Eureka Ketchup

If I were a company I would not be sharing this with you!  But since I am not a company and probably will not make tons of money, mass producing my ketchup, I will share it with you.  Cause I am nice like that. 

You want to know why this ketchup makes me so dang happy that I want to shout EUREKA!  Because I hate buying ketchup!  My one daughter goes threw it, like, well, Ranch dressing.  You know all the stuff that is loaded with chemicals and lots and lots of sugar.  Oh, and have I mentioned corn syrup, high fructose syrup and fructose (can you say more sugar?).  Bonus besides having much less sugar it also tastes fabulous! 

While I liked previous ketchups I made with lots of different spices in it, my daughters did not.  So this is like finding the jack pot.  They like it, its economical and I get to control what is in it!

I started out making this recipe for Batch #1.

3 pounds Romas

1 can tomato paste

1 large clove garlic

1/2 cup vinegar

1 tablespoon molasses

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 1/2 teaspoons citric acid

1 tablespoon arrowroot powder

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon beet powder

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon garlic powder

Then, I moved to this recipe for Batch #2. Which you will find as my final recipe this year.  I think... Because, the "do I have enough ketchup" obsession thought keeps running through my head.  Okay, for now, it is my final batch of ketchup.

Both are good.  But Batch #2 has even less sugar which, of course, is a good thing. 

You might ask why I add xanthan gum.  It helps keep everything mixed up.  You don't have to add it to yours, but you probably will need to shake things up a bit before you serve it.

 

EUREKA KETCHUP

Equipment Needed

Hand held strainer with small holes... like this.
Smallish size pot that you can whack the strainer on to extract the sauce from the tomatoe peels and such.
canning jars 8 or 9 of them
canning lids
canning rings 
canning pot
canning reacher "arm"
blender
measuring cups
and of course measuring spoons and measuring cups

ingredients
9 pounds Roma tomatoes (pretty near a peck)

3 can tomato paste

1 1/2 cup vinegar

3 tablespoon molasses

3 teaspoon xanthan gum

3 teaspoons citric acid

3 tablespoon arrowroot powder

3 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons beet powder

3 tablespoon Kosher* salt

3 tablespoon garlic powder
3 bay leafs

Wash and clean the tomatoes. Core the tomatoes. Cut away any bad spots. Cut in half, squeeze it a little as you are placing it in a large pot that you plan to cook it in. 

Add in vinegar, bay leaves and molasses.  Cook until those tomatoes are falling apart on a gentle simmer. Like 30 minutes for more.  You want it mushed and you want some of the liquids to evaporate.  So don't put a lid on it.   

While that is happily cooking away, gather the ingredients that you are going to need and the equipment.

Discard the bay leaves. Blend all the tomatoes.  As you blend each batch pour through strainer.  Use a spoon to run along the bottom of the strainer to keep the liquid falling through.  Once most of the liquid is drained away, give the strained a good whack on the side of the pot you are emptying into.  This will force the juice away from the skins and seeds.  Pretty soon you will have this clump of seeds and skin that just jumps around in the strainer when you whack it.  That is when you know you have pulled enough of the good liquid away. 

Once you have extracted all the juice, heat it again.  This is when you are going to add your other ingredients.  Whisk each ingredient in to avoid clumps.  Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Stirring frequently.

Use a measuring cup and pour the beautiful ketchup liquid into the Mason jars. Place lids on and screw them down with the bands, place in canner.  For any remaining jars pour the liquid and rest one of the lids on but don't screw down with one of the bands.  It may seal.  But you don't want a seal like this.  You want a seal in the canner with all the heat and boiling water.  

Process jars for 15 minutes.