Homemade Ketchup

We had another camp fire in the backyard last night and I wanted the boys to be able to have ketchup this time. I was very proud of my homemade ketchup. It wasn't that much work and it tastes great. I think this is a recipe anyone could do and if you're wanting to start eliminating sugar or vegetable oils from your house, this would be a great place to start.

Homemade Ketchup

• 5 lbs. very ripe tomatoes
• 1/2 c. white vinegar
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 1/4 c. sugar (I used a little more than 1/4tsp. of Stevia)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 c. onion
• 1 tbsp. black peppercorns
• 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 6 cloves

1. Stem and roughly chop the tomatoes and place them in a nonreactive pan.

2. Add half the vinegar and a few pinches of the salt and bring the mixture to a boil.
3. Cook for 5 minutes, mashing with a wooden spoon.
4. Strain the liquid into a saucepan without pressing on the solids (this may be obvious to others, but was not to me...use a very fine wire strainer-not a colander).
5. Press the solids into another saucepan by forcing them through the strainer, leaving the seeds and skins behind. Rinse the strainer. You can puree the tomatoes before straining, if necessary, but they should be soft enough to press through the strainer screen
6. Stir the sugar into the solids.
7. Add all the remaining ingredients to the liquid.
8. Bring the liquid to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, until very syrupy.
9. Strain into the solids, and bring to a simmer, stirring well. Simmer for 5 more minutes or until the desired consistency is reached. (it took about an hour of simmering for it to be as thick as I wanted) Puree with a hand blender, food processor or blender if necessary.
10. Taste and adjust the seasonings. The mixture should be sweet and faintly tangy; if more tanginess is needed, sprinkle in some vinegar.