• 1 28oz can of whole tomatoes
  • 1 red onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 chili pepper (optional)
  • 4 heaping tbl of brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup cider vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp celery salt
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 6 cloves
  • 1 bay leaf

have you ever thought about making your own ketchup? neither have i…and then i was challenged.

we ran out of ketchup the other day. my kids eat ketchup as meals…i bet yours do too? they are kids, it’s normal right? j’s favorite lunch, ketchup sandwiches, really, don’t ask. still not sure where that one came from and being a foodie family i’m not sure if bragging about this is such a great idea (wink wink).

so what was my challenge? when i told j we were out, he turned around and said “mama, you know i really think if you wanted to, you would make it for us”. really? did my almost 5 year old just challenge me?

i looked up a couple recipes and came up with a couple that i loved. they all had the same basic ingredients…brown sugar, vinegar, onions, garlic. some other  recipes had other ingredients that sounds really good too, hot peppers, bay leaves, i used all the recipes i found and came up with something amazing.

i’m not sure i’ll ever buy ketchup again!

ketchup

  1. to a blender add tomatoes, onion, garlic and pepper. blend till smooth.
  2. add mixture to a skillet or pot with the rest of the ingredients: sugar, vinegar, celery salt, cinnamon, cloves and bay leaf.
  3. bring to a boil and then reduce to a low simmer for an hour.
  4. when mixture thickens and turns a deep red (looks like ketchup) it is done. give it a taste, season accordingly and set aside to cool.
  5. when “ketchup” is cool, pass through a strainer or fish out the whole spices. save in jars for up to a month in your fridge.

homemade ketchup tastes better the next day. the ketchup has cooled down and has time to marinate. it’s great to use not only as a condiment but in meatloaves too (i have a recipe for that too).

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