Years ago we faced a dilemma. A dilemma unlike any other dilemma. It was a ketchup dilemma. As we were slowly wising up to better nutrition and changing our diet, we decided to eliminate as much high fructose corn syrup from our diet as possible. However, a typical bottle of ketchup is chock-full of high fructose corn syrup. So, we finally found some made with sugar. But, it was full of sugar. And the tomatoes are genetically modified. Next, we looked at an organic variety of ketchup. But the price was out of our range and, honestly, downright ridiculous. Also, regardless of it wearing the “organic” label it was still loaded with sugar.
So, we decided to try making our own ketchup at home. The outcome? Fantastic! Not as thick and smooth as store bought ketchup, but still delicious. And one of the best parts is knowing and choosing exactly what goes into it. If you too are searching for an alternative to the slim choices at the grocery store then please, enjoy our recipe shared below:
Spicy Pint Jar Ketchup
- 1 pint mason jar
- 1 7oz jar tomato paste
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup honey or sucanat
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne (omit this for a non-spicy version)
Put all the ingredients in the jar, and mix them thoroughly. Refrigerate it overnight so all the flavors have time to mix. Or add a tablespoon of whey and allow to sit for 48 hours in a dark place at room temperature for a lacto-fermented variety.
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This sounds delicious! How long does it keep? Are you using raw honey? and if so, does the fermentation process lessen the botulism worry for consumption by little ones & during pregnancy?
Zoie @ TouchstoneZ recently posted..Letter to Littles: January 2012
Hey Zoie,
Yes, we do use raw honey, but I have no idea the effect of fermentation on honey and botulism. For anyone who is concerned about using raw honey, I recommend using sucanat or rapadura instead.
As for how long it keeps, I can’t really answer that either as our batches are always consumed in two weeks or less!
-Rebekah
This is going to go down very well with my teens who love to soak ketchup with everything and I would much rather them one that is homemade-thank you!
Rebecca @ Natural Mothers Network recently posted..Seasonal Celebration Sunday #3
Awesome. Feel free to share with us how it turns out!
[...] to be healthier. Its interesting how often those can overlap. I’ve considered things like making my own ketchup to not have high fructose corn syrup, making my own yogurt, and I want to make my own laundry [...]