Sunday, September 4, 2011

My Family's Favorite Homemade Ketchup (and it's GAPS-legal!)

Homemade ketchup is much more nourishing than ketchup from the store.  We've enjoyed a few different fermented ketchup recipes (including the one in Nourishing Traditions), but I wanted something a bit more basic, without the strong flavor imparted by the fish sauce.  This recipe is bursting with tomato flavor, with just the right tang from the cider vinegar and garlic.  My family prefers this ketchup to the other recipes I've tried. Since this recipe includes whey, it is also a great probiotic condiment. It will keep for several months in the fridge.

This recipe is also a great base for homemade cocktail sauce.  Just add a bit of prepared horseradish to taste, and then dip away!

My Family's Favorite Homemade Ketchup
Makes about 3.5 cups ketchup
  • Three 7-oz jars of tomato paste, preferably in glass jars to avoid BPA
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tb raw honey
  • 3 Tb raw apple cider vinegar 
  • 3 small garlic cloves, pressed
  • 6 Tb whey
  • 2&1/4 tsp finely ground celtic sea salt
  • pinch cayenne pepper
  • Equipment needed: one quart mason jar, or two pint mason jars
  1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl (if using a quart mason jar, you can save on dirty dishes by mixing this up directly in the jar). Stir well to combine. If using pint mason jars, pour the ketchup into the jars.
  2. Ensure that the top of the ketchup is at least 1-inch below the top of the jar(s). 
  3. Using a clean cloth or paper towel, wipe the top of the jar above the ketchup clean. 
  4. Put lid on jar and leave at room temperature for 3 days; then transfer to the refrigerator.  It will keep for several months in the fridge.
This post is part of Fat Tuesday at Real Food Forager, Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade, Pennywise Platter at The Nourishing Gourmet, Real Food Wednesday with Kelly the Kitchen Kop and Monday Mania at The Healthy Home Economist!

    31 comments:

    Mary said...

    This looks good! I've done the NT recipe in the past too, but haven't gotten around to it in a while. I need to restock. I'll have to try this.

    Mary

    Kris Johnson said...

    Okay! My frig is already so full of various fermenting concoctions, that I don't know if I have more room, and I had a big pile of plum tomatoes from the garden that should work. I think I'll break them up in the blender (so I don't have to peel or deseed), and simmer them to the right consistency in my fry pan with the other ingredients. I think that might work.

    Laura said...

    Have I told you how much adore you? Well I do. I am going to make this for my dad right away! The crap I made before was too complicated and didn't taste very good. This is going to be much easier!

    Sarah Smith said...

    Awww, thanks Laura. I hope he likes it. If he is used to conventional ketchup, you may want to add a bit more honey, or maybe he'd like it as-is.

    Kris - sounds like a great use for those tomatoes!

    Karen Clementi said...
    This comment has been removed by the author.
    Andrea said...

    Hey! I'm knew to your blog...but love it already. :) I'm a homeschooling mom of three and we are planning to start the GAPS diet as soon as I can get myself organized!! Just wondering though - can you make this without the whey? Would you just add some extra sea salt? Or would that be too salty then? Thanks!!

    Sarah Smith said...

    Hi Andrea,
    Yes, you should be able to make it without whey by doubling the salt. I haven't tried it that way, so please let me know how it turns out!

    Jami @ An Oregon Cottage said...

    This looks really good and easy- thanks!

    -Jami
    An Oregon Cottage

    Jill@RealFoodForager.com said...

    Thanks for linking your great post to FAT TUESDAY. Hope to see you next week!

    http://realfoodforager.com/2011/09/fat-tuesday-september-13-2011/

    Danielle said...

    Thanks for the recipe! I have hesitated to try the NT recipe because of the fish sauce, but this sounds easy and tasty. I look forward to trying it!

    Danielle said...

    Hi, Sarah,
    We finally got around to making this today. It hasn't fermented yet, obviously, but the flavor seems really mild and kid-friendly so far. Just wanted to tell you thanks again for the recipe. :)

    Sarah Smith said...

    Great, I hope everyone likes it!

    cat said...

    How long will this last in the fridge?

    Sarah Smith said...

    It will keep for several months in the fridge.

    Anonymous said...

    do you still let it ferment if you are using salt instead of whey or should I put it right into the fridge?

    Sarah Smith said...

    In theory, you could then let it ferment with the salt. I've never tried it that way though. If you don't want to ferment it at all, just keep the salt the same as in the recipe above, omit the whey, and put it straight into the fridge. It won't keep as long, though, if it isn't fermented. Probably just a week or so.

    Ima and Mizz.J said...

    Absolutely Delish! This tastes so incredible... Oh how I've missed my ketchup. My oldest son completely melted at the table when he got to taste this stuff. He also has a small love affair with our beloved red condiment lol. This is the bomb for sure! A staple in our house. Thanks mama!

    Julie said...

    This recipe is so good and sooooooo easy. I love it, I couldn't imagine going back to store bought ketchup after GAPS!! Thank you so much!!!

    Anonymous said...

    I have made it with just the stated above amount of salt and put it directly in the fridge. It worked for us. I am now going to double the salt and let it ferment. Hope they like it too!! I will leave a reply as to how it turned out.

    Julie

    Anonymous said...

    Can this be put into a squirt bottle or does it have to be sealed in glass?

    Sarah Smith said...

    Glass would be better, since the acidity of the tomatoes may leach some plastic from a plastic container.

    Unknown said...

    I'm new to GAPS and fermenting and we live in East Africa. I can get all these ingredients here but we do filter and then pasteurize our honey before using it due to it being delivered in dirty containers. We even had a cockroach floating in one bottle. Does it need to be raw honey to ferment properly or is something else in the recipe doing the fermenting? Thanks.

    Sarah Smith said...

    The whey is doing the fermenting, so it should be fine to use pasteurized honey.

    Unknown said...

    Thanks!

    Anonymous said...

    Mine was really thick. Not sure were I went wrong. I tried adding water, but it thickened back up in the fridge. Any suggestions?

    Sarah Smith said...

    Mine has never been thick, so I'm not sure what the problem is...

    Sonia said...

    Just tried this today...it's super thick, not pourable at all. I followed the recipe exactly as above, but my tomato paste jars were only 6 oz each, so it should be thinner, not thicker! Love the taste, but it's just way too thick...maybe I'll add more whey and some water.

    Sarah Smith said...

    I'm wondering: are you using canned tomato paste? I think it is considerably thicker than the stuff I buy in jars.

    Unknown said...

    Made this for my family, Everyone loved it! This will be my only ketchup recipe I keep! tastes so fresh with great flavor. Not too sweet, but sweet enough for the kids. Love this recipe! And it's SOOO easy to make!

    Nic_G said...

    My son seems to have ketchup flowing through his veins, the way he 'always' uses ketchup, but he is milk-allergic. What could I substitute for the whey?

    Sarah Smith said...

    You could leave the whey out altogether if you refrigerate immediately after making and use it up within a week or so. Otherwise, I bet a non-dairy cultures starter would work. Here is a link to one:http://www.culturesforhealth.com/caldwell-starter-culture-for-fresh-vegetables.html

    Also, if you are transitioning your son off of store-bought ketchup, you may want to try my other ketchup recipe instead. It is a bit more like store ketchup than this recipe:
    http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2013/03/homemade-spiced-ketchup-primal-gaps.html