English Deutsch Français Italiano Español Português 繁體中文 Bahasa Indonesia Tiếng Việt ภาษาไทย
All categories

Where does the water on the top of my KETCHUP and MUSTARD come from?
Every time I get the ketchup or mustard out of the fridge, and don't shake it up, the first shot is just a watery colored flow. If you shake it up no problem. Okay, so I have squirted this water out of the bottle, because I usually forget to shake it up, and so I have squirted out water at least 40 times. Where does the new water come from every time? The ketchup and mustard are not dehydrating, I can tell because the consistency is the same. The water separates out, okay, so how much water do you have to squirt out of it to make it stop? I just don't understand.

2006-07-13 15:48:37 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Food & Drink Other - Food & Drink

12 answers

It comes from France. 2 gallons should do it.

2006-07-13 15:53:10 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 8 7

Ketchup and mustard are known as "emulsions" - they have a continuous liquid phase consisting mostly of water and a discontinuous phase consisting of fats and solids. You'll often see substances like "soy lechithin" in the ingredients list for ketchup - these are emulsifiers which help emulsions "hold." Regardless, the liquid at the top is just part of the liquid phase of the condiment.

For a simple visualization of this, mix a cup of rice and half a cup of water and shake. After a minute, the rice sinks to the bottom and the water is at the top.

2006-07-13 16:33:11 · answer #2 · answered by noambenami 2 · 0 0

that liquid is what keeps the ketchup and the mustard its form. you have to shake it because after a while, the substances ketchup and mustard is made of will gradually separate and settle, with the heavy stuff on the bottom and the lighter stuff on top, which in this case is that watery stuff. without that water, ketchup and mustard would be solids instead of liquids!

remember to shake the condiments haha =]

2006-07-13 15:53:25 · answer #3 · answered by Reasons 3 · 0 0

Nobody else is going to tell you the truth about this... so I guess it's up to me to break it to you. It's the little catsup and mustard bugs that live in the bottles. As the eat the catsup and mustard, they digest it, and as they sit at the top of the bottle, they get a severe case of diarrhea. This is why there is always the liquid at the top of the bottle that never seems to run dry. You have to shake up the bottles to get the bugs deeper into the bottle so it takes them longer to get back to the top to let loose again.

2006-07-13 15:59:50 · answer #4 · answered by gilfinn 6 · 0 0

At the risk of sounding boring, it's caused by chemical reaction. Vinegar draws out some water. Just try to remember to shake the bottles. Eventually it will dry out but by that time, it should be used up.

2006-07-13 15:59:27 · answer #5 · answered by PleiadesMom 2 · 0 0

It's water and vinegar. The liquid is just on the top because the tomato concentrate or the mustard seed puree is denser and sinks to the bottom.

2006-07-13 15:52:57 · answer #6 · answered by JoelMBA 3 · 0 0

look at the ingredients ..its like 70% water shake first

2006-07-13 15:52:28 · answer #7 · answered by gimmieswag 5 · 0 0

it is the heavier ingredients settling just give it a goos shake each time before using and your good to go

2006-07-13 15:52:05 · answer #8 · answered by bigdaddydon62 2 · 0 0

I think it comes from the fairy that turns on and off the 'fridge light.

2006-07-13 15:52:39 · answer #9 · answered by Strange question... 4 · 0 0

thats not water it is oil

2006-07-13 15:50:52 · answer #10 · answered by heavenly_bear94 1 · 1 0

EEWW, I hate that too!

2006-07-13 16:11:50 · answer #11 · answered by delfin716 2 · 0 0

fedest.com, questions and answers