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The Turkish pantry

Tomato ketchup

Tomato ketchup is a smooth condiment typically made from concentrated tomato, vinegar, sugar, salt and seasonings. It adds a sweet-tart tomato flavor to sandwiches and other savory food.

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This guide covers ready-made tomato ketchup. Formulas vary by brand and market; ketchup is a seasoned table condiment rather than plain tomato paste or an unseasoned cooking sauce.

Tomato ketchup in a cream bowl with two whole ripe tomatoes on a sunlit stone counter.

Types & forms

Regular tomato ketchup

The familiar smooth red condiment, sold in bottles and squeeze packs.

What to look for when buying

  • Choose tomato ketchup when a recipe calls for ketchup; tomato paste is a different product.
  • Check the ingredient list and product label for the sweetness, seasonings and dietary requirements that matter to you.
  • Use an intact, properly sealed package within the label’s date guidance.

Prepare & cook

  • Ketchup is ready to use; it needs no cooking before adding to a sandwich.
  • Spread it thinly inside the bread or serve the recipe’s stated amount alongside the food.
  • When adding it to a hot pan sauce, follow that recipe’s method rather than treating ketchup as plain tomato paste.

Store it well

  • Follow the storage directions and date guidance on the bottle.
  • Refrigerate after opening when the label directs; keep the cap clean and closed.
  • Do not apply one brand’s shelf-life claim to another product.

Substitutions depend on the dish

Tomato paste

Concentrated tomato paste lacks ketchup’s finished sweet-tart seasoning. It is not a direct spoon-for-spoon substitute.

Tomato sauce

An unseasoned tomato sauce is usually thinner and has a different flavor. Use it only in a recipe that allows and explains the change.

Nutrition

Nutrition depends on the product and its sugar and salt formulation; use the package label for the ketchup you buy.

At the Turkish table

Ketchup is used with mayonnaise in many modern Turkish büfe sandwiches, including yengen and çember variations.

Cook with Tomato ketchup

A baked potato filled with creamy potato, corn, black olive slices, chopped pickles, mayonnaise and ketchup.
İstanbul style

Loaded Baked Potato

A large baked potato mashed inside its skin with butter and kaşar cheese, then topped with corn, olives, cornichons, mayonnaise and ketchup—an Ortaköy favorite.

A round toasted roll with sucuk, frankfurters, melted cheese, a cooked egg with broken yolk, pickle slices and ketchup on a blue-and-white plate on a stone terrace table.
Antalya style

Yumurtalı Yengen

A hot büfe sandwich with a ring-cooked egg, melted cheese and pickles. Inspired by our editor’s childhood memories of eating yengen at Antalya Spor Büfesi, this version features a round bun, grilled sucuk and sosis, melted kaşar, and an egg cooked in a metal ring.