Homemade Ketchup
In our efforts to eat healthier and more locally I’ve been learning to make more and more things here at home instead of buying them at the store. Usually they’re very easy to make and most of the time they taste better than their store-bought counterpart and they’re much cheaper as well. My latest make my own efforts involved ketchup.
Making ketchup is actually much easier than it sounds. I used the recipe from Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It: And Other Cooking Projects
Of course since I lack the ability to follow a recipe to a T, I changed the recipe a bit. I used roasted tomatoes instead of canned tomatoes and I used olive oil and ground cardamom since I didn’t have whole pods.
Regular ol’ Tomato Ketchup (but better)
from: Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It: And Other Cooking Projects
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
5 whole cloves
5 cardamom pods (crushed) I used 1/2 t. ground cardamom
1 star anise
10 black peppercorns
1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes (I used roasted homegrown tomatoes)
1 large yellow onion, quartered
2 Tablespoons neutral vegetable oil (I used olive)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/3 cup packed brown sugar (I used organic evaporated cane juice and organic molasses)
1/2 cup champagne vinegar (I used organic white balsamic)
1 teaspoon hungarian paprika (I used smoked paprika)
freshly ground black pepper
1. Using a piece of cheesecloth (or an empty tea bag), tie the cinnamon, bay, cloves, cardamom, anise, and peppercorns into a bundle. Set aside.
2. Pour tomatoes and their juice into a food processor or blender (or put roasted tomatoes through food mill). Puree until totally smooth, and set aside all but 1/4 cup. To the remainder, add the onion and puree.
3. In a large dutch oven (this will splatter so use a large tall pot), heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion puree and the 2 teaspoons of salt and stir well. Cook for 8-10 minutes, letting the puree reduce and lightly brown. Add the tomato, sugar and vinegar, turn heat to a low simmer, and reduce for about 15 minutes uncovered, with an occasional stir (cooking time is reduced if using roasted tomatoes since they’re already reduced). Add the spice bundle and reduce for 10 minutes more, with an occasional stir (I added the spice packet when I added the tomatoes). When it’s done reducing, it should be a little thinner than commercial ketchup. Stir in paprika, taste for seasoning and add salt and freshly ground black pepper as needed.
4. Let ketchup cool and remove the spice bundle. Pour into a jar and chill overnight, or at least for 6 hours.
Will store in fridge for up to 2 months.
To can: ladle into sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 headspace and process in a water-bath canner for 15 minutes (more at higher elevations).
I must admit, this is a great recipe. I’ve had homemade ketchup before and I’ve never really liked it; this is a different story. This ketchup has that perfect sweet tanginess that I love, it might even be better with some heat added (perhaps some of those cayennes I’ve dried). Of course if you’re expecting the texture of the stuff from the grocery you’ll be dissappointed, but in flavor this is by far better than store bought. I’ll still be keeping some regular ketchup in my cabinet, but this will become a regular at our table for sure. I used some of this ketchup to make sloppy joes and they were fantastic! I would highly recommend this recipe to anyone interested in making some homemade ketchup.
Have you ever tried making something at home that you usually buy at the store?
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Fire Roasted Red Peppers
I’ve been reading all kinds of books about canning (as you can see by the “What I’m Reading” section to the right). While reading through, Well-Preserved: Recipes and Techniques for Putting Up Small Batches of Seasonal Foods
There’s just something wonderful about roasting peppers and tomatoes over a fire. It gives them a wonderful smoky flavor that you just can’t beat.
I roasted some jalapeños and some red peppers, both regular red peppers and red pimento peppers. Last year I froze my fire-roasted poblano peppers and we enjoyed them chili and on pizza all winter long.
This year I decided to can them following the recipe from Well-Preserved.
ROASTED RED PEPPERS
from Well-Preserved: Recipes and Techniques for Putting Up Small Batches of Seasonal Foods
4 pounds red peppers (8-10 medium peppers)
1 cup bottled lemon juice (I used organic)
2 cups white wine vinegar (I used organic)
1 cup olive oil
2 medium garlic cloves, sliced (I used small whole homegrown cloves)
1.5 teaspoons salt (I use Real Salt)
Roast peppers in oven or over fire (to roast in oven, place peppers on baking sheet on rack about 7 inches from broiler in oven). Broil peppers, turning them often with tongs so that they blister all over. Let peppers stand in bowl with cover until cool enough to handle. Remove the charred skin, cut in half and remove core, stem and seeds.
Combine lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, garlic and salt in saucepan and heat just to boiling over medium heat.
Have ready 3 scalded pint jars and their bands (to scald dip in boiling water). Simmer lids in small pan of hot water to soften rubber.
Pack peppers into the jars and pour the marinade over them (only fill jars 3/4 of the way full with peppers). Using a butter knife, pop any air bubbled in the jars. See that the garlic is evenly distributed. Be sure to leave 1/2 to 3/4 inch of headspace (I would recommend 3/4), or the seal might fail. Wipe the rims, put on lids, and screw on bands.
Process the peppers in a waterbath canner for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the jars to sit in the water for 5 minutes, then remove to a towel lined counter or cooling rack. Allow to cool, check seals and store in a cool try place for up to 1 year.
I haven’t cracked open a jar of these yet, I’m letting them marinade for a few weeks before I do. I think they sound delicious for sure. I’m considering doing the same thing with eggplant as well.
Any delicious recommendations for how to use roasted red peppers?
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One Year Ago
One year ago today I was canning pears. Every time I crack open a batch of these pears we have a good laugh.
This wasn’t an ordinary pear canning experience. Not too long after starting my batch of pears a huge storm came through and the lights went out. Since this happens often here in rural Ohio, we expected them to be back on in a few minutes or perhaps an hour at most. Little did we know, it would take days! If you didn’t catch the story of romantic canning by candlelight photos, make sure you check them out!
Any fun memories from your homestead?
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A Little Peace of Mind
There’s just something wonderful about waking up in the morning and seeing this on your counter. This is what I saw Wednesday morning when I got up and went into the kitchen.
On Tuesday I canned: 5 quarts of tomato soup, 5 pints of tomato soup, 4 pints of pickles, 3 quarts of sauerkraut, 3 pints of sauerkraut.
What’s on your counter at the moment?
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Making Jalapeño Jelly
I’m always game for making new things, particularly when it comes to enjoying fresh produce from the farmer’s market. When I was at the market last weekend I saw some lovely jalapeño peppers, so I snatched them up. While contemplating what to do with them and I came across Baby Loves Jellies post about making jalapeño jelly.
Since I’m a big fan of all things spicy, particularly where spicy hot peppers are involved, I knew this jelly was right up my alley. This recipe is particularly interesting because it is made with all jalapeño peppers and it contains no green peppers. It’s actually more of a jam than a jelly because you don’t strain out the seeds like you do in a lot recipes. Of course the result is a hotter jelly than most recipes.
Since I cannot follow a recipe to a T, I amended it to suit my tastes. I don’t like to use pectin when making jams/jellies, I prefer using tart apples or nothing at all. I find that certain jellies, particularly this one, work well if they’re a little runny. After all, you don’t really want to use huge amounts of this jam on your toast, it is quite spicy!
Jalapeño Jelly
12 jalapeños
2 tart green apples, chopped
2 cups cider vinegar, divided (I prefer organic unfiltered raw apple cider vinegar)
6 cups sugar (I use organic evaporated cane juice which makes the jelly darker)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 green jalapeños, diced finely (for added texture, add to blender with peppers above if you don’t want jalapeño bits in your jelly)
2 red hot peppers, diced finely (for added color, you can use sweet if you’d like, or add additional jalapeños)
Chop up 12 of the jalapeños and add them to blender with one cup vinegar and the 2 chopped apples and liquefy.
Make sure the wear rubber gloves while cutting & handling peppers since the hot pepper oil can burn the skin. Also don’t inhale too deeply when opening blender and when cooking the jelly, can cause coughing. Make sure you wash your hands well after handling peppers to remove all pepper oil.
Combine the pepper & apple purée with the remaining cup of vinegar, lemon juice and sugar in a pan and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
Boil for ten minutes, stirring often. If it’s not thick enough boil longer, test for thickness by putting some on a cold plate and letting it rest. Remove from heat and add remaining diced red peppers and jalapeños and stir to incorporate.
Ladle directly into hot, sterilized jars. Leave a quarter inch of headspace. Remove any air bubbles and wipe the rims clean. Add lids and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
I canned this jelly in small 4 oz jars because I figured a pint or half pint might not be used up quick enough. I ended up with 12- 4 oz jars and 2-8 oz jars.
This jelly is perfectly spicy, of course I love hot spicy foods. It’s perfect on things like cornbread, or a bagel with cream cheese. I even added some to my apple pancakes the other evening and it added the perfect spiciness, of course Mr Chiots thought I was crazy. I think a jar of this mixed with a jar of chutney would make a great BBQ sauce for chicken or salmon.
Are you a hot spicy food lover, or do you prefer to keep things on the tame side?
