I was looking for a creative way to use my first batch of homegrown San Marzano and Early Girl tomatoes and decided . . . KETCHUP!!!
I perused through all my canning cookbooks . . . browsed the web, including YouTube, and found all sorts of recipes for making tomato ketchup. There were videos using tomato paste, water, garlic powder, onion powder and spices . . . recipes with an Indian flare, mild ketchup, spicy catsup, copy-cat Heinz ketchup, southern ketchup, sweet, savory, even top secret . . .
Will and I really wanted a ketchup similar to everyones' 1st choice, Heinz Ketchup, but with a bit more kick, like my childhood favorite, Brooks Ketchup manufacturered in Canada. We did a lot of taste testing while I was cooking the tomatoes down, and again after I put the cooked tomatoes through the sieve. I was busy adding a bit of this and that, jotting it down, taste testing, tweaking the heat, sweet, spice, acid, and saltiness.
We ended up with a thick, gourmet, spicy ketchup that goes perfect with my oven baked fries! The best part? I used my very own homegrown tomatoes, that I started in the house from seeds! There is no high fructose corn syrup, MSG, or any other questionable ingredient or chemical present . . . Just fresh organic tomatoes, herbs and spices, vinegar and pure cane sugar and organic blackstrap molasses.
HOMEMADE KETCHUP with a KICK - makes four 8-ounce jars
7 pounds of tomatoes, washed and rough chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 finely minced clove of garlic
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon whole cloves
2 bay leaves
1 2-inch piece of cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon whole allspice seeds
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3/4 cup light brown sugar (I made my own with a cup of pure cane sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons of organic blackstrap molasses)
1 teaspoon Tobasco Brand Pepper Sauce
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons canning or Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
- Place chopped tomatoes, chopped onions and minced garlic in a large stainless steel or enamel pot.
- Bring tomato mixture to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan add vinegar; wrap celery seed, cloves, cinnamon, mustard seeds and whole allspice in a double thickness of cheese cloth, making a bundle; tie with cotton string.
- Bring vinegar to a boil; remove from heat and allow spices to steep for 25 minutes.
- Pour seasoned vinegar, brown sugar, pepper sauce, cayenne, salt and pepper into tomato mixture; stir, and simmer for an additional 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so.
TIP: My days are full, so at this point I allowed my pot to cool; refrigerated it over night and in the morning I put my tomato mixture through a sieve and continued simmering it, until it reduced and became thick, like bottled ketchup.
- Put tomato mixture through a sieve or food mill.
- Return to low heat and simmer for 2 hours; stirring often, until ketchup becomes thick.
TIP: This is about making a gourmet ketchup . . . Taste often, adding a bit more salt, heat, sweet, or vinegar to suit your tastes. Just be sure to add small measured amounts. If you over-season you can't remove it!
- Fill hot water canner with water; add your four 1- cup canning jars, lids and bands to sterilize.
- Remove from pot, one at a time. After you fill a jar, return it to the hot water bath.
- Fill jars with hot ketchup, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
- Wipe rims with a damp cloth.
- Adjust lids and screw on bands.
- Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes; add an additional 5 minutes for over 1000 feet above sea level.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0xuVGTqso_Gpd0_knU8oWYsRHv3EUvGiy5_aNY5qPKx31RKDt9C6LF1c45nUZ2nSka6HllNtwDiEdvuxFM3K4YMnCtqx_jSjDiGeWFRFIa1x2oGVt97zQBQv-ObtlfqeOc5gEAldB7c/s500/Photo%252520Jun%2525204%25252C%2525202013%25252C%25252010%25253A13%252520AM.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDeBcLcoXVYmOMzKTPTdr0Zc3neBcbcuoyJhO8tLfKf1nMLVdhBlWSUW05yig_JsFH_Ei4zfHYvQgddpp0qePpDsaMYwjLrPNzaQ0ELC2e3cMQYhlhnKKm2dBAlwHVGx9xuaxyQQL4Tdk/s500/Photo%252520Jun%2525204%25252C%2525202013%25252C%25252010%25253A27%252520AM.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjikst-XVQaV_LbbyFcG5-5v0SnAW5B-08ZXgTecwMW9CYAyeYpMJ8oDKovv_J0TxYbbaZhioLQ3aap4wL_IBXIDRbofrEJxBgU8T3peiMvJNIbDALN4c2rtdlTspwWdBojtlN-ayiLaaY/s500/Photo%252520Jun%2525204%25252C%2525202013%25252C%25252010%25253A17%252520AM.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPamiCIin5Pm90vDMvke-ChLPpvu_MNDTCz18RccaQ08xi3NqUY46C-MrmQNffrM6OWo0mTE6VowGIQrqBB3wFbKOGUSCYch58QkwOjIS9rhuH6id7Zw5SBj9EUHOTauYL8JYUbYx2M7w/s500/Photo%252520Jun%2525205%25252C%2525202013%25252C%25252011%25253A33%252520AM.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTl2v4AthsWlqGh0RrVje2bJVHKKSCVJ07VNMR1aQ4xnud9VvkJg5dpGrwgPs61WWPnmAhKOA19cN0eoQEDEC2lA_MG01FJT3Hoi4O2-mdPFD3gbsMkMGkEuLgDyTROkpaFMDtvxfvPD8/s500/Photo%252520Jun%2525205%25252C%2525202013%25252C%25252011%25253A45%252520AM.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_QRpWoZggN2HAi0gSjpaLoIapLCxJnspvIPTtWOzNcq4FXz8LMa1iaYkmmGWjjfJT2hPokFBdRBjYcRfcn7ntfCZlV0mQR6_1a59Ff_cx3b9saHjCsHssHS1lfu3GY_W1RseIrIyTSyk/s500/Photo%252520Jun%2525205%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525202%25253A36%252520PM.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnWvtwmIj53h9aVbij9Nm3WhyzZn648G5kOFXwQX_zHq96fwn1exnwMjuXF9jVyz57wUxW89DzIK-45502eoNU5LUN-iiEVsaIVYR_qxM01ryikZs6zX_GmaQJ3rxKmPYamr33ZIjKuDM/s500/Photo%252520Jun%2525206%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525201%25253A08%252520PM.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPlPIGrH8r0HR95jhBrXaSXZ_Jpi-xc6ZgNIildfBSQtUTBQmw78x9RNMdxU_delHCRn_PDKCFvU3EzHufEGLx7aSs3bb3w-ak57DC8rGu0VdxYb0-hm_68A_AlrswPOGH9mwOCD2IBHw/s500/Photo%252520Jun%2525206%25252C%2525202013%25252C%25252011%25253A15%252520AM.jpg)
looks great!
ReplyDeleteThanks! This summer I made a double batch! We just needed more! I also tried my hand at making peach ketchup with some tomatoes added for color . . . The flavors in homemade are so intense . . . It's like bottling summer up in a jar!
ReplyDelete