Cooking with kids: How to make homemade ketchup

In many busy households, this tomato condiment has a regular presence at the dinner table. (Heck, some of us have even counted it as a vegetable!) While we are fans of the convenient, grocery-store versions, if one ever runs out, it’s good to know it’s not difficult to make homemade ketchup with just a few pantry staples. Want to jazz your ketchup up? Garlic lovers can add half a clove (or more) when adding the tomato paste, or those looking for a little heat can add a few dashes of hot sauce before blending in the food processor.

A version of this article appeared in our November 2013 issue with the headline “Homemade ketchup,” p. 116.

Mini chef:
Chelsea, age 4 (with a little help!)

Did you know?
Ketchup origins date back more than 300 years, when Chinese and Malaysian folks mixed a concoction of fermented fish and spices and called it kôe-chiap or kê-chiap.

Ingredients
— 2 tbsp olive oil
— 1 cup chopped onion
— 2 tbsp tomato paste
— u2153 cup brown sugar (packed)
— ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
— ½ tsp salt
— 796-mL can crushed tomatoes

Kitchen equipment
— knife
— cutting board
— pot
— food processor
— measuring cups and spoons

Makes about 2 cups.

Measure olive oil, chopped onions, tomato paste, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar and salt.

Heat olive oil in a pot over medium heat, and sauté onions for 4 min or until softened. Add tomato paste and sauté 1 min longer.

Add canned tomatoes, brown sugar, cider vinegar and salt. Bring to a boil, turn heat to med-low and simmer 25 to 30 min or until liquid has almost completely evaporated.

Transfer tomato mixture to a food processor or blender and whirl until completely smooth. 

Fun fact:
When F & J Heinz launched their tomato ketchup in 1876, their slogan was, “Blessed relief for Mother and the other women in the household!” The more popular “The best things come to those who wait,” appeared in the 1980s.

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