Ketchup is my all-time favourite condiment.  I love it shamefully and I’ve been like this for as long as I can remember.  I love it so much that sometimes I choose a meal based on it’s ability to compliment the mighty condiment.  I even use it on hot dogs (despite most of Chicago insisting that’s a a sin if you’re older than 12).

I haven’t made my own yet.  There’s been two main reasons:

1. Some fear of messing with a ‘good’ thing.  I don’t want fancy high-bred shiitake mushroom ketchup (though I may make some for fun).  I want smooth, sweet ketchup.
2. I forgot.  Yes, I forgot.  2 years in a row of good intentions, 100′s of jars of preserves in the pantry, close to 100 batches of preserving in the last 2 years and I’ve forgotten to make ketchup each year.  2010 will be my year by hook or by crook!

Ketchup uses a ridiculous amount of tomato.  24 pounds (almost a half bushel) will result in 12 cups of red gold.  Tomatoes are much more affordable by the bushel in the fall (a full unit costing less than $20).

All recipes will call for sugar though it’s not necessarily as much as many may think.  There are a few recipes at the National Center for Home Food Preservation – one calls for 1.5 cups of sugar while the other uses 9 cups).

The thickness of ketchup simply comes from reduction and a whole lot of patience.  Recall the ratio of such a huge amount of tomatoes and such a small amount of finished product.

Spices are typically added via a jelly bag (i.e. cooked in ‘teabag’ made of cheesecloth) and vinegar is added to add that twang that makes your taste buds smile (they really do).

There’s a significant mount of cooking when it comes to ketchup.  Boiling tomatoes in your house in the late summer can raise the temperature of your entire house from warm to sufferable.  If you aren’t spoiled with a large propane burner, considering using (or borrowing) a camping stove that will allow you to cook outside without the heat of the kitchen.  There’s something special about preserving under the sun that gets me very excited.

Does anyone out there have some great ketchup recipes that they adore?  Choosing one to commit to is going to be the difficulty this year – as long as I remember to make it!

This is part of our Preserving Summer series (click the link for access to all of the articles to date)  that supports our recent article in Edible Toronto.  We welcome any and all questions, comments and your ideas!