PREP: 1 hour COOK: 2 hours 15 minutes PROCESS: 15 minutes MAKES: 4 half-pints

Homemade Ketchup

What You’ll Need

8 lb. ripe red tomatoes

½ cup chopped onion

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

1 cup white vinegar

4 inches stick cinnamon, broken

1½ tsp. whole cloves

1 tsp. celery seeds

¾ cup sugar

1 Tbsp. salt

How to Make It

1. Quarter tomatoes; let stand in a large colander to drain. In an 8- to 10-qt. stainless-steel, enamel, or nonstick heavy pot combine tomatoes, onion, and cayenne pepper. Bring to boiling, stirring frequently; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

2. In a small stainless-steel, enamel, or nonstick heavy saucepan combine next four ingredients (through celery seeds). Bring to boiling; remove from heat. Cover and set aside.

3. Press tomato mixture through a food mill; discard skins and seeds. Return tomato mixture to same pot. Stir in sugar (measure depth with a ruler). Bring to boiling, stirring to dissolve sugar; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, 1½ to 2 hours or until reduced by half, stirring occasionally (measure depth again; should be half of original depth).

4. Strain vinegar mixture into tomato mixture through a fine-mesh sieve; discard spices. Stir in salt. Simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes or until desired consistency, stirring frequently.

5. Ladle hot ketchup into four hot sterilized half-pint canning jars, leaving a ½-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims; adjust lids and screw bands.

6. Process filled jars in a boiling-water canner 15 minutes (start timing when water returns to boiling). Remove; cool on a wire rack. (Canning tips, pages 461–466.)

To Freeze: Prepare as directed through Step 4. Place pot in a sink filled with ice water; stir ketchup to cool. Ladle into half-pint freezer containers, leaving a ½-inch headspace. Seal and label. Freeze up to 10 months. (Freezing tips, page 467.)

PER 1 TBSP. KETCHUP: 21 cal., 0 g fat, 0 mg chol., 114 mg sodium, 5 g carb., 1 g fiber, 0 g pro.