Homemade Honey Ketchup

You guys. I have actually processed and put up almost all of the tomatoes that came out of the garden this year. This is MAJOR. I typically get so overwhelmed with the produce that some of it (okay, a lot of it) goes to the chickens. But this year, I've been on the top of my game with a new tomato recipe for each giant basket that ends up on the counter. We've done tomato puree, roasted tomato sauce/soup and this homemade honey ketchup so far. 

I was a little weirded out by homemade ketchup before (why give up my Heinz?), but the last mountain of tomatoes had me thinking otherwise. I think I was most afraid that I wouldn't like the consistency or it wouldn't taste enough like ketchup and all the work would be for nothing.

Wrong-o.

Homemade ketchup is so worth it.

My favorite part was using honey in the recipe instead of white sugar. I was the little girl at McDonalds who dipped her McNuggets into ketchup AND honey. What better way to satisfy my tendencies than to just add honey into the mix in the first place? Stroke of genius, I tell ya.

And who knew that the spices are what make ketchup taste like ketchup? I had no idea that cloves, cinnamon and celery seed were behind that classic ketchup taste. Kudos to you, "spices." You never get enough recognition on those food labels.

This recipe is ready for canning or freezing, whatever you fancy. As you can imagine, it takes a lot of tomatoes to make a small amount of ketchup, so this recipe is best left for those of us who are searching for ways to use up our garden excess. If you're looking for a less labor/time intensive homemade ketchup recipe, check out Joy the Baker's Homemade Curry Ketchup.

Homemade Honey Ketchup
by Oven Love, adapted from Canning

Ingredients

• 8 lbs. tomatoes
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon celery seeds
• 1 tablespoon sea salt

Directions

1. Wash tomatoes. Remove stem ends and cores. Cut tomatoes into quarters. Transfer to a large colander in the sink; drain. In a 8-10 quart non-reactive pot, combine tomatoes, onion and cayenne pepper. Bring to boiling, stirring often; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes, stirring often.
2. Press tomato mixture into a food mill. Discard seeds and skins. (If you don't have a food mill, I would think you could blend or process the tomatoes and strain them, but I haven't tested this method.) Return tomato mixture to the same pot. Add honey. Use a ruler (or wooden spoon and rubber band) to mark the depth of the mixture. Make a note of the depth- you will want to reduce it by at least half, if not more. Bring to boiling, stirring until the honey dissolves; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 2-3 hours or until mixture is reduced by half.
3. In a small non-reactive saucepan, combine vinegar, cinnamon, cloves and celery seeds. Bring a a boil, then remove from heat. Strain vinegar mixture into the tomato mixture, discarding the spices. Add the salt. Simmer, uncovered, until the ketchup is at your desired consistency- anywhere from 30 more minutes to 3 more hours. 
4. TO CAN: Ladle hot ketchup into hot, sterilized half-pint canning jars (pints work, too). Leave 1/2-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims and adjust lids. Process filled jars in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes. Remove jars from canner, cool on wire racks. Makes 4 half-pints or 2 pints.
5. TO FREEZE: Place pot in a sink filled with ice water, stir mixture to cool. Ladle ketchup into half-pint freezer containers, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Seal and label. Freeze for up to 10 months.