ketchup

Once you’ve made ketchup from scratch, the bottle starts to taste a little flat. This version is built on real tomatoes, cooked down with onion and a garlic-salt paste until deeply savory, then simmered with vinegar and spices into that familiar thick, tangy-sweet condiment, minus the corn syrup and additives.

The method is mostly patience. You cook the tomatoes and onion low and slow, hitting them with an immersion blender every so often to smooth things out as they reduce. Then the rest of the ingredients go in for a second long simmer, until the ketchup thickens to just the consistency you want.

A final blend and a pass through a strainer pull out the seeds and skins for that signature smooth texture. Best of all, you control the balance, more or less sweet, tangy, or spiced, and you can even use it as a base for barbecue sauce.

Pro Tips

• Don’t rush the reduction; ketchup needs a long, slow simmer to thicken and concentrate its flavor.
• Blend as it cooks and strain at the end for the smooth, seedless texture of store-bought.
• Taste and adjust the sugar, vinegar, and salt as it simmers to dial in your ideal sweet-tangy balance.

Variations

• Add smoked paprika, chipotle, or a pinch of cayenne for a smoky or spicy ketchup.
• Stir in extra brown sugar and spices to turn a batch into homemade barbecue sauce.