When I made my garlic fries the other day, I was totally bummed that I was out of ketchup. Luckily the fries were good as is, but I decided then and there that it would be fun to challenge myself to make homemade, relatively healthy ketchup.
Generally I buy organic ketchup, because there's no way I will eat high fructose corn syrup in my ketchup. However, organic ketchup is expensive - and it's still a little sweet and high in calories for my taste.
I pulled out my spice rack and devised my own recipe for ketchup. I think it's quite good, and I love that it uses a whole real onion! You could certainly play with this one a bit - no spice is strictly required, and I'm curious to know what you come up with.
10 Spice Homemade Ketchup (makes about 1 1/2 cups)
2 14 ounce cans tomato sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar (or any sweetener you choose)
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon caraway seed
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground yellow mustard seed
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
Saute the chopped onion over medium high heat for 5-7 minutes until it becomes translucent. Add in the garlic, spices, and salt and cook for a couple minutes until the spices are fragrant but not burnt. Immediately add in the remaining ingredients.
Bring to a boil and then simmer uncooked on low heat for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The ketchup should be ketchup like in consistency, and it may be a bit darker red than you're used to. Puree the ketchup until it is smooth using a food processor, stand alone blender, or handheld blender. Let cool.
Variations: Mix up the spices how ever you'd like. I think some cayenne pepper would be a nice addition.
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