Homemade Tomato Ketchup

By tulawdog

Ingredients

• 3 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 4 onions, sliced
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeds and white membrane removed, chopped
• 1/2 cup soft brown sugar
• 3/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
• a piece of cinnamon stick
• 1 1/2 teaspoons whole allspice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons whole cloves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons whole mace
• 1 1/2 teaspoons celery seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons black peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and bruised
• paprika or cayenne pepper to taste, optional
• salt

Preparation

Step 1

Put the tomatoes, onions, and red pepper in a large, heavy pan and simmer over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they are very soft. Push them through a coarse-meshed sieve and return to the pot with the sugar, vinegar, and mustard. Tie the cinnamon, allspice, cloves, mace, and celery seeds, black peppercorns, bay leaf, and garlic in a square of cheesecloth and drop them into the stew.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a slow simmer. Cook, allowing the mixture to bubble gently, stirring often and carefully for 20 to 40 minutes until the ketchup is thick and pulpy. Taste a couple of times while it is still cooking and remove the spice bag if the flavour becomes too strong.

Season the ketchup with salt and paprika or cayenne, if using, then leave to cool. Pour the ketchup through a funnel into suitable bottles and seal. Stored in the fridge, this ketchup will keep for a month. If you bottle it in sterilized jars while still warm, the ketchup should keep for a year.