Homemade Ketchup Because You’re Crazy Like That

I want to be very clear that I’m posting this copycat recipe for ketchup only because I’ve received countless food wishes for it, and not because I think it’s a great idea. It’s not even a good idea.  

This tweet I posted yesterday sums things up nicely,  “Making some homemade ketchup. Sure it costs more, and doesn't taste as good as store bought, but at least it takes a really long time to do.”

Of course, we’ve made lots of things that are generally better not homemade, like French fries and fried chicken, but this is much different. For most Americans, ketchup is one of our first taste memories, and if the flavor profile is even the slightest bit off, our brain computes this as “ketchup fail.”

Having said that, I’m very proud of how close this ketchup does come to those name brands in terms of taste, texture and color. I’ve never had a tomato paste-based ketchup that I liked, so I decided to cook down crushed tomatoes instead. This would require many hours of stirring on the stove, but by using the slow cooker, we take most of the labor out of the process. Sure it'll still take many hours to reduce down to a ketchup, but it will only require giving it a quick stir every hour or two.

As I joke about in the video (not really a joke), you’d have to be crazy to make your own ketchup, but despite my warnings, I know in my heart that many of you will give this a try nonetheless, and that makes me happy. Enjoy!

Ingredients to make 3 cups of Ketchup:

2 cans (28-oz) ground tomatoes (you can also used crushed, or just crush whole plum tomatoes)

2/3 cups white sugar

3/4 cup white distilled vinegar

1 teaspoon onion powder (not salt!)

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (not salt!)

1 3/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon celery salt

1/8 teaspoon mustard powder
1/4 tsp finely ground black pepper

1 whole clove

* Cook on the high setting in an uncovered slow cooker until the mixture is reduced by about half and very thick. By the way, my “high” setting isn’t very high, so it took like 10 hours, but don’t rely on a time. Simply cook until it looks like mine did before I strained it.

View the complete recipe