Things I miss: Ketchup

I discovered in my prolonged stupor that my body no longer can tolerate ketchup. Ketchup hits me with two attacks. The tomato, which triggers my histamine intolerance and the vinegar that inflames my body via a sulfite intolerance. For hours and days after consuming ketchup, I would suffer with joint inflammation, migraines, gerd, acid reflux and seemingly untreatable asthma. I would use my rescue inhaler only for wheezing and shortness of breath to come back moments later. Ketchup, or more correctly, how my body responds to ketchup, makes me feel terrible.

Previously I was a big connoisseur of fast food. I was a fan of Jack In The Box and their wide adventurous menu. My friends, when we could physically do minor insignificant stuff with each other would request buttermilk ranch or honey mustard to go a long with their curl fries. I was a traditionalist, I only needed ketchup. The combination of the sweet and savory, the tangy with the crisp and soft potato fry, to me it was perfection.

My favorite use of ketchup is as a side to the Sausage McMuffin with Egg. I would dip the sandwich in the little pool of ketchup I made from the packet. Get just a bit, in the bite mark I started, and devour. There is just something about the circular formed over hard egg, sausage, ketchup, and bread to economize the taste, that I can't put words to on how it's so delicious, how my distant memory can make it taste so good.

I don't know how long it will be until I'll be able to eat ketchup. It's been almost two years since I started having these long covid symptoms, and tomatoes, nightshades, vinegar still trigger me. I miss ketchup, there is no substitute for it.