today the ketchup industry generates 35 billion dollars in Revenue so how is it made the process begins with harvesting fresh tomatoes from the Farms this is done using specialized Machinery that integrates various functions like cutting shaking soaring and loading all of the machine's movements and functions are powered by a hydraulic system after the tomatoes are harvested it's time to transport them to the production facility ripe tomatoes are received at the production facility and sorted to remove any damage or unripe ones they are then thoroughly washed to remove dirt and impurities next the washed tomatoes are
crushed or chopped into small pieces using industrial grade equipment such as pulpers or Grinders this process breaks down the tomatoes into a coarse puree the tomato puree is then preheated to a specific temperature to loosen the skin and facilitate separation some manufacturers use steam injection or other methods to achieve efficient heating the preheated tomato puree is passed through equipment such as peeler or centrifugal separator to remove the skin and seeds this step helps achieve a smoother texture and removes any undesirable components tomato puree production is a crucial process in the making of tomato ketchup once
it's done preparing it's packaged in airtight containers and stored in a warehouse it's important to note that tomato puree is made individually because separating its production provides flexibility in customizing the flavor and consistency of ketchup tomato paste's longer shelf life and efficient storage also make it a convenient intermediate product as the ketchup making process starts crates of tomato paste weighing 1300 kilograms are transported from the warehouse using automated forklifts the crates are opened and then go to the paste dumper where huge rolling pins squeeze the paste out of the package after the paste has been
extracted it sits in the storage bin where it's mixed with water to give it a smoother this makes it easier to transport to a storage tank where it will sit until moving on to the ketchup kitchen the diluted puree arrives in the ketchup kitchen where it's mixed with precise amounts of sweeteners vinegar salt spices and flavorings most spices are added early in the cooking process to avoid excessive evaporation volatile spice oils and vinegar must be mixed in later onions and garlic can be mixed in with the spices placed in a separate bag or chopped and
added to the pump salt and sugar may be added at any stage of cooking though it is better to add sugar later to prevent burning the mixture cooks for about 30 to 45 minutes and is circulated by rotating blades installed in the cookers now it's time for packaging most ketchup brands use Keystone shaped plastic bottles to store their ketchup and the design was developed by none other than Henry Hines the curved neck encourages the ketchup to flow out smoothly while the narrow mouth minimum is the amount of ketchup exposed to air preventing it from turning
brown the added benefit of having a transparent bottle is that the customer can see what's inside and rest assured that the product is fresh the ketchup is dispensed into the bottles with the help of a filler the filler checks the weight of the empty bottle and then fills it to desired weight by pouring in ketchup once the desired weight is reached the bottles are immediately sealed to retain the freshness of the product the containers must be cool to prevent flavor loss through stack burning which occurs when ketchup stays at high temperatures after cooking is complete
containers of ketchup may be cooled in cold air or cold water finally the ketchup containers are labeled and coated with product information including ingredients date location of manufacture and shelf life the bottled ketchup may be inspected again before shipping the entire process of ketchup manufacturing generally takes two to three hours a typical ketchup Factory produces about 1.8 million ketchup bottles per day no wonder the market is so huge
