I did it! Homemade Ketchup!

7/30/14

So.... are you dying to know what I tried this week?! =)  I tried.... making Ketchup!  And, I would say it was a very positive experience.  Let's go back a minute-- why I tried it in the first place.  A month or so ago I just so happened to check the label on our ketchup bottle.  I usually buy mine from Aldi.  I noticed there was high fructose corn syrup in it. So, I went home and googled "homemade ketchup".  It didn't look too hard, so I thought I should go for it.  Why not?  I have since realized that not ALL ketchup has high fructose corn syrup in it, so don't fear-- just check your bottle.

Here's how I made it....

Homemade Ketchup:

2 (28 ounce) cans peeled ground tomatoes

1/2 cup water, divided

2/3 cup white sugar

3/4 cup distilled white vinegar

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 3/4 teaspoons salt

1/8 teaspoon mustard powder

1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

1 dash of ground cloves

Directions:

1. Put 2 cans of whole tomatoes in a blender and mix until the whole tomatoes are ground up. 
2. Pour both cans into slow cooker. Swirl 1/4 cup water in each emptied can and pour into slow cooker. Add sugar, vinegar, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, mustard powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and dash of cloves; whisk to combine.
3. Cook on high, uncovered, until mixture is reduced by half and very thick, 10 to 12 hours. Stir every hour or so.  (I think I did about 10 hours)
4. Smooth the texture of the ketchup using a blender, until smooth.
5. Pour into desired container, cool, and ENJOY!

The original recipe calls for a whole clove (I didn't have it), 1/8 tsp. celery salt (I thought I bought it but couldn't find it), and says to pour the ketchup through a mesh strainer after you mix it in your blender.  I found it to be very smooth, so I started to do that step and then realized I was wasting time.

Here are some pictures if you're interested....

This is after about 10 hours.  Of course I didn't take a picture when I started....  You can see how full it was when I started though--see the line up top?  That's how much it reduced!

And, see how it was still a bit chunky?

Then I poured it all into my Vitamix and blended it up. (see below... after I blended it)

When you first pour all the ingredients into your crock pot you think to yourself "WOW, we are going to have TONS AND TONS of ketchup" but really, after it reduces, this is what you're left with.

I refridgerated it overnight and tried it on a hotdog the next day (I know super healthy.... and I generally stay away from hotdogs while I'm pregnant.  BUT...I didn't have access to a hamburger...). I was BLOWN away.  It totally tastes like the ketchup I love =) I made it while I had guests over this weekend, and they told me that it was better than Heinz.  Would I do it again?  Yes. I would probably just use 2 cans of crushed tomatoes and skip the first blending process.  I would do it again too because it wasn't hard or labor intensive.  I know, 10-12 hours of cooking-- but I'm home a lot anyway, so it's not really an issue to be there to stir it. PLUS, it made my house smell good!  And it HAS to be healthier--doesn't it?  I mean, look what's in it!  There's really not THAT much sugar... is there??  Plus, sometimes it's just fun to make something yourself =)

So I say, give it a try!

-Melanie