Ketchup - the number one condiment in the world!

I have found this recipe time and again posted in different places! I have made it twice with store bought tomatoes and with homegrown tomatoes... both were great, but I think I like the homegrown taste better, plus I know how those tomatoes were grown as opposed to the store bought ones from South America! LOL!

I am copying it and pasting it with pics from the article I found it in..

It's a little time consuming, but OMG is it worth every minute!!!! 

Ketchup
From the February 2009 issue of Saveur
KOD notes in parentheses

Ingredients
4 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
¼ teaspoon celery seeds
¼ teaspoon chile flakes
¼ teaspoon whole allspice
2 pounds tomatoes, roughly chopped (I used a 28-ounce can of tomato puree)
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ cup white vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)
5 tablespoons brown sugar
1 medium onion, chopped
1 anaheim chile, chopped (I couldn’t get my hands on one, so used a poblano chile in its place)
1 clove garlic
Tools: cheesecloth

Method
Wrap cloves, bay leaf, cinnamonm, celery seeds, chile flakes and allspice in a layer of cheesecloth; tie into a bundle and put into a four-quart saucepan over medium-high heat along with tomatoes, salt, vinegar, sugar, onion and Anaheim chile. Smash garlic and add. Cook mixture until onions and chiles are very soft, about 40 minutes, stirring along the way.
Remove spice bundle and puree sauce in a blender or food processor until smooth. (A hand-held immersion blender would work here as well..) Note: Be careful of spattering, as sauce is hot. I used a towel to cover opening of food processor.

Strain sauce through a mesh sieve. Pour strained sauce into a four-quart saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 30 minutes. Add more salt, sugar or vinegar, if you like.

Transfer ketchup to a glass jar. Set aside and let cool. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate for up to three weeks.

Makes 2- 2 ½ cups.

Homemade Ketchup (adapted from Kim O’Donnel’s version in the Washington Post)

Spices
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 whole cloves
- 1/4 Teaspoon whole allspice
- 1/4 Teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 Teaspoon celery salt (Kim used celery seeds, but the salt worked for me and I had it on hand.)
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons salt

Other stuff- 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes (If you want to use fresh you need about 2 pounds)
- 1/2 Cup white wine vinegar or white vinegar
- 5 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 poblano chile, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, chopped

Put your spices (minus the salt and celery salt, they will just fall through) on a section of cheesecloth and tie it up.

Throw that in your pot with all your other ingredients.

This needs to simmer for 40 minutes.  Stir it every 10 minutes or so.  All of your veggies should be very tender.  Take out your spice package and toss it.  Then you need to puree all of the tomatoes and veggies.  I only have a small little processor so I had to work in batches.  No big deal though.


*NOTE FROM JOE: I used my blender, works fine!

Then you need to push all of this through a metal mesh.  Most of it will go through if you work it with a spatula, but you’ll be left with about 10% leftover gunk.  This gunk is very tasty actually, so you could eat it, but it’s also fine to just toss it. *NOTE FROM JOE - IT IS SO GOOD< SAVE IT AN USE AS A TOPPING ON SOMETHING OR EAT IT PLAIN!!! YUM!!! 

You’ll end up with this, ketchup-like liquid!

Put that back on the heat and simmer for about 20-30 minutes until it starts to thicken.  At this point you can season to your liking.  It might need a bit more vinegar, or sugar, or salt.  Then transfer it to your jar and let it cool.  You can store it in the fridge in a sealed container for a few weeks without a problem.

It’s awesome with things like potatoes.