This is one that I found online after eating at Salt (see previous post). I realize that it calls for canned tomatoes but since I don't have several pounds of tomatoes sitting around, I think this is a good place to start. At least to see the seasonings are right, etc.
The recipe calls for onion, garlic, vinegar, brown sugar, salt, spices and of course tomatoes and tomato paste.
This is what happens when you send your husband to the store with a list containing "onions." You don't get onion...you get ONION! So I am chopping the whole thing, using half and freezing the other half for a future recipe. (Actually a great tip: when you have to chop an onion for a recipe, chop up 2, 3, 4 at the same time and throw the rest in the freezer. Next time, you just have to pull out some pre-chopped onion. Saves time later on and it much cheaper than buying frozen chopped onion).
By the way, do you know the best way to get the onion/garlic smell out of your hands? Wash them with salt (just your regular table salt) and then wash with salt. And while we're at it, don't waste your money on the onion goggles and all those things. The best way to keep from crying when chopping your onion is to freeze it first for at least 15-30 minutes. Trust me - I've tried all the techniques and gadgets out there.
But I digress. Back to the ketchup experiment.
I like to prep my remaining ingredients while boring things are happening...like heating oil. So I measured out the other ingredients that I would need.
I never said I did it neatly.
Once the sauteing was done, I threw everything else in and let it simmer. Sure smells like ketchup already!
After about 45 minutes of simmering, it was thick. I used my immersion blender because I knew my regular blender would never get it done. Turns out the immersion one didn't do a perfect job either. Which made the next step of pushing it all through a fine mesh sieve even more difficult.
Now to taste it. I'm calling in my expert ketchup eater.
It definitely needed salt so we added a bit more. Still was missing something though and we couldn't quite tell what. It was spicier than it ought to have been. Elaine added a bit of smoked paprika (her favorite spice at the moment) and she seemed to like it a little better. But overall we agreed that Heinz is still better. This tastes like it came from canned tomatoes (which I expected - can't taste fresh if it isn't) and I think adding the tomato paste (even though it was only 1 Tbsp) was a mistake.
In spite of the number of good reviews this recipe has gotten on various websites, I didn't like it. Maybe I did something drastically wrong but I don't think so. (Update - Since I wrote this morning, the ketchup has cool and had a chance to sit for a few hours in the fridge. Just ate some with a hot dog and it wasn't bad...but still no match to the commercial brands.)
So now, I will try the recipe in my canning book - but I'm going to cut the recipe down to 1/4 so I can test it. If it's good, then I'll do the whole thing. Or maybe I should email the chef at Salt and ask for the recipe. Worst case, he says no....best case, I don't have to experiment with yucky ketchups anymore!
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