Children, as well as adults, cannot resist adding delicious ketchup to meals and sandwiches. And if you make it at home, it won't contain any preservatives or other substances that are added when it's mass-produced.
In addition, it will have a different taste that everyone will enjoy. To make ketchup, you need well ripened, healthy tomatoes, if possible not from a greenhouse, but from a garden or backyard.
To obtain tasty homemade ketchup following a classic recipe, you will need 1 red onion head, 1 celery stalk, 2 garlic cloves, 1/2 chili pepper, 1 bunch of basil, 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon olive oil, sea salt, 1 lb fresh tomatoes, 1 lb canned tomatoes, 2/5 cup wine vinegar, 1/5 cup brown sugar.
Put the onions and celery in a thick-bottomed pot, pour in the olive oil, add the chopped garlic, chopped chili pepper, coriander, black pepper and a pinch of sea salt. Fry everything for 10 min. on low heat while stirring constantly. Pour in all of the tomatoes and 1 2/5 cups cold water.
Bring to a boil and simmer until the sauce is reduced by half. Add the basil leaves and blend the sauce. Filter it through a sieve twice, to become shiny. Pour it into a clean pot, add the vinegar and sugar and boil on low heat until it acquires the density of real ketchup.
Taste it to see if it is salty enough and if necessary, add more salt. Pour the ketchup into bottles, close them tightly and leave them in the refrigerator. They can be stored for up to half a year.
You can also prepare a ketchup with a softer texture. You need 4.5 lb tomatoes, 2 lb red peppers, 1 lb carrots, 5 onion heads, 4/5 cup tomato paste, 2/5 cup oil, 2 garlic heads, 1 bunch of basil, 1/5 cup apple cider vinegar, 3 tablespoons sugar, 4 teaspoons starch, 2 teaspoons coriander, salt.
Cut the carrots, onions and peppers, add the basil and just a little bit of water, then mash everything together. Add 2 more cups of water and boil everything for 10 min. Add the finely chopped tomatoes and garlic and boil 10 min. on low heat while stirring constantly.
Combine the tomato paste with 3 cups water and add it to the pot. Boil for another 5 min. Turn off the stove and let the sauce cool at room temperature.
Beat with a whisk and pass it through a sieve, discarding the thick mixture that is left behind. Pour the filtered sauce into a clean pot, add salt and coriander, sugar, oil and vinegar, stir and boil for 7 min. while stirring nonstop.
Dissolve the starch in 2/5 cup of water and while constantly stirring, pour it in a thin trickle into the sauce. Remove from the heat, pour into bottles or jars, close them and let them cool.
