Tomato Ketchup
Submitted by myself
Homemade tomato ketchup simmers fresh tomatoes, garlic, onion, and pickling spices into a tangy-sweet condiment. Thinner and livelier than store-bought, great with fries, eggs, or burgers.
YIELD
1 batchPREP
20 minCOOK
1 hrsREADY
2 hrsHomemade tomato ketchup is a completely different animal from the shelf-stable bottle stuff, and once you’ve tasted it, the store version starts to feel like an imitation. Fresh tomatoes, garlic, onion, corn syrup for that signature sweetness, vinegar, salt, and pickling spices simmer for 90 minutes into something concentrated, tangy, and alive with flavor.
The pickling spices are the secret. That typical Ball-jar blend of mustard seed, cloves, allspice, bay, cinnamon, and coriander delivers all the warm complexity commercial ketchup tries to simulate with “natural flavors." Tie them in cheesecloth if you want the easiest removal, or strain through the food mill later.
A low, patient simmer is the only rule. High heat scorches the tomato sugars on the pan bottom and gives bitter flavor to the whole batch. Stir occasionally and resist the urge to crank the heat.
The food mill is doing double duty. It strains out seeds, skins, and the pickling spices in one pass, and it gives the final ketchup a silky, uniform texture you can’t easily replicate with a blender (which pulverizes seeds into grit).
The recipe warns that homemade ketchup is thinner than commercial. Store-bought uses xanthan gum and HFCS engineering to hit that perfect squeeze-bottle thickness. Yours will be looser, and that’s fine; the flavor more than compensates.
Chef Tips
- Use ripe, in-season tomatoes. Pale out-of-season tomatoes give a pale, watery ketchup. Paste tomatoes (Roma, San Marzano) give the best concentration.
- Add a pinch of smoked paprika for a subtle barbecue undertone that pairs beautifully with burgers.
- Refrigerate in a clean, lidded glass jar. The ketchup keeps 3 weeks, but it’s so good it rarely lasts that long.
- For a thicker ketchup, cook it down another 15 to 30 minutes at the end. Longer reduction concentrates both flavor and texture.
Variations
- Swap corn syrup for maple syrup, honey, or brown sugar for different sweetness profiles.
- Add a minced chipotle pepper in adobo for a smoky, gently spicy version.
- Use sherry vinegar or apple cider vinegar in place of distilled white for a more nuanced acid profile.
Ingredients
Directions
In a medium stainless-steep or enamel saucepan, over a low flame, cook the tomatos and garlic until the sauce begins to bubble.
Add the onion and red pepper and cook 1 to 2 minutes.
Stir in the corn syrup, vinegar, salt, and pickling spices and continue to simmer over the low flame until the sauce reduces and thickens, about 1½ hours, stirring occasionally.
Do not rush. Cook over a low flame to prevent scorching.
Strain through a food mill and stir in the tomato paste.
Correct seasoning to taste, cool, and refrigerate in a covered container until needed.
The ketchup will thicken slightly as it cools, but it is not the consistency of store-bought ketchup.
The ketchup will keep up to three weeks.
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