Grandpa Hermann's ho-made ketchup

madddawg · August 10, 2013

He passed away 20 yrs ago and his ketchup has not been made since that I know of. I can vaguely remember being a kid, 34ish years ago helping pick tomatoes and making this. It was an all day process cooking it down and putting it into empty/clean beer bottles. I just put it in pint mason jars. I was very thankful when I got this recipe from my aunt.

1 gallon of tomato pulp.
2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp allspice
1 tbsp cloves
1/2 tsp red pepper
2 med onions
1 1/2 cups of sugar3/4 cup vinegar
I also add some cumin to it, I cant remember how much I put in tho.

Cook tomatoes day before and put through sieve let stand overnight. keep cool
Skim water off of top with spoon or I use a turkey baster
run onions through a blender to get a onion type of paste.
Cook all ingredients with tomato juice except for sugar and vinegar in non reactive pan. I use stainless pans. add the sugar and vinegar after sauce thickens.

Cooking it down takes a lot of time to get it thick. low to med heat. I Probably need better tomatoes. I usually use the culls from the garden. Some paste type I guess would be best.

Also while cooking it down sometimes I was able to suck some of the water out off of the bottom or sides.
Mine was still kinda runny, not like grandpa's. but still very good.
I don't recommend using tomato paste to thicken it up, ruins the flavor.

Father'sDaughter · August 10, 2013

Sounds good. How much does one recipe make? I don't have enough tomatoes to attempt it this year, but home made ketchup is something I've always wanted to try. We don't use much, and have been happy with the newer "Simply Heinz," but making it yourself has got to be better. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

Rachel W · August 11, 2013

Yay! I was just looking up homemade ketchup recipes yesterday but could only find recipes containing tomato paste! Thank you so much!

madddawg · August 11, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by Father'sDaughter

Sounds good. How much does one recipe make? I don't have enough tomatoes to attempt it this year, but home made ketchup is something I've always wanted to try. We don't use much, and have been happy with the newer "Simply Heinz," but making it yourself has got to be better. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

Depends on how much you cook it down I guess, I think the right tomato wold increase the return. Next year I am definitely planting a paste type of tomato just for Ketchup Something with less water in. You would be surprised how much water is in there. I seem to remember loosing over half to evaporation

Rachel, You are welcome. let me know how it turns out. and anyone else who tries it.

August 10, 2013	#1
madddawg Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Missouri Posts: 407	Grandpa Hermann's ho-made ketchup He passed away 20 yrs ago and his ketchup has not been made since that I know of. I can vaguely remember being a kid, 34ish years ago helping pick tomatoes and making this. It was an all day process cooking it down and putting it into empty/clean beer bottles. I just put it in pint mason jars. I was very thankful when I got this recipe from my aunt. 1 gallon of tomato pulp. 2 tbsp salt 1 tbsp allspice 1 tbsp cloves 1/2 tsp red pepper 2 med onions 1 1/2 cups of sugar3/4 cup vinegar I also add some cumin to it, I cant remember how much I put in tho. Cook tomatoes day before and put through sieve let stand overnight. keep cool Skim water off of top with spoon or I use a turkey baster run onions through a blender to get a onion type of paste. Cook all ingredients with tomato juice except for sugar and vinegar in non reactive pan. I use stainless pans. add the sugar and vinegar after sauce thickens. Cooking it down takes a lot of time to get it thick. low to med heat. I Probably need better tomatoes. I usually use the culls from the garden. Some paste type I guess would be best. Also while cooking it down sometimes I was able to suck some of the water out off of the bottom or sides. Mine was still kinda runny, not like grandpa's. but still very good. I don't recommend using tomato paste to thicken it up, ruins the flavor. __________________ I grow a garden not just for the food I harvest, but for the creation of life itself. Johnny Cash

August 10, 2013	#2
Father'sDaughter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: MA/NH Border Posts: 4,919	Sounds good. How much does one recipe make? I don't have enough tomatoes to attempt it this year, but home made ketchup is something I've always wanted to try. We don't use much, and have been happy with the newer "Simply Heinz," but making it yourself has got to be better. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

August 11, 2013	#3
Rachel W Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Everett WA, zone 8b Posts: 95	Yay! I was just looking up homemade ketchup recipes yesterday but could only find recipes containing tomato paste! Thank you so much!