Ketchup - Making and Canning With Fresh Tomatoes
Ketchup (or Catsup) is a staple condiment in many households including ours. With people becoming more conscious of what ingredients are in their foods, more and more people are growing gardens and canning their own foods. This ketchup recipe makes a great addition to your pantry shelf and can be spiced up if you choose.
Equipment
- 1 Water Bath Canner, Jars & Canning Supplies
- 1 paring knife and cutting board
- 1 food processor or blender optional - can be processed by hand
- 1 wire sieve
- 1 set measuring cups and spoons
- 1 Large Electric Roasting Pan or Large Pot
- 1 large spoon
Ingredients
- 38 cups strained, pureed tomatoes
- 9½ cups white vinegar
- 6 cups sugar
- 3 tbsp onion powder
- 6 tbsp salt
Instructions
Process Tomatoes
- Wash tomatoes, cut out any bad spots. You can, if desired, skin tomatoes and remove the core and seeds or you can just remove the core and process them in a blender or food processor with the skin and seeds and strain through a wire sieve.
- Continue process until you have 38 cups of strained, pureed tomatoes. Pour tomatoes into your roaster or large pot, ensuring you have plenty of room for the additional ingredients.
Adding Ingredients and Cooking to Desired Thickness
- Add vinegar, sugar, salt and onion powder and stir in thoroughly.
- If using an electric roaster, set to 350℉ (176℃). If cooking on the stovetop, cook over a medium heat, bringing to a simmer while stirring occasionally. Keep ketchup mixture at a simmer until it begins to leave "traces" when stirred. (tracing refers to a point when it leaves a visible trail on the surface when you run the spoon through your ketchup. It creates a raised effect that does not blend immediately back into the mix.) When your ketchup reaches this texture it should be ready to remove from the stove or heat and put into your prepared jars for canning.
Canning
- Spoon finished hot ketchup into sterilized, warm jars leaving ½ inch headspace from top of ketchup to rim of jar.
- Wipe top rim and outer threads of jar to ensure it is clean from any ketchup residue. Add lids and rings to jars
- Place jars into pre-heated water in your water bath canner or pot that has a rack or spacer that keeps the jars off the bottom of the pot. Ensure you have at least one inch of water over the tops of the jars for proper processing.
- When water returns to a boil, process jars for 15 minutes at full boil.
- Remove jars from canner, place on a mat or towel in a flat location away from cool breezes and allow to sit, undisturbed for 24 to 48 hours to ensure best seal.
- Check all jars to ensure the lid has popped down and sealed properly. Any jars that did not pop down, do not press the lids down, just store in your refrigerator for current use. All sealed jars should be labeled and dated before storing in a cool dry place. Rings can be removed for pantry storage of jars.
Video
Notes
*Canned ketchup, if canned and stored properly should last 2+ years on the shelf. Be sure to rotate your home canned goods to use the oldest first. If you find any jars have unsealed on the shelf, the contents should not be consumed.
You can spice this recipe up by adding hot peppers, make it smokey by adding liquid smoke or you can add some garlic powder to add a bit of a boost. This recipe is a great one to get you started and you can customize it for your family's preference.