Ketchup is perhaps the most popular and versatile sauce that allows you to brighten up almost any dish, whether it be pasta or potatoes, meat or fish. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to choose tomato sauce in stores that meets all the demands of taste and quality. In addition, lately compliance with proper nutrition, consisting only of natural and environmentally friendly products, has become increasingly popular. In this article, we will tell you about how to make ketchup at home, and also consider an interesting history of its creation.
Sauce history
Strange as it may seem, the recipe for the progenitor of this tomato sauce has practically nothing to do with today. Initially, ketchup was prepared from walnuts, anchovies, mushrooms, spices and garlic based on wine and brine from salted fish. The sauce found such a composition in its historical homeland - in China.
In the seventeenth century, ketchup was first imported into Europe, namely in England. For two centuries, the British tried to maintain a real ketchup recipe, despite the lack of many ingredients, until someone decided to add tomatoes to it.
Gradually, the sauce reached America, undergoing various modifications. Since the tomato season is short, preserving ketchup in those days was a rather difficult issue. For preservation, manufacturers sometimes used boric acid and even formalin, which made the sauce poisonous.
And today, the composition of many tomato sauces, presented in a stunning assortment on the shelves of supermarkets, does not please with its naturalness and harmlessness. That is why we suggest you learn how to cook home-made ketchup. This process is quite simple and not very expensive.
How to make ketchup really tasty?
To get a tasty and fragrant tomato sauce is not enough just to find a good recipe. It is important to consider a few more points:
- When choosing tomatoes for cooking homemade ketchup, you should give preference only to ripe fruits, without damage and traces of spoilage. Moreover, greenhouse tomatoes do not have the necessary softness and aroma, and therefore you should choose vegetables grown in the garden.
- The rest of the ketchup ingredients should also be fresh, clean and whole. This is especially true for plums and apples, which are often affected by worms.
- To obtain a pleasant homogeneous texture, tomatoes and other components of ketchup must be repeatedly chopped in a meat grinder, and then rub through a sieve. To simplify this process, it is permissible to use a screw juicer, but it still does not allow to achieve a perfectly perfect structure.
It would seem that there is nothing complicated in these tips, but without observing them, you are unlikely to get a product with high organoleptic qualities.
Traditional ketchup
The recipe for homemade tomato sauce does not differ in a special abundance of ingredients, and each of them is really important. So, for its preparation you will need:
- 6 kilograms of tomatoes;
- 300 grams of sugar;
- 50 grams of salt;
- 150 milliliters of 6% apple cider vinegar;
- 2-3 cloves of garlic;
- 20-30 pcs. cloves and as much pepper as peas;
- a pinch of ground cinnamon and hot pepper.
Tomatoes are washed thoroughly, cut into small cubes and cooked in a saucepan over low heat. When the volume of tomatoes becomes one third less, sugar is poured, after which the sauce is cooked for five to seven minutes and salt is added. After a few minutes, you need to add cinnamon, hot pepper. It is best to place cloves and peas with peas in a gauze bag before adding them to the tomatoes.
The sauce is boiled for about ten minutes with spices, after which the gauze bag is removed, and the tomatoes are rubbed through a sieve. Flavored tomato puree is again placed in a pan, chopped garlic and vinegar are added, brought to a boil and poured into sterilized jars.
This recipe for tomato ketchup for the winter would be just perfect. It will retain its taste and aromatic qualities throughout storage.
Alternative to Fresh Tomatoes
It happens that there are no fresh tomatoes at hand, because their ripening season is not so long as to enjoy vegetables for a whole year. And then ready-made tomato paste comes to the rescue. Ketchup from it turns out no worse than from ripe tomatoes, and the process of preparing the sauce is greatly simplified. Ingredients:
- tomato paste - 400 grams;
- water - 170 grams;
- onions - 110 grams;
- green apples - 220 grams;
- bell pepper - 170 grams;
- salt - 20 grams;
- sugar - 50 grams;
- vinegar - 50 milliliters;
- spices to taste.
Vegetables and apples are thoroughly washed, peeled and cut into small pieces. Pour them with water and simmer for one hour. The finished mixture is cooled and wiped through a sieve, then tomato paste and spices are added to it.
The sauce is cooked over low heat for another 10 minutes, vinegar is added and laid out in jars. Tomato paste ketchup is also able to be stored for a long time, preserving the taste and useful properties.
Spicy tomato sauce
This ketchup recipe will surely appeal to a true gourmet. The combination of delicate tomato puree, vegetables and spices can add a touch of sophistication to each dish. To create it, prepare:
- 1 kilogram of tomatoes;
- 0.5 kilograms of sweet pepper;
- 250 grams of onions and carrots;
- 50-60 grams of garlic and hot red pepper;
- 40 milliliters of apple cider vinegar;
- 40 grams of sugar;
- 10 grams of salt, basil and ground ginger;
- 0.5 liters of water;
- a pinch of ground coriander;
- a couple of spoons of vegetable oil.
Carrots, onions and sweet peppers are washed, peeled and passed through a meat grinder. Basil and half a glass of water are added to them. The mass is stewed over low heat, and at this time, tomatoes, garlic and hot pepper are passed through a meat grinder. Tomato mass is combined with vegetables, boiled for 10 minutes, then diluted with remaining water and again boiled for 5-8 minutes.
The sauce cools down, wiped through a sieve and again goes to a slow fire. Spices, oil and vinegar are introduced, ketchup is boiled for 10 minutes and laid out in bottles and cans.
Interesting about ketchup
- Did you know that at the dawn of its appearance, this tomato sauce was a medicine and even came in the form of tablets?
- Scientists have proven that regular consumption of tomatoes dramatically reduces the risk of cancer and problems with the cardiovascular system.
- The largest “bottle of ketchup” was built in Collinsville by a tower factory. Its total height was more than 50 meters.
- Due to the high acidity of ketchup, this sauce can be used as a cleaning agent. It can easily remove stains of grease and rust from metal surfaces.
Finally
Today we shared with you the best recipes for ketchup, which now you can cook on your own right at home. Experiment, add to your composition your favorite spices and spices. Such a sauce will certainly become a favorite among all members of your family, because it will be created with your own hands.