Banana Ketchup
Submitted by mandyjane
Homemade Filipino-style banana ketchup simmered with raisins, tomato paste, allspice, cayenne, and dark rum. Sweet, tangy, and warmly spiced. Makes 3.5 cups and keeps for a month.
YIELD
1 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
90 minREADY
120 minIf you’ve never heard of banana ketchup, buckle up. This one’s about to change how you think about condiments.
Popular across the Philippines and the Caribbean, banana ketchup swaps tomatoes for ripe bananas as the base, then builds layers of flavor with golden raisins, garlic, onions, tomato paste, vinegar, and a serious lineup of warm spices: allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and a kick of cayenne.
The whole pot simmers low for over an hour until it thickens into a glossy, spoonable sauce. A splash of dark rum stirred in at the end adds a smoky depth you won’t find in anything from a bottle.
Strain it, cool it, and keep it in the fridge for up to a month. Try it on grilled meats, fried chicken, spring rolls, or anywhere you’d normally reach for regular ketchup.
Chef Tips
- Use very ripe bananas for the sweetest, smoothest puree
- Stir frequently during the last 15 minutes of cooking. The sugars concentrate and can scorch quickly
- Strain through a fine sieve and really press down on the solids to extract every drop of flavor
- Add more cayenne if you like heat. The half teaspoon gives a gentle warmth, not fire
Ingredients
Directions
Combine the raisins, onions, garlic, tomato paste and ⅓ cup vinegar in the container of a food processor. Process the mixture until smooth.
Transfer the mixture to a large, heavy saucepan. Add the banana chunks and another ⅓ cup vinegar to the food processor container. Process the mixture until smooth. Transfer the banana mixture to the saucepan. Add the remaining ⅔ cup vinegar, 3 cups water, brown sugar, salt and cayenne pepper. Bring the mixture in the saucepan to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to low and cook the ketchup, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1¼ hours.
If the ketchup threatens to stick to the bottom of the pan at any point, add some of the remaining water, up to 1 cup. Add the corn syrup, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper and cloves to the ketchup.
Cook the ketchup over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, for 15 minutes longer, or until it is thick enough to coat a metal spoon. Stir in the rum. Remove the ketchup from the heat and let it cool a few minutes.
Force the ketchup through a fine sieve to strain it, pressing down hard on the solids. Remove the ketchup from the heat and let it cool to room temperature. Store the banana ketchup, covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Makes about 3½ cups.
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