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Grandma’s Homemade Ketchup can be made with fresh tomatoes and onions or canned tomato juice for a condiment that will remind you of the good old days. With a mixture of cinnamon and ground cloves, this catsup – as Grandma called it – is delicious on everything.
This is our grandma’s favorite condiment. Growing up, we ate it on everything, even homemade dumplings. It has a unique flavor from cinnamon and ground cloves. To this day, every recipe that has ground cloves reminds us of Grandma and this recipe.
Table of Contents
Old-Fashioned Catsup
Barbara decided to try her hand at making Grandma’s catsup (that’s what we grew up calling it) earlier this year. One bite of this took us right back to our childhood.
Grandma made her homemade ketchup from garden fresh tomatoes. She would boil down the tomatoes and onions until she had 2 gallons of fresh tomato juice. You can definitely do this and then just add the rest of the ingredients.
Since tomatoes were out of season when Barbara decided to make Grandma’s Homemade Ketchup, she used canned tomato juice. Grandma’s version was a thinner, runnier texture; while Barbara’s has more of a consistency of the ketchup you buy at the store.
Please note, all Barbara had was whole cloves which she ground herself. You’ll notice the flecks of cloves in our photos.
Ingredient List
Fresh Ripe Tomatoes
Fresh Onion
Salt
Ground Cinnamon
Ground Clove
White Vinegar
How to Make Homemade Ketchup
Step by Step Instructions
Cook tomato and onion in large pot or large saucepan until onions are translucent.
Run juice through a sieve and discard onions.
Add juice back to pot and mix in salt, cinnamon, cloves and vinegar.
Boil until reduced by one-third.
Mix together sugar and cornstarch and then add to the liquid mixture.
Turn down heat and whisk constantly until thickened.
Cool and then refrigerate.
Full recipe for gourmet ketchup is at the bottom of this post.
Recipe FAQs
Isn’t it cool that old fashioned ketchup is really a gourmet ketchup?
The distinct flavors of this homemade catsup are ground cloves and ground cinnamon.
You can use fresh garden tomatoes or take a shortcut by starting with canned tomato juice.
This homemade catsup stores great in the refrigerator.
Try using the leftover homemade catsup in pulled pork like this Crock Pot Sweet Pulled Pork Recipe.
Small Batch Ketchup Recipe
You can also do a smaller quantity if you are only wanting 1 quart of ketchup. Here’s the ingredient measurements for the smaller batch of Grandma’s Homemade Ketchup:
46 oz. tomato juice
1/2 onion, shredded
2 Tablespoons salt
1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 Tablespoon ground cloves
3/4 cup vinegar
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Why is my homemade ketchup not thickening?
If your homemade ketchup is not thickening, it could be due to a few reasons.
The first thing to check is your patience. Make sure you have cooked it for a sufficient amount of time. The reduction process takes a long time; let the mixture simmer until it reaches the desired thickness.
Secondly, the ratio of cornstarch to liquid in your recipe may be off. If you added too much liquid or too little cornstarch, it may not thicken properly.
Lastly, be sure you whisk constantly while the ketchup is simmering on low heat. This will help the cornstarch to activate and thicken the mixture.
Grandma's Homemade Ketchup can be made with fresh tomatoes and onions or canned tomato juice for a condiment that will remind you of the good old days. With a mixture of cinnamon and ground cloves, this catsup – as Grandma called it – is delicious on everything.
Homemade ketchup is simple and much more flavorful than anything you can buy at the store. I use 4 tablespoons of sugar, but adjust the sugar to your taste.
Make a starch slurry: A starch slurry is a quick fix for all thin sauces. Simply combine one part cornstarch with two parts cold water. For example, mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water and whisk it into your sauce.
Distilled white vinegar is essential for ketchup's signature tanginess. Plus, it elongates the shelf life. White sugar cuts the acidity of the tomatoes and vinegar while offering a hint of sweetness.
Cooler temperature slightly prolongs its life. When buying tomato ketchup, don't forget these reminders: Always check the label and look for the date of manufacture and its expiration.
McDonald's ketchup consists of tomato concentrate from red ripe tomatoes, distilled vinegar, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, water, salt, and natural flavors. Heinz doesn't have the water, like McDonald's does, and Heinz contains onion powder and "spice," while McDonald's does not.
Since glass bottles do not affect the taste or smell of sauces and ketchup, their owners do not have to worry about this. Glas' material and shape are not affected by external temperatures, such as heat, as opposed to plastics, which can melt and affect product quality.
Smith observes that the first published recipe for ketchup in English—a thin mixture of vinegar, white wine, anchovies, shallots, lemon peel, horseradish, and a passel of spices described in Eliza Smith's The Compleat Housewife from 1727—includes a note that “the clear Liquor that comes from Mushrooms” may be added to ...
Some ketchup in the U.S. is labeled "Fancy", a USDA grade related to specific gravity. Fancy ketchup has a higher tomato solid concentration than other USDA grades.
You may see a layer of water appear when ketchup is left alone for long periods. Excess water can eventually separate out of this molecular matrix on its own; this is known as leaching [1]. What you need to do is to shake to hom*ogenize it – to redistribute the molecules of the ketchup.
If your ketchup is too runny, you will need to simmer it down further. The simmering process is how you thicken this. It's fine to return it to a pot and simmer on low until it's just right for you. In a pinch, you could also add some tomato paste, but simmering it is a better approach.
Combined with the acid from the vinegar and sugar composition, ketchup can remain fresh even outside of the refrigerator. People may simply just prefer their ketchup cold in which case, keep storing your ketchup in the fridge! Either way is fine and is simply down to preference.
The preservative sodium benzoate is added to the sauce so that it can be stored for a longer period of time. Store the sauce in a sterilized canning jar. The sauce can be kept for about 6 months but it's so delicious that it will finish before then!
Tomatoes, sweeteners, vinegar, salt, spices, flavorings, onion, and/or garlic are the primary ingredients in ketchup. Sweeteners are typically granulated cane sugar or beet sugar.
The guidelines at FoodSafety.gov state that shelf-stable products like mustard, mayo, barbecue sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, Worcestershire sauce and salsa will benefit from being stored in the fridge. "Refrigeration ensures that commercial sauces and condiments stay fresh for a longer period of time."
How Long Homemade Tomato Sauce Lasts in the Refrigerator. Homemade tomato sauce isn't made with shelf-stable preservatives so it has a shorter life in the refrigerator and generally will last for three to five days.
Does Ketchup Go Bad? Yes, ketchup can go bad. If unopened, commercial ketchup “can last for up to a year in your pantry,” says Okegbe, but once opened and refrigerated, it should ideally be consumed within six months. If left in the pantry once opened, use up the ketchup within a month to be safe.
That is, if you buy a new bottle of Heinz or Hunt's ketchup to replace the nearly-empty bottle in your fridge, you can store it in your pantry or a kitchen cupboard until you're ready to use it. Unopened ketchup will last for about a year in the pantry.
Introduction: My name is Dean Jakubowski Ret, I am a enthusiastic, friendly, homely, handsome, zealous, brainy, elegant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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