I think I’ve been working on a homemade ketchup recipe for about forty years. (I have actually not reached the age of forty yet, but I am rather fond of exaggerating and I feel like I’ve been experimenting with ketchup for like totally forever.)
It’s taken quite a bit of trial and error to find a recipe that we think tastes good. So many recipes just don’t quite taste ketchupy enough for me. This recipe I’ve finally settled on is one I found and adapted from Happy in Dole Valley. I’m happy to say that this is a very easy recipe to make. Tastes good…healthy…and easy. Yes, this is the kind of recipe I like to share with you.
During my experiments, one of the toughest challenges was to sweeten the ketchup in a way we liked. I didn’t want it too sweet, but it did need to be a little bit sweet – and not too tomato-ee. (I’d like to see the words ketchupy and tomato-ee become a part of the dictionary someday, wouldn’t you?)
I tried making ketchup with raw honey to sweeten it, and found that the taste was too strong. Regular ol’ sucanat (dehydrated cane sugar juice) is a little crunchy in this recipe, so I finally figured out a great way to sweeten our homemade ketchup: Grind the sucanat in the blender like you’re making this healthier, unprocessed powdered sugar…then add it to your ketchup ingredients. Easy and perfect!
Healthy Homemade Ketchup
- 7 ounces of tomato paste
- ⅓ cup water
- 2 Tablespoons vinegar (I used distilled coconut vinegar)
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon dry mustard
- pinch of cinnamon
- pinch of cloves
- pinch of allspice
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ cup sucanat
- Whisk ingredients together until mixed well and smooth.
I’ve found that if you grind the sucanat in the blender to make it less “crunchy” it works better.
Make french fries, get them nice and crunchy, salt them well with sea salt and give me a call.
Defining “a pinch”: When a recipe calls for “a pinch” of something, I usually put in about 1/8 teaspoon – an amount you could “pinch” between your fingers if you were to reach into the spice jar and pull some out. I don’t really like putting my fingers in to pinch my spices. But you go right ahead if you want to.
The true test with our Homemade Ketchup Experiment: Did the kids like it?
All of my kids love ketchup, but one particular son of mine eats ketchup on everything: eggs, green beans, broccoli… He’s also my pickiest kid (which is why he eats ketchup to get his veggies down). I hesitantly put this homemade ketchup on his plate with a nice helping of homemade fries. He ate it. He loved it. He said, “Is this the homemade ketchup?” and I said, “Yep” and he said, “Wow it’s really good!”
Score! We have a winner!
Now that I’ve conquered ketchup, I’ll move on to some of the other recipes on the Heavenly Homemakers Recipe Challenge list. I’ve gotta say, I’ve been working on mayonnaise and it is about to kill me. I can not get a homemade mayonnaise to thicken even a little bit and it’s beginning to make me mad. Those of you who make mayo…what in the world is the secret to getting the ingredients to actually thicken into mayo? Ketchup took me forever to figure out, and now the mayo. I apparently have condiment issues.
Well anyway, what’s your favorite use for ketchup? Please tell me it isn’t green beans, like my son.
we are working on cutting out processed foods, chemicals and such from our diet. I am excited to try this recipe- my daughter is a ketchup lover. I will feel much better giving her something like this!
Thanks!
There is a egg-free mayo in the Everything Food Allergy Cookbook. Unfortunately I have it from the library right now, so you’ll have to wait until I return it to get it yourself.
re mayo, i make it all the time very thick, do you start with egg yolk? and then add the oil? (in the foodprocessor?) e-mail and I can give you a step by step instructions :).
Yes, food processr, egg yolk first, then oil. HELP, I’m a mayo mess. :) [email protected]
You could try watching the Good Eats episode on Mayo for some hints on the science. Should be findable on YouTube.
I like ketchup, but not on EVERYTHING! My 2 year old was dipping her cantaloupe in ketchup the other day. Gross! I’ve made cultured ketchup a couple of times, but wasn’t crazy about it. I’ll have to try this. I think you could add some whey, leave it on the counter for a day, then you’d have a pro-biotic condiment!
I spent the morning looking for the perfect ketchup recipe. All that work and now you post a ketchup recipe! You must have read my mind. Now I don’t have to experiment with the various things I learned out there on the web (which were pretty much what you have here but with corn syrup or splenda or some other sweetener, for which I was going to sub honey). I will try it with my Rapadura.
The other thing I read was that cooking it actually improves the texture and taste as well. These were the cooking instructions I found in one recipe:
“combine in saucepan over med heat
whisk until smooth
when mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often
remove pan from heat and cover until cool”
Meatloaf! I will be making a few loaves tomorrow for the freezer. Plenty of ketchup involved.
Mayo isn’t one of my favorites so I haven’t messed with it much, but Katie and Sarah both have.
Perhaps your non thickened mayo has something to do with the proportion of ingredients or type of oil/oils you’re using?
After MUCH trial and error, and using the ingredients listed on Wilderness Family Naturals Mayo (love that stuff, but it’s so expensive), I’ve finally hit upon a combo we love that is thick, and even more so once it’s refrigerated. Plus it’s lacto fermented!
2 egg yolks (room temp)
2.5 T white wine vinegar
1.5 T lemon juice
2 tsp. sucanat
1.2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
3/4 c expeller pressed sesame oil
3/4 c expeller pressed coconut oil
2 T whey
Place the first 9 ingredients in the food processor and combine. Gently melt the coconut oil in a pan if it’s solid, then mix the 3 oils. Slowly (drop by drop at first) stream the oils into the food processor. When completely combined, remove the mayo to a glass jar and stir in 2 T of whey. Leave on the counter at room temp. for 7 hours, then move to the fridge. This will be good for a few months if you use the whey.
I love it because everytime I serve something with this mayo, my husband takes a bite, closes his eyes, and says, “Mmmm, I love your mayo”. :) I couldn’t get a better compliment than that!
It should say 1/2 tsp. sea salt, not 1.2 tsp!
I was thinking the same thing. Good Eats has some of the most helpful info out there!
Laura,
I haven’t yet made the switch to sucanat. Can I substitute powdered sugar? I would really like to have a homemade ketchup recipe in my “arsenal”!
How much does the original recipe yield? And have you experimented with doubling the recipe? Does it still taste the same with the same consistency when doubled?
Laura,
This is the same ketchup recipe I use! So good.
As for mayo, I tried forever to make it and just came out over and over with an eggy, oily, runny mess.
I finally tried a 1950’s recipe for Blender Mayo, and in 2 minutes, I had perfect mayo that tasted amazing!
You need something with lecithin to get it going, and it’s best to use the WHOLE egg. You can see the recipe/tutorial here on my blog.
http://mommysblessings.blogspot.com/2011/02/mayonnaise.html
Trust me, it’ll work!
How well does this keep? I made a ketchup recipe a few years ago that we all liked fine when I made it, but when I refrigerated it, it did something weird . . . got watery or separated or something and wouldn’t stir back to the right consistency . . . so I gave up on it, didn’t want to have to make it every time we had ketchup, still don’t. So does this keep fine in the fridge?
The trick for me to thicken the mayo was patience! I didn’t trust myself to add it as slowly as it needed to be so I found a suggestion that did the trick! I used a paper cup, put a pin prick in the bottom, put it in the top feeder of my food processer and slowly add the oil. It came out a drop or tiny stream at a time and seemed to work! Nice, thick, glossy mayo. It did seperate later which I am told can be reconstituted using warm water. hope that helps.
This looks good. How long do you think it would last in the fridge? We don’t eat ketchup often. On the mayo – you might want to look for Julia Child’s recipe. I remember reading in her book about her quest for no-fail mayo, and that she found it.
I put my eggs (1 whole, 1 yolk), oil (about 1 cup), brown mustard (1 tsp), whey (1 TBL), salt and pepper, and a splash of lemon juice into a pint size mason jar. Let it settle for a few minutes so the eggs is at the bottom. Then using a stick blender, put it all the way against the bottom of the jar and pulse a few times, then run on high for a few minutes. The oil will get sucked down into the egg mix and will emulsify very quickly. I put a plastic jar lid on it, then just leave it on the counter for about 6 hours to ferment the whey (so that is last longer), then refrigerate.
I have tried the blender/processor method with success, but I love this way much more because it only dirties the stick blender, it is much quicker and is more consistant than pouring the oil ever so slowly into the egg mix in the regualr blender.
You can also try using a small amount of coconut oil in your recipe, since it hardens when cold, that will thicken it up some. I usually use a combo of sunflower oil, coconut oil and olive oil, because I don’t like the flavor of just the olive oil.
I like to mix this mayo with some buttermilk for a great salad dressing base. Or use just the mayo for a base for thousand island dressing (with your new ketchup recipe :)
Hope some of this helps :) Thanks for your blog, I enjoy reading it and using the tips from it.
I’ve been using the recipe for mayo in Nourishing Traditions, with the addition of the whey (plus a dash of garlic and onion powder). We really like the taste, but it definitely isn’t as thick as the store bought. However, most store bought mayo (even the real stuff) uses thickeners and stabilizers. I’ve heard that homemade stuff isn’t ever as thick as that from the store. But I’m eager to check out the Good Eats info!
Christy, You can use brown sugar (which is what I used in my recipe which Laura linked to). :) I’d love to know how your family likes it!
[email protected] :)
Katherine, The version we make (HappyinDoleValley) lasts in the fridge until we use it up! I’m sure Laura’s version is the same. Hope your family enjoys it! Blessings, ~Lisa
Hi there, Laura! I’m so honored to have had my Easy Peasy Ketchup recipe be the basis for your ketchup making success! :) It’s so funny that you’re posting this today since we just made up a new batch on Saturday and tweaked the recipe just a tad. I’ll be sharing the updated recipe this weekend, so stop on by and check it out! Blessings to you and yours! ~Lisa @ HappyinDoleValley
I don’t care about ketchup so much, but I cannot wait to try to make this into BBQ sauce!
It seems every highly rated BBQ sauce recipe starts out with ketchup as the base. I look forward to trying this.
I have no tips for the mayo – tried it again yesterday and it was a flop. I’d rather just melt some butter and pour it over my burger.
Thanks Laura and [email protected]!!!
For mayo–drizzle the oil in VERY VERY slowly. And since I started using a stick blender, it thickens up nicely!!
Yes, I’d say use brown sugar instead!
I’d say this makes about a cup and a half of ketchup. I’ve not doubled it, but I don’t know why it wouldn’t work just fine and keep a good consistency!
It’s kept in my fridge so far for about three weeks and it hasn’t separated. It’s a very easy, low maintenence ketchup…I’m very excited about it!
Our has lasted so far for three weeks and is just fine. I’m sure it would last much longer than that!
I have had mayo-drama for years and years. They tasted funny, or wouldn’t emulsify (the ‘thickening’ part – the lecithin (I think?) in the egg yolk has to completely encapsulate every teeny particle of oil so they don’t separate), or whatever. I found this post and thread on a real food blog about mayo: http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2009/06/homemade-mayonnaise-recipe-that-tastes-great-finally.html THEN I begged my hubby for a cuisinart stick blender for Christmas, like this guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz0fLT_k3_U WOW, did that mayo make mayo quick! I’m happy to say I get the same results with my (much better) recipe.
(by the way, I had an older stick blender. My success rate with that was nominal. The cuisinart works every time)
Good luck!
It might be on SwagTV – they have other Good Eats segments on there.
I agree with everyone who says to add the oil VERY slowly at first, then as it starts to emulsify you can speed up. Also letting the egg warm up a bit first is supposed to help.
I agree about the blender. I have had almost no failures using the blender, in fact sometimes it is too thick.
Ditto to the stick blender suggestions. Last time I mafe it, it was almost too thick. I don’t have my recipe with me, but I think it just had an egg, salt, mustard powder, sugar, vinegar and oil. I mixed everything but the oil in a wide mouth jar for a few seconds with my stick blender (a way cheap one left over from college way too many years ago). Then I poured all of the oil in and with the blender right on the bottom of the jar and started to blend. As soon as it started to turn white I started to pull the blender up slowly until I was at the top and it was all white. It was great and very thick.
I have made several types of mayo. Most of them have worked great. The only time I had trouble was when I let the oil stream in the blender too quickly or when my mom thought it didnt’ taste right and tried adding ingredients after it was thick and it “broke” the mayo. You really have to go slow with the oil while the blender is running. So slow your arm aches.
congrats on your ketchup success!! It feels good to be able to move on, doesn’t it?!?!?
I’m thinking of making ketchup myself soon. I hope to use my grandma’s recipe. But, I thought of a way to avoid having to grind the sucanat – put it in first then pour the liquid (water, vinegar) over it and stir, let sit for a minute and it will dissolve before you add the rest. Just an idea, for those who may not have sucanat ground already.
Thanks for this easy recipe. I was recently thinking of making homemade ketchup and then my husband comes home one day with a monster size bottle of Heinz Ketchup. I wasn’t too happy as we don’t eat it very often. The one who eats it the most is our 3 year old son and I’m trying to not feed him too much stuff with high-fructose corn syrup. I’m not the type to throw out food, so I guess we will put up with this bottle until it runs out and then I’ll be able to follow your recipe for the healthier, homemade version.
Re: mayo, from what I have read it might have something to do with the process to. THe way I learned it was to use a hand mixer in a very tall narrow container, once all your ingredients are in you put your mixer in, start it in the bottom, count to twelve, and then slowly raise it up to mix in the beaten egg with all the oil/other ingredients. Hope this helps. Thanks for the ketchup recipie!
I always start with room temp eggs as well (we have back yard chickens, so thats not to hard). And like they say add the oil slowly. I have a bosch and use that blender and pour the oil through the top because I am way to impatient to go slowly enough on my own. Good Luck!
I found this blog entry on mayonnaise and it was the reason I got a stick blender. I haven’t been sorry, and we haven’t bought mayonnaise since!
http://shelookethwell.blogspot.com/2010/06/no-excuses-mayonnaise.html
I will say that I use less lemon juice and vinegar, and a little more (coconut) sugar because this recipe is a little too tangy for my tastes. The last couple times I’ve made it, I’ve used the whole eggs (because I never seem to be able to use up the whites and I hate wasting them); and it has made the mayo thinner. I’m not sure if it’s the amount of acid that makes it all less thick, or if it’s the amount of oil, but it has been worth the effort.
Looks good! I have a mayo recipe that I love. I just updated it and called it Miracle Whip since I like it a little sweeter (grew up on Miracle Whip, never mayo). It’s so easy. The trick maybe is to use a stick/hand blender. I’ve never tried a regular blender. I make this mayo all the time. So good! Always very thick. Works every time.
http://voogtrecipes.blogspot.com/2011/05/homemade-miracle-whip.html
I’ve been using Lindsey’s recipe from http://www.passionatehomemaking.com lately, and really like it. I like the suggestions of using the immersion blender – just got one, will have to try it. Otherwise, adding the oil slowly is a MUST.
I can not wait to try this healthy ketchup recipe. It is amazing how most ketchup that you buy in the stores has high fructose corn syrup in it. I buy my ketchup only from health food stores to avoid this, but have been wanting to make my own. Thanks for sharing this, I added your recipe to my Facebook page. Thanks! Do you have a good b-bque sauce recipe?
Yep, and it calls for ketchup. So now, I can make it and use this ketchup recipe with it! https://heavenlyhomemakers.com/high-five-recipes-homemade-barbeque-sauce
I can’t wait to try this, I have been on the hunt for a good ketchup recipe for a while now. And mayo! Holly Molly it’s easy! The trick to get it to thicken is to make sure that you use room temperature eggs and to start of just a drop at a time when adding the oil. I like to do half expeller pressed CO and have olive oil. If my darn blog wasn’t down now I would link to it. But here is the copied version:
You will need:
1 large local egg-AT ROOM TEMPERATURE (this will not work with a cold egg-if you are rushed on time you can just put the egg in a cup of warm water for about 5-10 mins and it will bring it up to room temp)
1 tbls fresh lemon juice
1 tsp or more Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp. sea salt
1/8 tsp. pepper (optional)
1 cup good quality olive oil OR expeller pressed coconut oil (you can also do half and half)
The How To:
Combine everything BUT the oil in your blender and pulse it for about 10 seconds. Then remove the steam cap from the top of your blender and add just a drop or two of the oil while your blender is going on a medium/high speed. After the drops have incorporated then go ahead and add the rest of the oil in a thin stream until it’s all gone. Allow the blender to run for another 30 seconds or so. You will see that it thickens up almost immediately. Now it’s done, and you can either stick it in the fridge to harden up a bit more or use right away. Like I said it will last a good few weeks in the fridge and now you know exactly what’s in it and how it’s actually good for you! Easy peasy. Enjoy!
If you have a stick blender, try that.
The only mayo recipe I have ever used is the one from Nourishing Traditions. If you add the smaller amount of oil and the whey, I find that as long as I let the mayo ferment for a few hours that it is always spreadable (versus pourable) The whey allows me to stick the extra in a jar in the fridge for longer than if I left the whey out. The next time I use the mayo from the jar it is thicker than when I first made it.
Hi Laura!
This has absolutely nothing to do with ketchup, or mayo. I just wanted to comment on how much you remind me of Anne of Green Gables with all of your dramatizations and “don’t you think?” questions. I’ve been reading the book to my 9yr-old daughter and we’ve been laughing and loving every minute of it! Thank you for the smiles! ~Sharon
Pick me! Pick me!! I have bought 2 headbands for gifts and have yet to get one for myself!!!!
That sounds great. I’ll have to try it. I was wondering, what brand of bottle ketchup do you recommend?
I use a recipe from George Geary, the former Executive Pastry Chef of Disneyland (CA). I didn’t know there was a secret to getting mayo to thicken until a friend tried this recipe. Drumroll please…….. apparently, the secret is to put your egg yolks in the food processor and process for a full 2 minutes then begin adding other ingredients. My mayo turns out perfectly every time. I’m sure there is a scientific reason for this. Hey, what a great homeschool science lesson for my kids.
I tried the recipe for mayo in Nourishing Traditions and it did not work! Next I did Julia Child’s recipe, and added the whey like in N. Traditions to preserve it. Turned out perfect! I warmed the yolks slightly over a double boiler, and whisked it by hand, slowly slowly slowly adding sunflower oil. The recipe is in Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Julia is the bomb!
Ooooh! I would love to have a professional way to wear my hair up that wouldn’t give me a headache. This looks great! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the recipe! I love ketchup w/ fried or scrambled eggs.
I’m not crazy about ketchup but I did want to say that I have found out how to make the most amazing french fries!
It’s simple, just bake your clean potatoes a day(s) ahead of time and store them in the fridge. Then cut and fry/bake. They are so light and crispy, my kids tell other people that they think I make the best fries in the world.. lol
Before that, mine were always limp and not quite right. This works great for roasted potatoes as well when you’re in a hurry. I keep a few baked potatoes in the fridge just to have handy for all sorts of things.
To thicken the mayo, I use some arrowroot powder and some xanthan gum. Works great for thickening!
Works great to double it. In fact, I did just that last weekend and it worked great. I stuck the extra jar in my garage fridge so I’d have a back up bottle — we love ketchup on our scrambled eggs and hash browns. :) Lasts a long time, too, because of the vinegar. I’ve never had a batch go bad on me. :) ~Lisa
I like this idea and think I’m going to give a try next time I make a batch rather than using brown sugar. A little experimenting now and then is a wonderful thing! ~Lisa
I like this idea. :)
With all the great tips here, you all have got me hankering to try making mayo. I’ve tried it before using a variety of web recipes but have dumped it all down the drain. :( Here’s hoping for success! ~Lisa
It might have something to do with the kind of oil you are using. What kind are you using?
Or if you didnt want to cook it and are in a hurry you could just dilute the sugar in the water? Then it wouldnt be “crunchy”.
My pleasure! ~Lisa :)
I had problems with my mayo emulsifying, even with my stick blender. So I switched to my regular blender, took my time, and it turned out perfect. Here are the tips I found and followed:
http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2010/06/03/the-secret-to-homemade-mayo-patience/
1. room temp ingredients
2. take your time; then go slower than that (take about 3 minutes to drizzle your oil in while the blender is running)
Worked great for me!
Laura, I just wanted to let you know that I also definitely suggest using a blender. I have tried over and over again to make mayo in my food processor, and I have never once got it to thicken in there! I really wanted my food processor to work, because I think it would be much
easier to scrape it out of that when it is done than my awkwardly-shaped blender. but every time I try using the food processor I end up having to switch it over to my blender and it always thickens up right away.
Also, if I could suggest Sarah’s mayo recipe at Heartland Renaissance.
http://heartlandrenaissance.com/2010/02/lacto-fermented-mayonnaise/
It is so good and has turned out for me every time I’ve made it. She also has some great tips about making mayo as well. Oh, and it is lacto-fermented so it lasts longer and is better for your digestion! I do use light olive oil instead of extra virgin, because the taste of the extra
virgin was way too overpowering for our tastes. I haven’t bought mayonnaise in over a year using my blender and following Sarah’s recipe and techniques!
I’ve never made mayo because I don’t like it. But a million and one years ago I saw a cooking show on PBS and the woman made mayo. She made it in a tall glass- like a ball canning jar. And used what I call a stick blender but I think is properly called an immersion blender. She started with the blender all the way down just a hair from touching the bottom of the glass. And slowly inched the blender up to the top. It went from oil and egg to white and creamy and didn’t really take that long. But I clearly remember that it was important to start at the bottom and SLOWLY work the blender up the glass/jar/container.
I have no earthly idea why that has remained in my brain allll these years but I feel so relieved to have passed the info on to someone 20+ years later. Ha. I hope that helps!
So random but when I have extra egg whites, I pop them individually in ice cube trays and freeze them. Then once frozen, pop them in a freezer baggie. This way you know that each egg cube is one yyolk or white, depending on what you have extra. I just defrost them the night before I intend to use them in a dish in the fridge.
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. flour (to thicken)
tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1 cup H2O
4 beaten eggs (poor eggs)
1 c. apple cider vinegar (I use Braggs)
1 Tb butter
In a saucepan, blend sugar, flour salt, and mustard over medium heat. Add water and eggs and stir. Add vinegar and stir. Add butter and heat until it boils. Boil until it thickens. This will keep for many weeks in a covered jar in the frig. This is an old Amish recipe.
Salad Dressing (Homemade Miracle Whip)
1 egg
1 Tb + 1 c. H2O
2/3 C. flour (again to thicken)
2 tsp dry mustard
2/3 c. sugar (I use organic cane)
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
3/4 c. olive oil
1 Tb lemon juice
Again, that poor egg has to be beat and this time you add the 1Tb H2O. In saucepan, mix flour mustard, and sugar. Stir in remaining cup of H2O, the vinegar, oil, and lemon juice. Heat over medium high for 1 minute, stirring constantly, until the dressing has a mashed potato consistency and an off white color. Remove from heat, cover with waxed paper and cool completely. This will keep for many weeks in the fridge in a covered jar.
These are both great in potato or pasta salads!
Wish I had a personal experience to share but I just watched JULIE AND JULIA, and in the movie Julia mentions a “foolproof” tip… warm the bowl. :-) Her other tips and recipe for mayo can be found online here… http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/condiments/mayonnaise/mayonnaise-recipe.asp. Hope that helps!
How long do you think this would keep in the fridge? I know it probably would not last long with me having 5 children but I am just wondering. Thanks!
I’m sure this would keep for 2-3 months in the fridge IF your kids don’t eat it first. :)
Sounds like you have enough mayo recipes to keep you busy! I’m not sure if you have a VitaMix, but if you do, this is the easiest and only successful one I’ve tried:
http://vitamix.ahoy.com/recipe/recipe.cgi/0/155/
Thanks for the ketchup recipe! Can’t wait to try it!
Laura: this was a success recipe in my house last night even tough I did not have two ingredients!!!!!!!! My picky son loved it and my husband too!!! It was a total success! We use it with homemade french fries and it is really good. Thank you! I never buy commercial ketchup at all, now my son is sooooooo happy that he started thinking on all the food he will use it: chicken, chicken sandwiches, french fries, etc.
You’re
Woohoo! Made this tonight and it was a hit with all 4 kiddos, hubby & me. It was about a thousand times better than the homemade ketchup my mom & grandma made once when I was a kid. :) I love that I can make homemade organic ketchup for so cheap! I plan to just reuse my storebought bottle for my homemade ketchup–a double batch almost filled it.
Thank you SO much, Laura! :)
I have been making mayo- and it was painful until I decided to use bacon grease as the oil base rather than olive oil. It smells great (like bacon) but doesn’t really taste like it. It is thick in the fridge after it cools and the fat thickens. Or you could make fermented mayonnaise. I found that to be about regular consistency. Nourishing Traditions should have a recipe, no?
OK, so do you have a brand of tomato paste that is 7 oz, because all of the ones I’ve seen are 6 oz. Do I need to open a second can for one ounce? I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. Thanks for all of your hard work! We sure do appreciate it!
Oh, I’m sure a 6 ounce can would work just fine!
THe few times I successfully made mayonnaise that thickened I think the secret was to pour in the majority of the oil so very slowly, almost drop by drop, but a little faster. But it takes great patience and your arm gets tired holding up the cup of oil to pour in the top of your whirling blender.
She’s right you have to pour it in painstakingly slow, into a blender that is already running. Hope things are going better! :D
Do you think you could can this ketchup? Shelf-stable?
If you want thicker mayo, use 1/2 or more coconut oil. I’m currently experimenting with all coconut oil and cream (or something?) to make it soft enough so we don’t have to chip it out of the jar! : ) The all coconut oil one was great fresh, but not surprisingly, too hard later. I want more coconut oil in our lives, but I also am not fond of the taste of olive oil.
Yikes, I would imagine you could can it, but I’m not sure how to go about it!
Does one brand of sucanat or distilled coconut vinegar or another change the taste of this recipe?
I think any sucanat would work, and I would imagine that the coconut vinegar would be fine as well!
I see this is an older post, but if you want perfect mayo EVERY time use a stick blender. You just dump the stuff in there and whirr it up. No more dropping oil in with an eyedropper, no more failed mayonnaise. All of my kids make it with no problems either. In the case of a failed batch – exceedingly rare – just drop an additional egg in there and its fixed! Plenty of videos and recipes online for stick blender mayo. Do use farm fresh eggs from a trusted source tho!!
I got very excited, and made a 3x batch of this, intending to refill my ketchup containers and everything.
Oh my.
I’ve checked and double-checked my amounts and everything, but it did NOT come out well for me.
I used:
S&W Organic tomato paste
raw organic apple cider vinegar
Any ideas on what the problem could be? It tasted too ‘tomatoey’ by far. I diluted it down (a small portion, in a bowl). It got a little better but was still weird. I adjusted all the other flavors I could think of until it warranted ‘chicken food’ status and I gave up. I’m hesitant to try again and waste more expensive tomato paste!
Do you think using ACV was a bad idea? It’s the only vinegar my husband is ‘allowed’ to have on his diet, so I wanted to make a ketchup he could enjoy.
Shucks, I don’t know what went wrong. I can’t imagine that apple cider vinegar would make that much difference. What a bummer!!!
I just made this, and it is terrific! I used a 6 oz can of tomato paste and 1T each of apple cider vinegar and balsamic vinegar. It tasted really good, but finished a little weak, so I added 1/4 tsp more salt, and that did the trick! Also made it in the Magic Bullet, adding the water, vinegars and sugar first, blended, then added everything else and blended again. No crunchies :-) Thanks, Laura, for a great recipe.
So how long does this ketchup last? How do you know if it has gone bad?
As far as I can guess (since ours gets eaten before it goes bad!) is that this would last about two months in the fridge.
We just made this and we have a winner! Thank you so much for all your hard work Laura. I use your site every single day and I love that I’m serving my family whole, natural foods.
I just made this and it was awesome! I doubled the salt (used kosher), onion powder, garlic powder, mustard, and added some tumeric. I also used powdered sugar instead of putting the regular sugar in the blender. It is INCREDIBLE!!
Thank you so much!!!
This looks great! Does it double or triple well? I’m wondering if I could make large batches and can it?
Yes, you could make larger batches and be just fine!
thanks so much, will give it a try :D i have 5 young ketchup critics and a hubby critic to test on :D
thank you!!
Can you use regular sugar instead of sucanat? Have you ever tried it? Thanks!
Mayo tips from the queen of mayo (Julia Child)
1.)All ingredients room temperature & Warm bowl.
2.)Always beat the yolks for a minute or two before adding anything to them. When they are thick and sticky, they are ready to absorb the oil.
3.)The oil must be added very slowly at first, in droplets, until the emulsion process begins and the sauce thickens into a heavy cream.
4.)The maximum amount of oil one large egg yolk can absorb is six ounces, or 3/4 cup. When this maximum is exceeded, the binding properties of the egg yolks break down, and the sauce thins out or curdles. If you have never made mayonnaise before, it is safest not to exceed 1/2 cup of oil per egg yolk.
Good luck and Happy Home-making:)
Mandy
What about using something like truvia???
I’m not sure I trust Truvia to be healthy – I’ll have to do a little research on it.
Laura hasn’t tried it with sugar, but you sure can use it. :)
Can’t wait to go try this Ketchup! I make my own mayo Laura and I’ve never had a problem getting it to thicken. I just use my blender and put a really small funnel at the top in the lid hole, I’m talking like the little funnel that sit inside the medicine holder of a nebulizer apparatus. Just look for something that has a really small hole so the oil just drizzles in. Works great for me, plus I add a little whey, let it sit on the counter for 7 hours after making it and then I refrigerate. It firms up nicely and packs a probiotic punch. The exact recipe is in the Nourishing Traditions CookBook. Good Luck.
A friend (Paula M.) recently shared a link to this page, as my mom and I too have been trying to find a good ketchup recipe for quite some time. This looks like a yummy one, but I was wondering if you have a recipe for making tomato paste, as I really want to use our own home-grown tomatoes to make ketchup with. :)
Also, we’ve made mayonnaise a few times and have had great success adding the oil (we use rice oil from Azure Standard) by the Tbsps. full when using our VitaMix. You add the oil last though, after everything else is mixed together…
Thanks for sharing!
I have allergies to spices so I used freshly diced onion and fresh pressed garlic instead of the spice. I also used organic cane sugar instead of sucanat so I wouldn’t have to buy more sweetner at the time. Also, I can’t used the cayenne unless I make it homeade from scratch, so I skipped it. All that being said, and after using nothing but organic ingredients, this was the best, actually the only, top notch ketchup recipe ever!!! It was so good, now I make the ketchup and plan my meals around it.
Cora:
This response is too late for the 2012 harvest, but perhaps you can
make use of it for the 2013 tomato harvest!
Use a food dehydrator to dry your tomatoes. Place dried tomato slices
into a blender, food processor or coffee/spice grinder and make a
powder out of them. You can rehydrate as much as you need for tomato
paste. This way you have ‘fresh’ tomato paste without having to cook
them to death. You also control how thick or thin the paste will be.
Dried tomato slices can be rehydrated in hot tap water or placed
directly into soups and other dishes with plenty of liquids for
rehydration.
An alternative (if you really want to can) is to, first of all, wash
and core your tomatoes and place them on a baking sheet. FREEZE solid.
Move tomatoes to bags and keep frozen until ready to use. (I hate
having all that heat and humidity in the kitchen in August/Sept., but
it is really welcome in Dec-March!)
When the tomatoes start to defrost, they will slip right out of their
skins – no more blanching necessary! Once tomatoes have been frozen,
they give up the water in the cells very easily. Simmer them on low
skimming the water that rises to the top. (Save this ‘juice’ and can
it for ‘broth’ when you make soups, etc.). Once you can no longer
skim water from the top, cook the tomatoes on very low temperature
(uncovered) until it is of paste consistency. You can then freeze or
can the paste. A standard plastic ice cube try is 2 TBS or 2 ounces
or 1/8 C. Freeze the portions then bag them up for future use.
Hope this helps! :)
How long will this stay fresh in the fridge?
I’d say for about a month. :)
Do you know how many ounces this recipe makes?
Yeah use a stick blender, my mayo turns out perfect every time.
water bath 30-40 min…love this website, its a wealth of preserving info!!
http://www.pickyourown.org/ketchup.htm
It’s funny that you found the honey taste too strong, because I found it to a perfect substitute for corn syrup in my expirements. Even my husband liked it, and he’s… less health food obsessed than I am. :-)
http://ducttapevalkyrie.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/better-than-storebought-ketcup-recipe-lacto-fermented/
I made my first batch of homemade ketchup this weekend and we are loving it! To make sure it was nice and smooth, I sweetened it with grade B maple syrup and molasses. To make it last longer I lacto-fermented it with a little whey I had sitting in the fridge. Yum!
Hi!!
How long can I keep this ketchup in the fridge???
Thank you, Lydia
I’m guessing it will last up to two months in the fridge.
Thanks for that info. How much maple syrup and whey? Did you have to leave it sit out on the counter? Thanks.
I think I’m going to try out your ketchup!
This is the ONLY way I make mayo: in my food processor! It’s the easiest thing ever! I use olive oil. It always come out nice and thick, something my husband has actually commented on!
I just made this and it taste good. I ground the sucanat in my coffee grinder(which I only use for spices). I think next time I might try 1 tablespoon of the sucanat as it has such a strong molasses flavor. Can you use Rapadura instead? Thanks for the recipe.
Laura, love the idea of homemade ketsup. Do you can yours?
I don’t can mine, I just make enough to keep in the fridge. I think to can it you’d need to use a pressure cooker.
Finally a ketchup recipe that my my son likes! Quick and easy!!
Yes you can!
Laura,
When it comes to mayo, I use whole eggs instead of only the yolk & I blend it in a food processor.
From the first try, it’s always been perfect & i’ve NEVER had a problem.
Google: “The best homemade mayo recipe – the recipe is on food.com
Just use whatever oil you like in place of the cruddy soybean oil,
I use olive & sometimes coconut aslong with it – it’s a great recipe.
I put 1/4 tsp onion powder while i’m blending it, and it almost tastes
buttery..it’s delicious!! In fact, here’s the link:
http://www.food.com/recipe/best-ever-homemade-mayonnaise-207860
Also, you may want to ease up a bit on the vinegar and salt in the recipe,
some people think it’s a bit much. I usually cut it back a bit
Oh my was this good. My son who eats ketchup with his fingers said it was the best he ever had, great price too:)
I just made this and my 4 year old daughter who has never tasted ketchup likes it.
My husband prefers ketchup to be stored in the cupboard not that refrigerator. Store bought ketchup does just fine but I’m guessing homemade wouldn’t. What do you think? We use a large bottle in about a week, we have seven ketchup loving boys!
So I finally made your ketchup today. I’ve been meaning to make it for a while now but… so I was a little concerned that since we were just finishing off a bottle of commercially made ketchup my kids would not like the difference. They totally loved it! Thank you, thank you. Ketchup has been a hard one for me since my kids will eat a lot of foods with it that they won’t eat if they don’t have it.
Also, I’m sure you have your mayo recipe perfected by now but, have you ever tried putting whey in it? If you put in whey (just the run of from yogurt, not the powdered stuff), let it sit on the counter and ferment for a day, then refrigerate it, it turns out perfect even if you don’t pour the oil in super slow. (Also the recipe I use calls for one whole egg and one egg yolk which also might help thicken it.)
To be safe I think I would store it in the fridge. It doesn’t have any preservatives so it could go bad quickly.
I made this ketchup a couple of weeks ago and when i went to use some yesterday, it was concealed like a jello and has a grainy texture. I doubled the recipe and have it stored in a glass jar. What did I do wrong?
I am not sure why it would have turned an odd consistency or been grainy. Sorry it didn’t keep well for you! That stinks when that happens.
I make mayo by using an immersion blender (or stick blender). First I simply put all the ingredients in the big cup that comes with the blender then I mix it all up and it’s as easy as can be and always turns out as expected.
Laura,
I love the flavor of this ketchup as well as your BBQ sauce recipe, the problem I have is that both solidify in the fridge and become lumpy what am I doing wrong?
I don’t think you are doing anything wrong…I am just wondering if it is the vinegar reacting with something to make it lumpy. Maybe try a little less vinegar and see if that helps. Also, double check that it is being stored in an air tight container. If air is slipping in there it might be affecting texture. Hope that helps!
Thank you Thank you Thank you! My husband has been looking for a homemade ketchup recipe for a long time now. He LOVES ketchup and likes to put it on just about everything:) We use lemon juice instead of vinegar and he has been using a can of sauce instead of tomato paste, but we love this! Thanks so much for another great recipe!