Ketchup

I realized after making ketchup that we don't really use much ketchup.  I guess maybe that's a good thing, since it takes an awful lot of tomatoes to make the same amount of ketchup you could buy at the store for $1.99.

The Washington Post Food section had an article about making ketchup a few weeks ago (perfect timing).   Ketchup is an easy thing to make if you like to cook and have more tomatoes than you know what to do with.  It is not worth the trouble if you have to buy the tomatoes.  I made two batches - the first one yielded 2 pints of ketchup, plus about a 1/4 cup.  The second yielded 3 pints, plus 2 1/2 cups. (The 2 cups went into my barbecue pork) I used about 30 pounds of tomatoes.

Here's the original recipe

Here's my version: the ingredients are mostly the same, but the method is a little different.

Tomato Ketchup

I used half San Marzano tomatoes and half random regular tomatoes for the first batch, then all random tomatoes for the second batch.  Romas and San Marzanos have a lot less juice, so you'll get a better yield, but regular tomatoes will work - they'll just need to cook longer.  You'll need a food mill and a food processor to get the right consistency.

• 5 lbs Roma or San Marzano tomatoes (or 6-7 lbs regular tomatoes)


• 6 black peppercorns


• 2 cloves


• 3 allspice berries


• 1/2 tsp celery seed


• 2 bay leaves


• 1 star anise


• 1 cinnamon stick


• 1 large onion, preferably a sweeter variety, but any will work


• 1 clove garlic


• 1 sweet pepper, fresh or roasted, chopped


• 1 1/2 T salt


• 1 tsp sweet paprika


• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika


• 1/2 tsp mustard seed


• 1/2 c apple cider vinegar


• 6 T brown sugar

Trim stems and any bad spots from the tomatoes.  Cut them in half and place in a large pot. (The pot should be big enough that the tomatoes only fill it halfway to prevent splattering.)  Turn heat to medium high.  Combine the peppercorns, cloves, allspice, celery seed, bay leaves, star anise, and cinnamon in a piece of cheesecloth and tie to make a bag.  Add to the tomatoes along with the pepper, salt, paprikas, and mustard.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 30- 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat.  Fit a food mill with a fine disc.  Remove the spice bag from the pot, then process the tomato mixture through the food mill.  Clean the pot, return the tomato mixture to the clean pot, and place over medium heat.

Add the vinegar and brown sugar and cook 30 minutes-1 hour until mixture is thick.  Then taste it!  Add salt or sugar if needed.  It may seem a little grainy - that's why you need a food processor.  If you're not sure about the thickness, put a little spoonful on a cold plate and put in the fridge for a few minutes.  If you can run your finger through it and leave a trail, its thick enough.   Cool slightly, then process in a food processor until smooth.

At this point you can reheat the ketchup in a clean pan to boiling, then fill pint-size canning jars and process in a water bath for 10 minutes.  Or, fill clean jars or squeeze bottles and store in the fridge up to a month.

Pear Butter

I saw this recipe and knew I had to make it - I've had a bag of star anise in the cupboard for way too long, and you know how I feel about things sitting around without a recipe destiny. 

 It does take awhile, but it is very easy.  I bought a big bag of Bosc seconds at the farmer's market and cooked it up on a rainy Sunday.   My pears were not quite ripe, but I was impatient.  They took longer to cook in the first step, but tasted just fine.

Make sure to taste the pear puree once its gone through the food mill!  I found I needed far less sugar than the original recipe.  I also skipped the lemon zest because I forgot to buy a lemon, but I'm sure it would be even better with it. 

Pear Butter

• 4 to 5 lbs chopped pears, any variety.  No need to peel or core, just remove any bruised sections.  This is a great use for seconds!


• 1 star anise


• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh ginger


• 2 cups water


• 1 cup lemon juice


• 2-4 cups sugar


• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom


• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg


• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Combine the pears, star anise, ginger, water, and lemon juice in a large pot.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until pears are completely soft.  This will take from 20 minutes to over an hour, depending on the variety and ripeness of your pears. 

Remove the star anise.  Process the pear mixture through a food mill into a large bowl.   Measure the pear puree, and pour into a large, clean pot.  Add 1/4 to 1/2 c sugar for each cup of pear puree.  Add the cardamom, nutmeg, and lemon zest.  Taste!  Add additional sugar if needed, or, if its too sweet, a little more lemon juice. 

Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture is thick.  This could take up to 2 hours. 

Process in a hot water bath 10 minutes in sterilized half-pint jars.  You'll need 6-8 jars.

Tomato Chutney

A friend gave me this recipe for tomato chutney a few years ago, and I've been waiting all summer to get enough tomatoes to make a big batch.  I canned mine, but it will keep up to 2 months in the fridge.  I used Roma tomatoes and hot peppers from the garden.  The dried cranberries came from Nutsonline - my new source for nuts.  Usually dried cranberries look like raisins, just a little bigger.  These were plump and huge - Bella loved them! 

Here are the ingredients just before I turned the stove on.  The recipe is so simple - everything goes into the pan, bring to a boil, and simmer 45 minutes.  The only hard part (and it's not really hard, just time-consuming) is peeling & seeding the tomatoes.



 

Here's what is looks like after cooking, in the pan and then in jars.  I tripled the recipe, and it filled 7 pint jars, and 6 1/2 pints, plus a little extra for the fridge.  I processed my jars for 10 minutes.



 So...what do you do with chutney?  Here are 2 ideas -

• Chutney Mozzarella Burgers: mix 1/2 c chutney with 1 lb ground beef.  Shape into 4 or 5 balls.  Stick your thumb into the ball, fill indentation with shredded mozzarella, then reshape into a patty. 

Chutney Chicken Sandwich: take your favorite bread, spread with chutney, top with your favorite cheese and grilled chicken or turkey. 

 



Tomato Chutney

• 3 c tomatoes, peeled, seeded, & chopped


• 1 c chopped red bell pepper


• 1 c chopped red onion


• 1/2 c dried cranberries


• 1/2 c cider vinegar


• 1/4 c sugar


• 1/4 c brown sugar


• 2 T minced garlic


• 1/2 tsp salt


• 1/2 tsp mustard seed


• 1/4 tsp cinnamon


• 1/4 tsp cumin


• 1/4 tsp allspice


• 3-4 jalapeno peppers, seeded & chopped (or 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper)

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes, or until thickened, stirring frequently.  Water bath process 10 minutes for pint jars, or cool & store in the fridge up to 2 months.

Zucchini Pickles

My mom made zucchini pickles when I was a kid, and they were always my favorite.  She also made bread & butter pickles, but I've never been a big fan of sweet cucumber pickles. 

I've never pickled before, so I decided to give it a try.  Although the spice bag broke, everything else went off without a hitch - all the jars sealed, and we're going to let them marinate for a few weeks before we taste.  While they were cooking they smelled just like I remember them tasting, so I am optimistic!

I made a half recipe, because that's all the zucchini I had. 

For canning instructions from Ball, click here. (pdf may take a while to load)



Zucchini Pickles

• 1 gal zucchini, peeled, sliced, & quartered


• 2 c lime (in the spice aisle at the grocery)


• 1 qt white vinegar


• 8 1/2 c sugar


• 1 tsp salt


• 3 T pickling spices


• 1 T celery seed

Mix lime with 2 gallons water in a non-aluminum container.  Add zucchini and refrigerate 24 hrs.  Drain and rinse several changes of water.  Let stand in clear water 3 hrs, drain again.  Soak overnight in vinegar, sugar, salt, and spices (tie spices in a bag or cheesecloth).  Bring to a boil and boil 30 minutes.  Pack and seal in jars.  Cold pack 10 minutes.  Makes 9 pints.