Ketchup
I’ve always had a thing for ketchup.
In college, one of my favorite dining hall meals was a mini-loaf of bread dipped into a cup of the stuff. It had to be Heinz; I was distraught if I even went to a restaurant and they were serving Hunt’s, Del Monte, or worst of all, an unmarked bottle that didn’t have that distinctive Heinz flavor. What were they trying to pull?
Recently though, I’ve been a little less happy with my old faithful. Did they change the recipe? Is it just my palate getting older and “more refined”? Is High Fructose Corn Syrup the devil? I’m not sure of any of these answers, but with so many questions, and an unwillingness to change brands, I had no choice but to try making my own.
I don’t know why I’ve always thought of condiments as being more daunting that other sauces, but making ketchup is super easy. You’re basically making a pizza/pasta sauce, with the addition of a healthy portion of vinegar and some brown sugar. Cook that down for 45 minutes to an hour, let it cool, and voila!
I taught the TeachStreet team how to make ketchup (and guinness mustard) for Learn Something New Friday a few weeks back. Here are the recipes:
