Thursday, July 28, 2016

Homemade Ketchup with a Kick

There aren't many things that I can or preserve that I feel can never get enough of...except this ketchup.


I discovered it last year from my recipe file, made a few tweaks, and BOY-OH-BOY is it good! It originally was designed to be a tomato jam, and can very well be cooked down into a jam, but I like it better as a ketchup. It uses A LOT of tomatoes, and they are cooked down into almost nothing, but it's worth it.


This ketchup has a wonderful umami depth and complexity to it that you won't get from traditional, store-bought ketchup. This is what makes it so friggin' good! Once you taste it, you will know exactly what I'm talking about.

It also has a spicy kick to it from the chili pepper flakes, so it's definitely not a ketchup for the kiddies. Besides, after all the work you put into it and taste how amazing it is, you'll want it all for yourself!


Kathy's Ketchup with a Kick
Recipe source modified from: I don't remember...
Makes 3 - 4 pints (depending on how far this is cooked down)

*5 pounds tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
3 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup lime juice
2 tsps freshly grated ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 T salt
*1 T red chili pepper flakes
1/4 - 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

Note: If you don't want tomato seeds in your ketchup, strain the peeled tomatoes through a sieve or food mill. I don't mind them in mine. 

Also Note: If you do not want your ketchup to be spicy/hot, omit chili pepper flakes. 

Here's a link for instructions on how to quickly peel tomatoes.

Combine all ingredients except apple cider vinegar and puree using a food processor, blender, or blender stick. Pour pureed ingredients in a large saucepan or pot and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature to a simmer and cook the ketchup for approximately 1 - 1 1/2 hours, stirring regularly. Depending on the water content of your tomatoes, this may take longer. The mixture should cook down to the consistency of traditional ketchup and slightly mound on a spoon.


When mixture is at the desired consistency, add 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar and stir in. Taste to see if you would like the ketchup to be a little more tart, and if so, add a little more vinegar. Cook a few more minutes, then pour mixture into prepared jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. 

Process in a BWB for 20 minutes. Alternately, you can simply let this cool and store it in your refrigerator. 

Depending on the water content from the tomatoes and how far I cook this down, sometimes I get as little as 2 - 3 pints, and sometimes I get 3 - 4 pints out of one batch.

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