Judging by the attention span of my nephews, ketchup or catsup, may not be the most thrilling item to make, but it sure is tasty when homemade. I am also going to preface this by saying, I still buy ketchup, but I had a baked beans recipe I wanted to try, and I had tomatoes, so I figured why not do it as much from scratch as possible.

For the recipe:

• 2-3 pounds of tomatoes (any variety you like)
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 3 tsp dry mustard
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 onion diced
• 5-10 garlic cloves (based on your flavour preference)

Optional Add-Ons:

• 1/2 – 1 tsp salt
• additional honey for sweetness
• 1/2 – 1 tsp pepper

Instructions:

1. Fill a large pot 3/4 full, and put on to boil
2. Score the bottom of your tomatoes with an “x” just deep enough to break the skin
3. Once water is lightly boiling, start putting your tomatoes in. Let them sit for approx. 1 minute, or until the skin starts peeling
4. Fill a sink with cold water. Once tomatoes skin is peeling, place them into the sink full of cold water
5. Once all tomatoes have gone through the hot water bath, peel & begin chopping
6. As you chop the tomatoes roughly (no specific size needed), discard as much of the seeds as you can. Depending on your tomato variety, this may be really easy, or very difficult. If you have really seedy tomatoes, no worries, just take out what you can and throw the rest into a medium pot.
7. Once all the tomatoes are chopped, chop your onion into small pieces
8. Add all ingredients in with the tomatoes. I recommend crushing the garlic, but if you do not have a garlic crusher, just chop finely.
9. Bring the ketchup to a boil over medium-high heat. Let them boil for 1-2 minutes, then reduce heat to let the sauce simmer for 30-60 minutes. You can let it simmer longer if you feel that the tomatoes are especially juicy, and may need more time to reduce.
10. Remove the pot from the heat and let the sauce cool for a few minutes before mashing the sauce with a potato masher or fork. Once cooled completely, you can use an immersion blender, table-top blender or food processor to blend the ketchup to your desired consistency. If it is still runny, put it back to a simmer until it is thickened to your desired consistency.

Steps in photos:

1-4:

4-6:

7-9:

10.

Simple! As an added bonus, this ketchup makes a great base for a delicious BBQ sauce. Just add:

• 1 cup ketchup
• 2 tsp liquid smoke
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 3 tbsp Worcestershire
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp dry mustard
• 2 tsp hot sauce
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• Salt & pepper to taste

Whisk if in a hurry, best to re-heat and let it really boil down together on a mid-high heat for a couple minutes.