Ketchup is a famous condiment that millions of people around the world use, but due to ketchup’s deep red color and thick texture, some people think ketchup looks like blood.
If you have never seen ketchup before, you may be curious to know if ketchup looks like blood. I looked up the facts, and here is what I learned!
Does Ketchup Look Like Blood?
Ketchup can look like blood to some people since ketchup has a deep red color, which is thanks to the lycopene present in tomatoes. However, ketchup usually has a thicker consistency than blood, but ketchup can be used to mimic blood if you want to create fake blood. Moreover, you can slightly thin out ketchup to achieve a blood-like texture.
Are you wondering why ketchup looks like blood, if there is blood in ketchup, and how to use ketchup as fake blood? Keep reading!
Why Is Ketchup Red?
Ketchup is red because many ketchup manufacturers use bright red tomatoes to make a paste, puree, etc. to create ketchup.
As for why tomatoes are red, tomatoes are red because tomatoes contain lycopene, and lycopene is responsible for other naturally red foods like watermelon, papaya, and apricot.
Typically, ketchup manufacturers do not use iron processing equipment because iron process equipment increases the chances of the tomatoes losing their red color.
Moreover, ketchup manufacturers are careful to make sure that the tomatoes do not get exposed to too much oxygen to keep the tomatoes from turning brown.
Normally, ketchup does not have any additives to make ketchup red due to the bright color that already comes from tomatoes.
However, an exception to red dye is banana ketchup since most manufacturers add red dye to banana ketchup to mimic the color of tomato ketchup since bananas are yellow.
Why Does Ketchup Look Like Blood?
A huge reason why ketchup looks like blood is that ketchup is distinctly red, and blood is known for having a bright red color.
However, blood gets its red color from when hemoglobin gets oxygen in the lungs whereas tomato ketchup is red because of lycopene, which makes blood and ketchup have slightly different shades of red.
Despite not being the same shade of red, ketchup can look like blood if someone is not paying close attention.
Another reason why ketchup looks like blood is because ketchup is a non-Newtonian fluid.
A Newtonian fluid has a consistent consistency, meaning when the fluid shakes, spills, etc., the consistency or flow of the fluid will not change, which is seen with water.
On the other hand, ketchup does not have a consistent consistency since the ketchup changes the way ketchup flows based on how you move the ketchup around.
Generally, ketchup only maintains one consistency or flow when the ketchup gets heated.
Since ketchup changes the way it flows depending on what pressure is applied to ketchup, ketchup can mimic a similar way blood flows around.
Typically, ketchup is thicker than blood, but slightly thinning out ketchup can help you make your ketchup have a blood-like consistency.
Is Ketchup A Blood?
Ketchup is not blood because ketchup is made of tomatoes, vinegar, and various spices unless you consider crushed tomatoes to be the “blood” of tomatoes.
Otherwise, ketchup is in no way the same as blood since tomatoes do not contain the same composition as blood.
Can I Use Ketchup As Fake Blood?
You can use ketchup as fake blood, and you may use ketchup as is if you just want a splash of red to mimic the look of blood.
If you want to use ketchup as fake blood on your body, you may find that ketchup will not be great.
Ketchup does not stick to the skin very well, so the ketchup may easily be wiped off your body.
Moreover, if you were to use ketchup alone as fake blood, the ketchup may appear too goopy and fake.
You can use a little water to thin out the ketchup, adding small amounts of water and mixing the ketchup well to get a consistency similar to blood.
On the other hand, you can mix maple syrup into ketchup if you wish to get a sludgier and thicker consistency.
Why Did Heinz Make Tomato Blood?
Heinz is one of the most popular ketchup brands, and Heinz noticed that a lot of people used ketchup to create fake blood.
That realization led to Heinz creating a Heinz Tomato Blood Costume Kit, a product kit specifically made to be used as fake blood.
While it is unsure what the difference between regular Heinz ketchup and Heinz Tomato Blood ketchup is, many people have stated that they are likely the same things.
However, a noticeable difference between Heinz Tomato Blood ketchup and regular ketchup is that Heinz encourages their customers to slather Heinz Tomato Blood on their bodies instead of eating the Tomato Blood ketchup.
Does Heinz Ketchup Have Blood In It?
Heinz ketchup does not have blood in it because Heinz ketchup does not require blood to make Heinz ketchup red.
Moreover, Heinz Tomato Blood ketchup did not contain any real blood in it and was only called Heinz Tomato Blood ketchup because of how much the ketchup variant looked like blood.
What Ketchup Brand Looks The Most Like Blood?
Since Heinz has released a ketchup product specifically made to use as fake blood, Heinz Tomato Blood ketchup looks the most like blood.
Almost any brand of ketchup can look like blood but since most manufacturers do not mean to make their ketchup look like blood, most ketchup brands merely have a similar color to blood.
Read our related articles to discover if ketchup removes hair dye, if ketchup removes green hair, and if ketchup removes rust.
Conclusion
Ketchup can look like blood, especially if you are not looking closely at the ketchup, since ketchup is red, but ketchup is not the same shade of red as blood.
Moreover, ketchup has a much thicker and goopier consistency than blood, so you would want to thin out the ketchup if you wish to use ketchup as fake blood.