The fruits of my labor...

 

The reviews are in for Batch 1.0 of Homemade Ketchup — it was gooooooood!

I based it on a recipe from Gourmet magazine, below, but upped the spices by a factor of two, and skipped all the messy pureeing. (The Olive and Gourmando version was chunky.) MamaRubi made old family favorite “Tante Carol’s French-fried Steaks” for dinner last night and we ate a whole (small) jar! Even GrammyRubi, who isn’t ordinarily a fan of tomatoey stuff, pronounced it “yummy.” It was almost jam-like.

Here’s the original recipe, with a few parenthetical notes from me:

Ingredients

  • 1 (28-to 32-ounces) can whole tomatoes in juice (use ground, peeled tomatoes instead — much easier and less mess)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (olive oil)
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika (the smoked kind, from Spain)
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (I used 1/3 cup agave nectar, and batch 1.1 will have maple syrup, since I think it was in the O&G version)
  • 1/2 cup cider vinegar (none in the pantry, so I used balsamic)
Preparation

Purée tomatoes with juice in a blender until smooth. Cook onion and garlic in oil with 1/4 teaspoon salt in a 4-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 8 minutes. Add spices and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring frequently, 1 minute. Add tomato purée, tomato paste, brown sugar, and vinegar and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until very thick, 45 to 55 minutes (stir more frequently toward end of cooking to prevent scorching).

Purée ketchup in blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Chill at least 2 hours (for flavors to develop).