My Favorite Ketchup Recipe

 

Be prepared - this sauce tastes nothing like store bought ketchup. It has true flavor and character.

4 quarts of tomatoes; peeled, cored, and chopped
1 cup of chopped onion
1/2 cup of chopped sweet red bell pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons of celery seed
1 teaspoon of whole allspice
1 teaspoon of mustard seed
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup of white sugar
1 tablespoon of salt
1 tablespoon of sweet paprika
1 1/2 cups of cider vinegar (I've found organic cider vinegar to have the best flavor for this recipe)

Combine the tomatoes, the onion, and the red pepper in a large sauce pan or Dutch oven. Cook until the tomatoes are tender.

Pass through a chinois or puree' using a food processor or a food mill. Cook the puree' rapidly until it is thick and reduced by one-half. During this process, stir often to prevent sticking or burning.

Tie the whole spices in a spice bag. Add the spice bag, the sugar, the salt, and the sweet paprika to the tomato mixture.

Simmer the mixture for 25 minutes. Once again stir the mixture frequently to prevent sticking or burning. Watch the mixture closely.

After 25 minutes, add the vinegar and simmer until the desired thickness is reached.

During the thickening stir the mixture frequently. Watch it closely. This is where people run into problems with burning.

When you have reached the thickness you desire, remove the spice bag. (I throw it onto my compost pile.)

Ladle the hot ketchup into hot sterile jars, leaving a 1/4-inch head space.

Adjust the two-piece caps. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling-water bath.

Sit the processed jars on a cooling rack. Listen for the pop. When cooled, store in your pantry.

Once opened, refrigerate the ketchup.