Ketchup

I've been wanting to do this one for a while. Ketchup. Naturally, it's great on hamburgers, and for some, hot dogs. It's a utilitarian ingredient, and some of the snobbier people think it's too common for them. I've seen celebrity chefs explain embarrassedly that a recipe needs ketchup because there's nothing else quite like it. Instead of being embarrassed, embrace it, and make it literally your own.

Advantages of homemade? The flavor is exactly what you want. It has no preservatives. It has only the ingredients you want. And, as with butter and mayonnaise, you can say, "Yes, I made the ketchup myself." Also, it tastes really good.

The ingredients are below. Some items of note: a lot of recipes call for brown sugar. We know that brown sugar is just molasses and sugar. I decided, instead of using brown sugar, I'd just use the ingredients, and then I realized that I had some local sorghum molasses that I picked up on a lark and didn't know what to do with. So I said, "What the heck," and used it in this.

Note that the tomato paste is in a tube. Many people think tomato paste only comes in wee cans, and they use a tablespoon in a recipe then don't know what to do with the rest. The rest could be refrigerated or frozen, but the tube eliminates the need.

Often, people recommend apple cider vinegar for ketchup, and that's great. In this case, I was out of apple cider vinegar, so I used a sweet moscatel vinegar. Use what you like, see what happens.

Not pictured, because I added it on a whim, is some fish sauce. More on the whims later.

The onion needs some cooking time above and beyond the rest of the ingredients, so chop it up first.

Cook the onion in a pan over medium-low heat (a.k.a. sweat or soffrito the onion) until the onion softens and the edges turn translucent.

Add all of the rest of the ingredients.

At this point, you should be thinking that this seems awfully familiar. Yes, ketchup is just a tomato sauce, which longtime readers can make without a recipe. The difference is basically the sugar and the vinegar, plus a bit more at the end. This means that you can customize to your heart's content. I added some chili powder, which is totally not necessary, plus the aforementioned fish sauce. You can make it spicy, you can make it sweet. You can make it with green tomatoes, you can use carrots and celery in it. Play around and have fun.

Once everything is in the pot, simmer to reduce it until it looks pretty much like ketchup, or it would if you were to puree it. You'll want to stir from time to time, and you'll want to stir more frequently as it reduces to ensure that nothing burns.

Now puree the sauce. This is easiest with a stick blender, but you can let it cool a bit and use a regular blender. If it's not quite the right thickness, reduce it some more.

Now pour into a container, store in the fridge, and enjoy as you would ketchup.

Ketchup

• 28 ounces Tomatoes, canned
• 1 medium Onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons Olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Tomato paste
• ⅔ cup Sugar
• ⅙ cup Molasses
• ½ cup Vinegar, Apple cider is good
• ½ teaspoon Salt
• 2 teaspoons Chili Powder

1.Sweat (or sofrito) the onions in the oil until they are softened and translucent.

2.Add all ingredients to the sauce pan. Simmer to reduce until it is more or less the consistence of ketchup (or will be once you blend it). Stir frequently, especially as it gets closer to being done.

3.Puree with a stick blender or a regular blender until smooth.

4.Store in the refrigerator for upwards of two weeks.

Comments

[Alan]

Thanks. I've always wanted to do this, now I really must. It also makes me think of the movie "Meet Me In St. Louis" where they are making ketchup at the beginning of the film, and appear to have it as a soup course for dinner. Did its use change that much over time?