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Before I went on vacation the wonderful people at Redpack sent me a sample of their products to try, including a can of whole peeled tomatoes and a can of crushed tomatoes. I was pretty excited because I’ve been buying Redpack products for a while now, so I know firsthand just how fantastic they are (and in the colder months when fresh tomatoes are mealy and tasteless, canned tomatoes are a staple in my kitchen). Instead of using the tomatoes to make something like sauce, chili, or soup, I wanted to delve into something a little less ordinary. Ketchup came to mind, and once I had the idea it just wouldn’t go away.
I’ve always heard that homemade ketchup is infinitely better than the store-bought stuff, but I like regular ketchup well enough and I really didn’t think much of it. But after eating the homemade version I can safely say that if I have time to make it, I will never buy the store-bought stuff again. In honor of my newfound love, I made oven-fried potato wedges, or more appropriately, vessels to soak up my homemade ketchup. BEST.FRIES.EVER.
(The potato wedges are super easy to make and for anyone who wants the recipe, here’s what I did: Preheat the oven to 450F and brush a baking pan with a generous coating of olive oil. In a shallow bowl, combine a little all-purpose flour and seasoned salt. Cut starchy potatoes into wedges and toss in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on the prepared baking pan and bake until crispy outside and tender inside (about 25 minutes), flipping once halfway through.)
I should tell you that this ketchup recipe was a bit of trial and error for me, as I didn’t get the recipe exactly right from the very beginning. What I didn’t realize is that making ketchup isn’t like making BBQ sauce: you can’t just put everything in a pot and boil it down. The tomato solids get in the way. On my second attempt at this recipe I drained the solids out and it worked like a charm. But I didn’t have the heart to just throw the solids out (after all, it is still edible food!), so I spread it on a plate, drizzled it with olive oil, and called it tomato pâté. No one was the wiser. ;)
Tomato Pâté
(In case you’re wondering, as far as taste goes, the tomato pâté tasted great. The only issue was that the texture was a bit…hmmm…I guess tree bark-like is the best way to put it. Anyway, I don’t think it would be noticeable mixed into a tomato sauce or tomato-based soup, or made into a dip with cream cheese, sour cream, and spices. I think I’ll try the dip next time since I still don’t think I’ll have the heart to throw the solids out, lol!)
Homemade Ketchup (And Tomato Pâté)
(Yield: About 1 c ketchup and 1/2 c tomato pâté)
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes in puree (I used Redpack)
1 large stalk celery, diced
1 medium-large onion, diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp coarse salt
3/4 tsp mustard seeds (or 1/2 tsp mustard powder)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp cayenne (more or less to taste)
1 whole clove
1/2 c apple cider vinegar
1/3 c dark brown sugar, lightly packed (or 1/3 c light brown sugar plus1-2 tsp molasses)
3 oz tomato paste
1 tsp lemon juice
- Combine crushed tomatoes, celery, onion, garlic, bay leaf, salt, mustard seeds, black pepper, allspice, cayenne, clove, and 1 c water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to a simmer, cover the pot, and cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool.
- Transfer sauce to a blender along with 1 c water and puree until smooth. Drain through a cheesecloth-lined colander placed over a bowl to catch the liquid below; wring cheesecloth to remove as much liquid as possible. (The solids that remain in the cheesecloth is your tomato pâté, just spread the pâté on a plate and drizzle with olive oil; the liquid will be made into ketchup.)
- Transfer the liquid back to the saucepan. Add vinegar, brown sugar, molasses, and tomato paste and bring up to a boil; turn heat down to a simmer and cook (uncovered) until it reaches your desired thickness (it took me about 50 minutes), stirring occasionally at first, then stirring frequently as it thickens, and stirring constantly at the end. (Be careful not to overcook because it scorches easily at the end; also, note that it will thicken quite a bit upon cooling, especially after being refrigerated.)
- Turn off heat and add lemon juice, then taste and season with additional salt, pepper, sugar, and lemon juice as desired.
- Cool completely, then store refrigerated in an airtight container.
Ketchup spices, clockwise from 1 o’clock: coarse salt, mustard seeds, black pepper, cayenne (red), allspice (brown), bay leaf, and a whole clove (center).
Now on to the giveaway! The generous people at Redpack offered to give away a prize pack to one lucky reader. The prize includes everything you see…
1 large storage tin that’s made to look like a can of Redpack tomatoes, 1 (28 oz) can of whole peeled tomatoes in thick puree, 1 (28 oz) can of crushed tomatoes in thick puree, a pizza cutter, a pasta utensil, a rubber spatula, a can opener, a couple magnets, and a few recipes featuring Redpack products.
You don’t need to have a blog to enter this giveaway! To participate, you can do any or all of the following; please leave a separate comment for each so I can count it as another entry:
1) Leave a comment here letting me know your favorite thing to make with canned tomatoes.
2) Add me to your RSS feed and leave a comment here letting me know (to do this, go to the top right corner of my website and click where it says “Posts”). (Or just let me know if you’re already an RSS subscriber.)
3) Become an email subscriber (to do this, go to the top right corner of my website and click where it says “By Email”; after that you will be able to enter your email address). (Or just let me know if you’re already an email subscriber.)
4) “Like” me on Facebook and leave a comment here letting me know. (Or just let me know if you already like me on Facebook.)
5) “Like” Redpack on Facebook and leave a comment here letting me know. (Or just let me know if you already like Redpack on Facebook.)
This giveaway ends Thursday, April 28th at 12AM EST; after that the winner will be randomly chosen and notified by email. Good luck to all!
Disclaimer: I received this product to sample for free, courtesy of the kind people at Redpack, but as always, opinions stated are my own.
I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
Free Bonus
Faith,love your recipes, & you cracked me up when you said, tasted like, “Bark”! Seriously you reminded me of my head, I tell people I’m shopping for cereal that’s just, “twigs & bark”…welcome to my brain. Of course it’s because I’m sprinkling granola on top! Like you, I think it’s evil to waste anything, I’ll throw stuff that one would never serve a human, boil “it”, & BOOM…broth. I love your homemade ketchup recipe, & have been making my own mayo for ages, was out, wheels in the shop! Gotta do it, I make 2 kinda barbecue sauce,one is mahogany very thick & topped w/toasted sesame seeds. Unlike you, I never pay attention to exactly what amount, and/or how long, ya know? Just a cross between perfection & scary, my family/friends/clients, most of the time love the dishes I dream up! My 16 yr old came home & said, what’s with all the rabbit food? I hopped over to her & said we’re gonna be vegetarian’s for a week, another eye roll. This ride is one that is best served with a pinch of skill, a spoon full of courage, a large dash of common sense, & a giant bowl of LOVE! Love ya girl, you rock…Andrea
I love that you made tomato pate out of the strained leftovers. Way to not waste food. I’ve never made ketchup before, kudos to you for trying, not giving up, and succeeding. I love making “bun Rieu”, a Vietnamese tomato based vermicelli soup using canned tomatoes.
I can truly relate to the adventures and experimentations that go on in that lab of yours.
Faith, thanks for persisting towards sharing such a wonderfully composed condiment. Book marked ;o)
Flavourful wishes,
Claudia
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I must admit, I’ve always wanted to make my own ketchup for a BBQ hamburger. Simple pleasures! ;)
Wow! Homemade ketchup and fries sounds incredible. My family would be very happy:)
Great giveaway!
My favorite thing to make with canned tomatoes would have to be homemade pizza which I make almost every week:)
I follow Red Pack on FB!!
I follow you on FB!
I use a lot of canned tomatoes, they are so versatile! Great give away!
Hi Faith, glad to see you back from vacation! I made ketchup for the first time last year, and what a wonder! It is truly the best! I will have to make it again soon.
Canned tomatoes are good–life savers at times. In a pinch, I can whip up a red sauce for pasta, and everyone’s happy! I have used RedPack, and it is a fine product.
PS I subscribed to your blog via Feedburner email.
Homemade ketchup sounds wonderful.My favorite recipe with canned tomatoes is chili.
Mimi
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Yum! Homemade ketchup :) I never thought to make my own since I grew up in a town where there was a Heinz factory. Needless to say in Fremont, Ohio you eat Heinz :)
This giveaway is great too. I love canned tomatoes! I would probably make myself a large batch of tomato sauce or maybe some of my Dad’s famous BBQ sauce…yum!
I’m so glad your back Faith! I missed you too! Your homemade ketchup is so easy and I bet it’s delicious! The fries look good too.
Is ketchup really this easy? What an amazing recipe!
I love using tomatoes in daal because it gives the lentils a really nice taste plus I can get the hubby and Maya to eat a few more veggies than they think they’re eating. :)
I like you on Facebook too :)
I subscribe to your RSS feed in my reader.
Welcome back, Faith!! I’ve always wanted to try making homemade ketchup, but never quite got around to it. It looks great, even the tomato pate which was an accident seems like a good use for the solids (I hate throwing out food too!).
PS My favorite thing to do with canned tomatoes is make pasta sauce (when tomatoes are out of season, of course).
I like Redpack too on FB :)
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Faith, I am in LOVE with this post. Your photos are so fun and that ketchup heart is darling. The newsprint is super fun too. The homemade baked fries are a total win! Count me in for the giveaway. Love making a great puttanesca with canned tomatoes.
i like to use them in chili–that’s definitely my primary usage.
i LOVE the ketchup hearts! :)
I really must make some ketchup! Your blog is stunning and the photography amazing!!!
This looks great Faith! I really need to try making homemade ketchup. It’s a bit of a 5th food group in this family; my boys go through a ton of it! Now I need to go back and check out your welcome back post! Hope you had a wonderful trip!
Hooray, I’m so glad to see your comments and posts again! I really missed your kind words. And a homemade ketchup recipe is the best thing to return with, because it will definitely come in handy as we enter barbeque and grilling season. I hate commercial ketchup but have been wanting to try making my own for ages.
It is good to have you back. The potatoes are an added treat. I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend. Blessings…Mary
Welcome back, Faith! Great job with your own ketchup! I usually “cheat” when I make my own and use tomato paste to simplify things :P Love your tomato “pate”, too! My favorite thing to make from canned tomatos is a topper for seared scallops – mmm!
Have a great weekend, Faith!
So first, adorable ketchup hearts! One of my favorite things to make with canned tomatoes is Spanish Quinoa!! It’s so easy and I always make it the day before to let the flavors sit.
http://debarooroo.blogspot.com/2010/10/watch-out-spanish-rice-quinoas-in-town.html
Yay! I’m so glad you’re back!
My parents actually only ever use redpack tomatoes for their sauces and such…love this brand. Your homemade ketchup sounds delicious even if it took some trial and error to get there!
My favorite thing to make with canned tomatoes is tomato sauce! Specifically, tomato sauce for lasagna.
Definitely spaghetti sauce!
Already like you on FB via my page.Have a fun weekend :)
Subscribed to your blog via email!
Hola! Welcome back.I checked your page some 4-5 days back and the same post was on and today I see that I have almost missed your posts.How was your vacation?I hope u had fun.Looking forward to seeing pictures on your blog.
My fav thing with canned tomatoes has to be indian style butter chicken.It tastes so much better than fresh ones in that recipe.I never made ketchup at home, my grandmom used to.looks yum!
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I use canned tomatoes in a lot of things; one of my favorite things to use them is in a goulash with leftover meat and veggies.
Welcome home, Faith! Hope you had a wonderful time…I missed you too!
Love your fries. I’ve never tossed them with flour…definitely trying that the next time! Never would have occurred to me to make my own ketchup! I’m impressed!
Well, you probably won’t believe this, but I use canned tomatoes in a favorite old recipe of my mother’s….eggplant, tomatoes and (would you believe?) Velveeta cheese! Sounds horrible, right? But I could eat it by the spoonful!
Your fries look killer, and so does the ketchup! My favorite thing to make with canned tomatoes is salsa.
oh i love ketchup but try not to eat it because of the sugar. i love your homemade recipe though! i think i would make a pasta sauce with the tomatoes.
glad you are back from vacation!
Hi, Faith, welcome back! Thanks for your sweet comment, that made my morning. :) I’ve missed your comments while you were away! I’ve never thought to make my own ketchup… we don’t use ketchup a whole lot, though. Don’t worry about including me in the giveaway, I just wanted to say hi to you! Glad you’re back!
I like you on Facebook!
I’m an email subscriber :)
I’m an RSS subscriber :)
I have been loyal to Hunts for a lot of years, but I definitely want to make ketchup at home!
I love to make homemade marinara, chili, Indian sauces, etc. with canned tomatoes :)
And I have you in my RSS file :)
I subscribe via email
My favorite dish to make with canned tomatoes is Pasta with Bolognese sauce.
I’ve never homemade ketchup or bbq sauce- I totally want to try. I love how you made the little ketchup drops into hearts- so cute. These tomato products sounds fantastic. I love using canned tomatoes in black bean dip.
and welcome back!
already RSS ya
already FB ya.
I have never seen Red Pack tomatoes before. Are they regional? I’ll keep my eye out, even though I just stocked up on San Marzano’s from the commissary the other day. Gotta love the military stores and their odd pricing. $1.45 for a 32 oz can that goes for over five bucks in the real world.
I’m glad you’re back!
Homemade ketchup? Wow, I’m impressed. Those fries look really good by the way…
I love the sound of your home made ketchup Faith, I make one a little similar – its heaps better than the bought stuff isn’t it. Love the little heart shapes too :)
Haha, tomato pate! That sounds like something I would have done. I would have made it into a sandwich. :-)
Chili is my favorite thing to make with canned tomatoes. Thank you!
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Homemade spaghetti sauce is our favorite thing to make.
We’ve been wanting to make homemade ketchup so we’ll have to try this recipe! Great giveaway too!
i like redpack chopped tomatoes, made into a quick marinara, then on top of steamed french cut green beans
Alright, sure make your own ketchup, but what’s wrong with Heinz? Nothing anyone will ever make will come close to Heinz! It’s the best, and everyone uses it! lol
Great site by the way!
Tomato ketchup looks delicious. I make pav bhaji with canned tomatoes. nice giveaway.
I will keep this recipe for when my tomatoes are ready in the garden, it sounds delicious. Diane
I may be to late for the contest, however the ketchup recipe sounds very good. I recently decided to start making my own(we use ketchup a lot and make homemade fries)My children are even participating in preparing and eating healthy, along with making our favorite foods from “scratch” I use tomatoes in quite a few recipes..two favs are spaghetti and moroccan chicken.
Canned tomatoes are a MUST in my chili recipe! And in West African Peanut Stew…yummmm!
I just liked Redpack on facebook
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This homemade ketchup (and those fries) sounds so delicious!
My new favorite thing to make with canned tomatoes is shakshuka… I just made it this week and I’m in love!
I bet it tastes wonderful!
Cheers,
Rosa
Welcome back Faith! I totally missed your return post, I apologize for that. We have my father in law at the hospital and we are all a little frozen and disoriented these days. I totally agree with you, news and media have the tendency to distort the events that take place in other parts of the world. The same happened here, when we had several protests and media said that Greece was a dangerous place to visit at that time. Completely ridiculous! Anyway, I am happy you are back and I am glad you had such a great time in Syria. This is a place I want to visit when I will be more free of my responsibilities. The potatoes and ketchup is a an all time classic, great appetizer!