How to make Homemade Ketchup

 by bajablue
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Ketchup is one of the most popular condiments in the World. It's also the versatile primary base used in countless sauce recipes... which is what inspired this instructable to begin with. 

I came across this promising Ketchup-from-scratch recipe at Serious Eats. I made just a few changes, substituting a few ingredients I didn't already have on hand and forgoing the final strain which wasn't necessary.

The end results were quite satisfying... a robust ketchup that surpassed store-bought ketchup in both flavor and intensity. 

I hope you give this recipe a try. It's differently-delicious and so darn easy to prepare, you'll be asking yourself "Why didn't I make this sooner?".

Yields approx 2 cups.

Ingredients:
  • 2 1/2 cup Water
  • 1/2 cup Tomato Paste
  • 2 tablespoons Olive oil
  • 1 cup Yellow Onion- chopped medium
  • 1 teaspoon Garlic- grated or minced
  • 1/2 cup Dark Brown sugar- lightly packed
  • 1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon Ground mustard
  • 1 pinch Ground cloves
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Get cookin':   

Heat the Olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onions. Stir and saute 8-10 minutes until the onions are soft but not browned.  

Add the grated garlic. Stir (until you can smell the garlic) about 30 seconds.

Immediately add the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After 45 minutes, check the consistency of the ketchup and continue simmering as needed.(I simmered very slow, so my ketchup actually took about 1 hour and 15 minutes. The sauce was thick and the volume was reduced by half when I took it off my stovetop.)

Pour the ketchup into a blender. Blend for 1-2 minutes until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning ("salt" ;-) as needed.

Straining is not necessary. Just pour the ketchup into a jar. Seal and refrigerate overnight. Like every tomato-based sauce in existence, the flavors meld and improve dramatically with age. ;-)

This ketchup has no preservatives or stabilizers. It must be kept refrigerated and will stay fresh for up to one month.

I'll update this Ible to include more Sauce Recipes in the very near future, so check back if your tastebuds are so inclined. ;-)
sunshiine says: Feb 14, 2012. 4:14 PM
I'll bet this beats the heck out of bought stuff! Thanks for sharing!
Sunshiine
Kimberly^ says: Jan 27, 2012. 9:57 PM
Yum that looks GOOD! I'm gonna havta make some this weekend, but that means I'll havta make the onion rings too! Darn, but wait! Onions are vegetables. Vegetables are good for you. Ok, I'm good with onion rings. :)

bajablue (author) in reply to Kimberly^Jan 27, 2012. 10:11 PM
Thanks Kim! I have a recipe for BAKED Onion rings you are going to LOVE!
lesizz says: Jan 26, 2012. 10:05 AM
I can hardly wait to try this out on some fries. The commercial stuff uses corn syrup instead of legitimate sugar, which dorks up the flavor and isn't good for you. Thanks for the instrctions.
bajablue (author) in reply to lesizzJan 27, 2012. 9:10 PM
Thanks for your comment, lesizz!

Here's a delicious Fry Sauce using homemade Ketchup. I think you might enjoy it!


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l8nite says: Jan 25, 2012. 10:22 PM
sounds good, you could try using fire roasted canned tomatoes for a slightly different flavor
bajablue (author) in reply to l8niteJan 25, 2012. 11:03 PM
Or I could fire roast fresh tomatoes! Good thinking l8nite!!!
Penolopy Bulnick says: Jan 25, 2012. 11:38 AM
That sounds pretty good! I've had a homemade ketchup once and it was so much better than store bought! Thanks for the recipe!
bajablue (author) in reply to Penolopy BulnickJan 25, 2012. 8:30 PM
My pleasure, Pen. This was my first go-round with homemade ketchup... and it's working beautifully in other recipes!

Thank you for commenting!
farzadbayan says: Jan 25, 2012. 12:14 PM
O, I'm interested to make ketchup @home! And this is a great tutorial, Thank you.
bajablue (author) in reply to farzadbayanJan 25, 2012. 8:27 PM
You are so welcome... and Thank you for such a nice comment!
iceng says: Jan 25, 2012. 1:14 PM
You find and post great recopies.

Amazingly, I was mentally seeking to make my own :-)

When joining Weight Watchers a new member is asked what is that
one food that the member cannot live without consuming.

Many newbies respond with Sunday beer, wine with dinner,
Margareta now and then, Spaghetti,  top sirloin stake or a
Juice's hamburger. 

My eat or die food ( you guessed it )  KETCHUP..  i don't spoon the stuff
but it is my condiment of choice,  you know the Irish equivalent to; 
put catsoup on it and I'll eat a bale of hay.
 
A

P.S. did you successfully remove that baby virus ?
bajablue (author) in reply to icengJan 25, 2012. 8:26 PM
Thanks Alex!

Oh that dang Baby Virus is still lurking in my other laptop. I haven't made the time to remove it yet.

ok... I'll quit procrastinating and do it tonight.
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