How To Grow New Potatoes aka Baby Spuds

We started making our own homemade ketchup many years ago. I was so fed up with all the sugar and fructose glucose in the store bought ketchups so started making homemade for that real tomato flavour.

Well, just to put a new spin on things… This year, instead of red tomatoes, I decided to use my lovely green ones. These are not unripe tomatoes but beautiful, ripe, green tomatoes with a hint of either yellow or red undertones.

Green tomatoes do not really taste any different than red ones, yellow ones, pink ones, black ones, etc… except better, in my opinion. The greens and blacks are always my favourites for fresh eating, love that rich, tomato taste.

As I was given a new ketchup recipe this spring, I decided to use these green tomatoes and check out the new recipe at the same time. They would also make a lovely looking green salsa. I do not have the name of the book or the author to give credit to this ketchup recipe, but will add it if I can hunt it down. From what I understand, it is an old canning recipe book that was used often in the UK.

The green tomatoes that we used are Green Zebra, Lucky Tiger, Aunt Ruby’s German Green, and Dwarf Saucy Mary. I considered adding Ananas Noir but felt it had just a bit too much red in it, but you certainly could.

Tomato Ketchup Recipe (works just fine for red tomatoes, too ; )

• 12 medium to large ripe tomatoes

• 2 medium onions

• 1 pint vinegar

• 3 tablespoons of sugar (or to taste)

• 1 tablespoon of salt

• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder

• 2 teaspoons allspice

• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

• 2 teaspoons cloves

• 2 teaspoons nutmeg

  Cut tomatoes into quarters, chop onions finely, place all ingredients into the pot, except the spices.

  Put cloves, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg into cheesecloth, tie with a string, and add to the tomato mix.

  Bring mix to a slow boil and cook for 2.5 hours or until it is the proper consistency.

  Stir often to prevent scorching, especially towards the end, when the ketchup is getting thicker.

  Remove from heat, discard spice bag, and pour ketchup into prepared clean and sterile jars. Leave 1 cm (1/2 inch) of head space from the rim. Wipe the rims clean.

  Process in a hot water bath for 20 minutes.

We made a couple of changes to the original recipe. They added the spices right into the ketchup, we use the cheesecloth bag instead and remove at the end of the cooking process.

We also added a titch more sugar as I found it to be a bit too vinegary the way it was. Adjust according to your taste buds.

We also cooked ours for much longer than the recipe calls for, probably twice as long. I think it is our induction stove that makes it take so much longer, as we seem to be able to cook down the tomato sauce much faster outside on the portable propane burner. Do not be afraid to let it simmer away until you have the right consistency, no harm will come to it by allowing it to cook down to the right thickness. Remember, too, that it thickens up a wee bit more once it cools.

Place in whatever size jar that suits your family best, according to how quickly you use it up. I have mine in 250 ml jam jars but if you go through tons of ketchup each month, go with a 500 ml (pint) jar instead.

I absolutely love this recipe, tastes so fresh and good. I love that vinegary tomato-ey flavour. Highly recommend it. It tastes just like ketchup should.

Here is the other ketchup recipe that we have been making for years… try them both, see which one you like best : ) Homemade Tomato Ketchup.

Hope you give the recipe a try.. whether with red tomatoes, black ones, or green ones.

Am sure that you will be a convert, will love and prefer the fresh taste of homemade.

Happy canning and prepping!