Tomato ketchup
425ml vinegar (malt vinegar is best as it helps give the ketchup a rich colour)
2 bay leaves
1 dessert spoon pickling spice
2kg ripe tomatoes, peeled
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 large cooking apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped
175g demerara sugar
1 dessert spoon salt
1/2 tsp of either paprika / cayenne pepper / chili (choose one, depending on whether you want it to have a kick or not)
- Spice the vinegar by boiling it with the spices and bay leaves for 5 minutes. Cool slightly and strain. Discard the bay leaf and spices.
- Gently cook the onion, apple and tomato until soft. The moisture from the tomatoes should help in the cooking process. Do not add any liquid at this point. Stir regularly to prevent sticking.
- Thoroughly press through a sieve. The more pulp you get through the thicker your ketchup will be.
- Add the other ingredients and boil steadily until thick. Stir regularly. Be careful as the mixture may “spit”.
- Pour into sterilised bottles to about 2cm from the top.
- If you want to keep the ketchup for any length of time, place the jars in a saucepan, large enough for them to stand in. Put a tea towel or some other padding in the bottom of the saucepan first. Boil for 10 minutes and then seal bottles very well, immediately.
- If you don’t sterilise, then the ketchup should keep for at least 1 month in the store cupboard and longer in the fridge.