Where “Tomato Sauce” Comes From
Tomato sauce is the standard Australian word for what other countries call ketchup. It’s a sweet and tangy sauce made from tomatoes, vinegar and spices.
It’s served with meat pies, sausage rolls, hot chips, snags and bacon-and-egg rolls. Rhyming slang uses “dead horse” for it.
“Pass the tomato sauce for my pie.”
How Aussies Actually Use It
You’ll hear it at takeaway shops, barbecues and school canteens.
In Real Life
Few foods feel more Australian than a pie with a squeeze of tomato sauce, eaten at the footy. At a sausage sizzle, there’s often a choice between “onions with sauce” or “sauce only”. Families have strong views about squeeze bottles, glass bottles and sachets, and kids can’t imagine chips without it. The phrase “dead horse” is a long-standing joke from rhyming slang.
Quick Questions
Is tomato sauce the same as ketchup?
Yes, essentially. Australians say tomato sauce, not ketchup.
What’s dead horse?
Rhyming slang for sauce, as in tomato sauce.
Say It Like an Aussie
Say it: tuh-MAH-toh SAWS.
In conversation:
- Can I get tomato sauce on that?
- A meat pie isn’t right without tomato sauce.
- The kids put tomato sauce on everything.
Good to know: Australians don’t usually call it ketchup. If someone asks for “sauce” with a pie or snag, they mean tomato sauce.
See also: Dead horse, Snag
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