Homemade Ketchup

Oh hey, remember me?

I’m back!

Thank you thank you all for your congratulations.  He’s definitely a keeper 😉 I guess this means I have a wedding to plan, now, so….yikes.  For now, let’s stick to cooking.

If you recall, before “the great distraction” I promised you homemade ketchup.

So I did that.  Like a crazy person.

I made some ketchup. From scratch.

Well..kinda.  I cheated a little and started with tomato paste.  I guess for this to be really legitimate I should have started with whole tomatoes that I plucked fresh from my garden this morning, still warm from the sun…

Baby steps.

Before we go further and before you write me off I need to acknowledge that Heinz is ketchup and ketchup is Heinz forever and ever amen.

I went into this knowing that whatever I produced, (if it didn’t completely flop), might be good.  It might even be really super delicious.  But it wasn’t going to be Heinz.

That said…this came surprisingly close.

The flavor is totally there.  The difference is the texture.

Heinz is super smooth and glossy.  Mine was pretty tomato paste….y.

I’m ok with it.  It was delicious.  Also homemade so what’s wrong with a bit of a rustic feel?

So maybe you’re (definitely) not going to make this every day but it’s a fun thing to try!  What’s more gourmet than homemade condiments?

It’s also really ridiculously easy if you happen to be the proud owner of a slow cooker (there I go again…these things are GREAT!).  I promise there’s nothing scary about this.

Toss the necessary ingredients in there, let it go until it looks like ketchup, tell people you made their ketchup, watch the bewildered looks of horror/awe/respect.

((Clarification: Looks of horror result from thoughts of “who DOES that!?” not “this is gross” because it’s not gross it’s delicious.  Don’t worry))

See that ketchup oozing out of that beany burger?

I made that.  No big deal.

Don’t be jealous. You, too, can have homemade ketchup ooze.  It is a beautiful thing.

Enjoy!

❤ Ellen

Homemade Ketchup

Recipe adapted from This Ketchup Recipe

2 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1/2 c cup white vinegar
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder or Adobo seasoning (seriously)
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon honey
2 1/2 cups water

1. Measure all ingredients into a slow cooker and cook on high for about 2 hours or low for 4. The longer you let it go the more it cooks down-just stop it when it looks like ketchup to you.

Note: Half of this recipe is plenty for me.  The whole recipe makes about 16 oz