Ketchup is even more versatile than you think
Ketchup, the eternal number two in the competition of snack sauces – and seriously underestimated. Without ketchup, there would be no barbecue sauce, no toasted sandwich, no whisky cocktail sauce. But did you know you can also use ketchup for cleaning?
You can eat many things in your kitchen cupboard and also use them for cleaning. Cola, for example, is perfect for soaking baked-on residue off pans, baking soda not only goes into a cake but also down a blocked sink, and vinegar can go in a dressing and descale the coffee maker. But ketchup’s secret power was – at least to us – not yet so well known.
Cleaning guru shares a tip
The tip came from Zamarra Kok, a cleaning guru. She has written several books about tidying and cleaning and recently explained on the radio which fantastic tips she uses to keep her house spotless. That’s where she revealed what she uses ketchup for. Namely: polishing copper pans.
Professional-looking pan
Copper pans, the true love of classic cooks. Copper pans conduct heat very well, which means your soup or sauce heats evenly too. And let’s be honest, those copper pans in your kitchen look pretty professional. At least when they’ve been polished to a shine. Polishing copper is a tedious job, involving a special cleaning product that smells awful and leaves your muscles aching from all the buffing. Not anymore: Zamarra says you simply spread the ketchup over the pans or other copper items. Leave it to soak in for half an hour, rinse, and they’ll be clean!
How does that work?
How can that be? Is it the salt in the ketchup, the sugar, or the acidity from the tomatoes and vinegar? No idea, but if it works, that’s perfectly fine!
