The Best Homemade Ketchup Recipe - (2024)

FAQs

What is the number one ingredient in ketchup? ›

U.S. Heinz tomato ketchup's ingredients (listed from highest to lowest percentage weight) are: tomato concentrate from red ripe tomatoes, distilled vinegar, high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, salt, spice, onion powder, and natural flavoring.

The tangy-sweet sauce contains vinegar, onions, garlic, some kind of sweetener, and seasonings like mustard powder, cumin, allspice and cinnamon. However, if you were to make a batch at home with those ingredients, your ketchup still probably wouldn't taste like the stuff you get at the diner.

I wouldn't tell you to make your own ketchup if I didn't think it was worth it. This ketchup recipe makes the most delicious ketchup that knocks the socks off anything you can buy at the store. I love that this recipe uses real ingredients and that we can control how sweet our ketchup turns out.

Pack and Store Your Homemade Ketchup

Ketchup will keep 3 weeks in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer. Ketchup can also be water bath canned using the hot pack method.

Two ingredients of concern in ketchup are salt and sugar. Per tablespoon, ketchup contains 4 grams of sugar and 190 milligrams of sodium. Although 4 grams of sugar doesn't seem like a lot, much of it comes from added sugar, as opposed to the natural sugar found in tomatoes.

Distilled white vinegar is essential for ketchup's signature tanginess. Plus, it elongates the shelf life. White sugar cuts the acidity of the tomatoes and vinegar while offering a hint of sweetness.

He saw a sign advertising '21 styles of shoes', and liked the usage of an odd number. Heinz now has a whopping 5,000 different products. However, at the time Heinz saw the sign, they were offering 60 products. Henry decided the number 57 sounded better, and it became part of their branding and has stuck ever since.

It contains high quantities of sugar, salt, fructose, preservatives and corn syrup. All of these ingredients when combined together have an adverse effect on the body.

As it turns out, they're the same thing!

The condiment made its way west via European merchants, taking with it Westernized pronunciations. Early recipes for ketchup (or catsup, if you like) incorporated a wide variety of ingredients like mushrooms, walnuts, and shellfish (hence the distinction tomato ketchup).

Our signature Organic Ketchup is delectably smooth, packed with real tomato flavor and made with only the finest ingredients. Low on salt/sugar and with no high-fructose corn syrup or other additives. Ever. Each bottle features a unique image from Portland and surrounding areas on the label.

Why is my homemade ketchup watery? ›

It's All About the Pectin

It gives sauces and jellies an even, thick consistency as they cook. The trouble with fresh tomatoes is that they contain an enzyme that breaks down pectin. So as you're preparing your sauce, those little enzymes are eating up all that magical pectin… ultimately leading to a watery sauce.

Once you've opened a bottle of ketchup, you should keep it in the fridge alongside other condiments that need to be refrigerated. Homemade ketchup, however, because it isn't subject to the factory-sealed bottled as store-bought varieties, must always be kept in the fridge until it's time to serve it with the meal.

But if you want a thicker texture, whisk two tablespoons of cornstarch into 1/4 cup of cold water.

To extend the shelf life of ketchup, it needs to be pasteurized. In case of continuous ketchup manufacturing line, this is usually done in a heat exchanger which is fed by a continuous flow of product. After pasteurization, ketchup needs a holding time for a certain amount of time to kill the bacteria.

In summary, expired ketchup can often be consumed safely if it has been stored correctly and passes a sensory check for spoilage. However, the quality of the product may not be at its peak.

Ketchup is a tomato-based condiment that's primarily used for dipping or spreading, though it's also commonly featured as an ingredient in other sauces and dressings. It's usually made with tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, and spices and seasonings.

Heinz Tomato Ketchup

While it had that great balance of sweet, salty, and umami flavors that we know and love from Heinz, there was one ketchup that was just so classic-tasting that I couldn't stop going back for more.

Tomatoes, sweeteners, vinegar, salt, spices, flavorings, onion, and/or garlic are the primary ingredients in ketchup. Sweeteners are typically granulated cane sugar or beet sugar.

It contains high quantities of sugar, salt, fructose, preservatives and corn syrup. All of these ingredients when combined together have an adverse effect on the body.