from spoiling, a constant temperature of about 6 degrees Celsius is maintained in the warehouse.

Loading a 20-ton truck with products from the warehouse takes an average of 10 minutes. Up to 8 trucks can be loaded at the same time. During the day, the production is able to ship up to 90 trucks of its products.

How is natural mayonnaise made?

It was possible to get acquainted with the technology of mayonnaise production using an interesting example: the visit of journalists and bloggers to the Nefisa plant coincided with the launch of the production of Mr.Ricco mayonnaise with avocado oil. For the Russian market, this is a novelty, but in Europe and America, turned on the principles of proper nutrition, a similar product has been on sale for several years.

The Nefis Group has a reputation as an innovator in the Russian market of sauces: in 2005, it was under the Mr.Ricco brand that sales of the first mayonnaise in Russia based on quail eggs began.

Mayonnaise on a quail egg has a special, light taste. In addition, quails are extremely rarely carriers of infectious diseases - the same salmonellosis. That is why the classic mayonnaise on a chicken egg is made from pasteurized dried yolk, and fresh yolks in liquid form are added to mayonnaise on a quail egg.

Quail eggs are a useful product: they contain vitamins of groups B, A and PP, amino acids, minerals important for the body, unsaturated fatty acids and lecithin. That is, mayonnaise on quail eggs is not only tasty, but also healthy. Let's just say, more useful than classic mayonnaise, on chicken eggs.

So, in 2017, Nefis picked up the already established global trend and was the first in Russia to start selling mayonnaise with avocado oil.

In 1998, the avocado was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most nutritious fruit in the world. Its fruits are rich in vitamin A and potassium, which are good for the heart. Avocados are also a source of healthy fatty acids, such as omega-3 and omega-6. Plus, it contains lecithin, phosphatins and amino acids.

In the system of "proper nutrition" avocado is one of the most popular products. Avocado often replaces butter. Avocados have up to 30% fat, but only 160 calories per 100 grams. For comparison: in butter there are as many as 717 calories in the same 100 grams - almost 5 times more than in avocados.

It will seem to someone that the phrases “healthy mayonnaise” or even “mayonnaise and proper nutrition” are oxymorons, absurdity. And yet, taking into account the use of avocado oil, it can be assumed that the new Mr.Ricco mayonnaise is really the most useful (or the least harmful - here it’s clearer for anyone) of all types of mayonnaise on sale.

No, of course, Mr.Ricco Organic mayonnaise with avocado oil is not a dietary product. This is a full-fledged, real mayonnaise, but with an extremely useful ingredient in the composition. A light avocado flavor allows you to use Mr.Ricco mayonnaise both in traditional dishes, where you need a classic mayonnaise taste, and in culinary experiments - when you want to try something new. Some housewives add, as an experiment, a chopped apple in Olivier or olives in a vinaigrette.

Natural avocado oil is supplied to the production of Nefis from New Zealand. The supplier country was not chosen by chance - agricultural products from "green and clean" (the slogan of New Zealand) are famous for their environmental friendliness.

The remaining ingredients of Mr.Ricco mayonnaise with avocado oil are mainly Russian-made: egg yolk, mustard oil, vinegar, salt, spices - all this comes from different parts of the Republic of Tatarstan and other regions of Russia.

The bags are filled with mayonnaise, then spouts with a twisted stopper are soldered to them.

Ready, hermetically sealed package of mayonnaise looks like this:

The first industrial batch is ready! Mr.Ricco Russian mayonnaise with avocado oil is already sold in some stores, and will soon be available throughout Russia.

Sanitary regime and quality control

"Natural ketchups" and "natural mayonnaises" Mr.Ricco are prepared in perfectly clean, almost sterile conditions. The Nefis enterprise has a standard sanitary regime for this kind of production. On the entire territory you can ONLY be in dressing gowns or overalls, replaceable shoes or shoe covers.

In the sanitary inspection room, it is necessary to treat your hands with an antiseptic (chlorine solution) and walk on a rug soaked in a special disinfectant.

Employees who come into contact with ingredients or open product always wear headgear.

Preheated and carefully filtered air is supplied to all rooms where Mr.Ricco mayonnaises and ketchups are produced using powerful ventilation systems. Many production sites have ultraviolet lamps hanging from the ceiling - as you know, ultraviolet kills many types of microbes in the air. There are especially many UV lamps in the rooms where ingredients are handled and sauces are cooked.

In general, Mr. Ricco's "natural ketchups" and "natural mayonnaises" can be calm for the perfect purity.

Samples are taken from each batch of ketchup and mayonnaise for analysis. On "Stefan" there is a special faucet for this.

A new portion is sent to the laboratory.

For constant quality control of products at the Nefis enterprise, two production laboratories and a research center are equipped. Andrey Vladimirovich Kulikov, Deputy Director General for Innovation and Implementation of NEFIS-BIOPRODUCT JSC, admitted that even many European sauce manufacturers can envy the level of equipment of the laboratories of the NEFIS-BIOPRODUCT group.

Matrix-I spectrometers from the American company Bruker are used to analyze product samples. Several million rubles were spent on the purchase of this equipment, but the price is 100% justified. Based on the ability of various products to absorb part of the light spectrum of a certain wavelength, the spectrometer almost instantly determines the chemical composition and the amount of ingredients in the product with high accuracy.

The process takes no more than 30 seconds and allows you to control the quality of products even with huge volumes of continuous production. With simpler equipment, instead of 1 analysis on one device, you would have to do 6 different analyzes, and the procedure would take up to 30 minutes - during this time you can release and pack a whole batch of low-quality product, which, if any problems are identified, will then have to be completely disposed of.

The Nefis laboratory is also armed with manual and electronic refractometers and many other types of specialized equipment. For example, in the photo below - a special device that determines the density of ketchup by means of long and monotonous stirring in the flask.

People who make "natural ketchups" and "natural mayonnaises"

There are a lot of representatives of the fair sex among the workers of the plant. The girls are excellent at their job and skillfully manage complex equipment. And, despite the hard and responsible work, they manage to remain friendly and attractive.

conclusions

Ketchup and mayonnaise are products that are completely familiar to Russians, the most popular types of sauces, familiar from childhood. However, the production of these sauces from high-quality natural ingredients, without the addition of artificial thickeners, dyes and flavor enhancers, is a rather complicated and expensive task. Much of the cheap ketchup and mayonnaise available commercially is made using starch and artificial ingredients. This allows you to set a low price for the final product and have no doubt: people will buy without thinking about the naturalness of the ingredients and, as a result, about the health benefits and harm to the figure.

"Nefis" is one of the very few Russian manufacturers of high-quality and healthy "natural sauces" without the addition of "chemistry". Yes, Mr.Ricco ketchups and mayonnaises are not the cheapest, but both the taste and the quality justify the price.

When choosing ketchup for a barbecue or mayonnaise for a salad, you need to carefully study the composition: no starch means “natural”. Or you can take Mr. Ricco without hesitation - all sauces of this brand are definitely made without the addition of starch and "chemistry", as we were convinced during the reporting and tasting of the product.

What is called, note to the hostess: how to distinguish “natural ketchup” from “starch ketchup”? It is enough to conduct a simple experiment. Complex equipment is not required: a teaspoon of ketchup, an empty cup or glass, some water and a few drops of ordinary iodine, as well as a syringe or pipette.

The essence of the experiment is simple: as you know, reacting with iodine, starch acquires a bright blue hue. So we take some ketchup, add water. The difference is already noticeable - pectin-based ketchup dissolves in water, and starch-based ketchup sits at the bottom of the glass with a tight cork.

After adding water with a pipette or syringe, we drip iodine into the glasses.

As you can see, Mr.Ricco natural ketchup does not enter into any reactions - there is no starch in the composition, there is nothing to react to iodine. Red ketchup + brown iodine = dark red ketchup.

A much more interesting transformation occurs with starch ketchup. Ketchup almost instantly turns blue-black, only the sediment adhering to the bottom retains its red color.

A simple experiment from the elementary organic chemistry course will help expose unscrupulous manufacturers who do not indicate the presence of starch in their products. With the help of iodine, starch can be detected not only in ketchup and mayonnaise, but also in dairy products (yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese) and even in sausages.

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Ketchup is a red vegetable sauce based on tomatoes. Belongs to the most popular sauces in the world. This is a product with a fairly long history, which has become especially popular in our country in recent decades. But if earlier on the shelves of stores you could often see imported goods, today ketchup is successfully produced in Ukraine. Moreover, the domestic product among consumers most often comes first, because for the most part it is no less high-quality and tasty than imported counterparts, but at the same time it costs more affordable. Moreover, Ukrainian producers today are constantly improving ketchup and creating more and more of its new variations.

Manufacturing process looks something like this: the mass / paste of tomatoes is boiled, during which a solution of salt and sugar is constantly supplied to it, until the moment when the amount of solids reaches 19%. A few minutes before the end of cooking, acetic acid is introduced in the full required volume, as well as dispersed spices. When using acid, it is important to consider the natural acidity of tomatoes. The best option for adding vinegar and spices is an vinegar extract of the necessary spices. The finished product must contain at least 29% dry ingredients.

Equipment required for work:

- equipment for the preparation of raw materials (scales, dispensers, receiving tanks, washing units, calibration devices, etc.);

- machines and equipment for cooking (mixers, crushers, presses, coolers, cooking tanks, mixers, etc.);

- sterilization and filling equipment (homogenizers, dosing equipment, devices for placing lids on packages, autoclaves and a number of other items).

It's great if all work processes are automated.

What is the secret of ketchup's popularity?

In its versatility! It is well suited, successfully complementing and improving, to various dishes, in particular, to meat, sausages, bread, pizza, cereals, pasta, etc. In addition, it has a beneficial effect on the body: it increases appetite, improves the absorption of food and increases its calorie content. And also in availability: the basis of ketchup (tomatoes) is grown in Ukraine, there is no need for expensive supplies from abroad, therefore the price of the finished product is appropriate.

Benefit. Ketchup is not only tasty, but also healthy, according to doctors. It destroys the type of cholesterol that is dangerous for the cardiovascular system, and therefore contributes to the proper course of cardiac activity. It contains a powerful antioxidant - lycopene, which reduces the risk of developing cancer. Another important component is serotonin, the well-known “hormone of happiness”. So ketchup, among other things, performs an antidepressant effect.

How useful ketchup will be depends on the tomatoes taken for its preparation. Ripe tomatoes contain the following important components for the human body: vitamins B, P, PP, K, ascorbic acid, carotenoids, organ. acids, sucrose and fructose, pectins, salts of Fe, Mg, Ca and phosphorus.

Is there a reverse side of the coin, that is, the harm brought by this product to the body? There is, but only if it is of poor quality, is often or in excessive quantities used by a person. In such situations, allergies, disorders and exacerbations of gastrointestinal diseases, inflammation of the pancreas are not excluded.

Varieties. Ketchups can be classified according to different criteria. So, according to the regional recipe and composition, the following types are distinguished:

- Western European (cooking at home), which is characterized by the absence of sugar in the composition;

- English (for industrial preparation) with a lot of sugar, as well as onions and celery;

- Chinese, which includes cinnamon, and there is more vinegar than in other types.

Also, ketchups can be sterilized and unsterilized (separation according to the processing method). Preservatives are added to the composition of the latter. There is also a division into spicy, sweet, barbecue, French and Macedonian, with plums, apples, horseradish, etc.

In addition, this product can be produced under different categories:

- extra. Raw materials - fresh tomatoes or paste / puree from them with spices and flavoring components;

- the highest. It is also made from fresh tomatoes or tomato puree/paste. In addition, fruit and vegetable puree, spices, thickeners, stabilizers, flavors, colorants and flavoring ingredients can be added;

- the first. Raw material - tomato products-concentrates, as well as all other components characteristic of the highest category;

- second. Similar to the first category composition. The difference is in the amount of dry soluble substances: up to 14% compared to 18%.

What is ketchup made from?

In addition to how ketchup is made, it is important to understand what it is made from. Considering the varieties, we have already touched on this issue. Now let's get a little more detailed. So, the main raw material for ketchup is red tomatoes. If in summer their cost is more affordable, then in winter it is the other way around: the price can increase significantly. Therefore, it is important to take care of the raw materials in advance, that is, prepare them in a dry form.

To reduce the cost of the product, instead of tomatoes, you can use tomato paste or puree. Be that as it may, the main element in the composition of this sauce should be at least 15%. Then it will turn out good enough and will have an optimal consistency.

Additional components: pepper (Bulgarian and chili), acetic acid, sugar and salt.

What is added to ketchup?

In everyday life and industry, in addition to the above food materials, the following can be used in the preparation of ketchup: vegetable and fruit purees, in particular apple or carrot purees, starch, sunflower oil, as well as all kinds of spices (coriander, basil, cloves, parsley, dill , onion, garlic, ginger, etc.).

Food additives in ketchup

The modern food industry in the manufacture of ketchup uses a number of food additives. So, the following groups of these substances can be involved here:

– antioxidants , whose task is to slow down oxidation, protect against rancidity and darkening;

– thickeners – substances that increase viscosity, for example, guar gum , gum xanthan. Starch and flour can also play this role;

– dyes restore and intensify the natural color lost during the processing and storage of raw materials, and also give color to colorless products;

– preservatives help to cope with the development of pathogenic microflora;

– fillers are introduced into low-calorie sauces;

– carriers, solvents and diluents . Their task is to make the introduction of the necessary components into the mass easier, safer and more effective, as well as to protect these ingredients and stabilize;

– acid level correctors , in particular lemon acid And sodium pyrophosphate, establish and maintain the acid balance in the right form;

– flavoring modifiers help to enhance the sense of taste and smell of the product by a person, although they themselves have no taste and smell. A striking example is monosodium glutamate .

Preservatives for ketchup

Above we mentioned preservatives. But we consider it necessary to deal with this particular group of food additives more thoroughly. Preservatives have both pros and cons. Among the first: effective spoilage prevention and preservation of the product, promotion of mass production. The second is the possibility of allergic reactions and provoking a number of diseases. However, if you know the measure, apply preservatives correctly and opt for the best of them, negative consequences can be minimized.

Good preservatives for ketchup include the following:

– sodium benzoate. White powder, odorless or with a slight smell of benzoic aldehyde. Suppresses enzymes in microbial cells, strongly inhibits yeast and mold. It is found in small amounts in natural raw materials: apples, cloves, cinnamon, etc.;

– potassium sorbate. In appearance, it is a granular or powdery white mass. One of the most popular preservatives, as it is safe for humans at a dose of 0.1-0.2% of the total mass of the product. Of all the sorbates, this one is the most soluble and the most common. Shows high antimicrobial activity at high acidity. Extracted from plant materials and synthesized artificially;

– acetic acid. A colorless, caustic liquid substance that, in addition to acting as a preservative additive, can adjust the acidity of the product and acidify;

– sorbic acid. Colorless crystalline structures, slightly soluble in water. This substance has an antimicrobial effect. In optimal doses, not only is it not harmful, but also useful;

– sodium acetate. Colorless crystals with a slight odor of acetic acid. This additive can be used not only as a preservative, but also as a pH regulator, as well as a flavoring agent. It does not lead to side effects, since it is a common part of all body cells.

Now you know how ketchup is made, what it can consist of and what tasks are performed by certain food additives used in its manufacture. If you have any questions, please contact us - we will help you find the right answers!