Saucy stuff
Question: What鈥檚 the best way of getting ketchup out of the bottle without
breaking the bottle or splattering the sauce? And how does it work?
Answer: If my memory serves me correctly Ogden Nash had something to say
about tackling tomato sauce: 鈥淵ou shake and shake and shake the bottle, first
none comes, then the lot鈥檒l.鈥�
Ralph Berman, Brushgrove
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New South Wales
Different versions of this poem were sent to us from around the world, but we
were unable to find it in any of Ogden Nash鈥檚 books. When we contacted Nash鈥檚
granddaughter, Frances R. Smith of Baltimore, Maryland, who has been chosen by
the family to represent the Nash catalogue (1fsmith@gateway.net), she
sent us this more elegant version of the poem. The catsup bottle (catsup is
an American variant of ketchup):
First a little
Then a lottle
The catsup bottle.
Smith writes: 鈥淣o one I know has a true copy of the poem since Nash did not
include it in any of his collections. However, my mother (his older daughter,
Linell Nash Smith) believes this wording is closer to the original. She thinks
the `shake the bottle鈥� wording has come from the image projected by the
辫辞别尘.鈥�
Returning to the science of ketchup, the first answer explains why the worst
thing you can do to get the ketchup moving is to bang the bottom of the bottle
like everyone else. Either turn yourself into a centrifuge or use one of several
techniques that exploit ketchup鈥檚 鈥渢hixotropic鈥� nature. Finally, we do not
recommend Howard Medhurst鈥檚 method! 鈥� Ed
Answer: Most people hit the bottom of the upturned sauce bottle, which means
that the inertia of the sauce sends it in the opposite direction鈥攔elative
to the bottle鈥攖o the one you want it to go. To get the last drop of sauce
out, hold the upturned bottle over your plate and hit the underside of the wrist
of the hand holding the bottle with the other fist. The inertia of the sauce
will now eject it from the bottle.
Tom Foy
Battle, East Sussex
Answer: In my opinion, the best way to get ketchup out of the bottle is to
use physics. First put the lid on the bottle and grip the bottle at its base.
Then swing your arm as if you were throwing a ball to someone. This method,
which uses the principle behind a centrifuge, forces the ketchup to the top of
the bottle, allowing you to simply pour it out.
Roger Wong
Rockville, Maryland
Answer: Ketchup is gloopy because it is 鈥渢hixotropic鈥�. This means that, when
at rest, it has a thick gelatinous consistency that can be altered to a runny
consistency by input of energy, typically by shaking. The thixotropy comes from
the starch that is used in the ketchup. Starch molecules are long chains and,
when starch powder is mixed with water and heated or subjected to enzyme
treatment, weak links are formed between the long molecules. This results in a
visual change from opacity to opalescence or transparency, and a physical change
to a pasty, gelatinous matrix. The thickening and gelling abilities of starches
such as cornflour, rice flour, potato flour and powdered arrowroot are used to
make sauces, gravies and soups.
To get ketchup out of the bottle, first ensure the lid is firmly on (I didn鈥檛
once, and got it in the eye of the person opposite), then give the bottle some
vigorous but not over-athletic axial shaking. Then turn the bottle upside down
over an available space on your plate.
Meredith Lloyd-Evans
BioBridge Associates, Cambridge
Answer: Rapidly hit the side of the bottle with the soft edge of your fist
while holding the bottle at the appropriate angle. The vibration of the rapid
thumping of the bottle will cause the ketchup to flow easily. This is the same
principle used to settle zero-slump concrete into forms. In that case, however,
a vibrator is used and probed into the concrete. The rapid vibrations 鈥渟hake鈥�
the concrete down and, to the eye, it appears to become liquid.
David Bellis
Tottenham, Ontario
Answer: Manufacturers invest a lot of effort into trying to get the perfect
pour, but have very little control over the temperature at which the vital fluid
is dispensed from the bottle. To get a nice, even coating on your chips (fries)
the best thing you can do is to warm up the sauce. Provided you remove the metal
cap, a burst of between 10 and 20 seconds in the microwave is an effective way
to do this. Obviously, the optimum time depends on how full the bottle is, as
well as the starting temperature. Warm it enough and it will become sufficiently
runny to get the last little bit out.
Richard Hann
Ipswich, Suffolk
Answer: Take a long, thin object (a chopstick works great) and poke a 鈥渉ole鈥�
into the ketchup through the mouth of the bottle. This breaks the air-liquid
seal, and lets the sauce flow freely.
Ken Goldstein
Kaneohe, Hawaii
Answer: The answer is simple. If it is Heinz 57 ketchup then turn the bottle
on its side and put your thumb on the little 57 logo on the front. Then with the
other hand hit the middle 57 logo on the back. The ketchup will easily flow from
the bottle.
Tiffany
Orlando, Florida
Answer: My wife accidentally discovered a way to get ketchup out of a bottle.
She opened a half-full bottle that had been forgotten at the back of a cupboard
for a few years. Fermentation had set in, pressure had built up and the ketchup
ejected itself dramatically. I can鈥檛 in all honesty describe the method as
鈥渨ithout splattering鈥濃�攚e ended up with a 10-centimetre-wide red streak
across the entire ceiling, down one wall and halfway across the floor.
Howard Medhurst
Crawley, West Sussex
This week鈥檚 question
Nothing to it: With the advent of modern materials such as carbon fibre,
polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film and so on, I wonder if it would be
possible to create a lighter-than-air machine containing a vacuum?
Atmospheric pressure would exert a huge force on the walls of the vacuum
container, but some modern materials are very strong, and a lighter-than-air
machine that can be controlled by removing air or allowing it back in would be
useful.
Lionel Sear
Truro, Cornwall