Homemade Ketchup

Last week we invited the singles' Sunday school class from our church over for a cook out. We provided the meat (chicken, hot dogs and brats) as well as buns and condiments.

I was sure I had a bottle of ketchup in the cupboard, but when I went to get it, there was no ketchup to be found. Instead of making an extra trip to the grocery store, I decided to make some from scratch. I used this recipe by Gina at Skinny Taste and tweaked it a little.

I didn't announce that the ketchup was homemade, I simply poured it into a squeeze bottle and set it out with the rest of the condiments. At the end of the evening someone asked me what brand of ketchup I had used and why it was in a plain, unlabeled bottle. Confession time! When I shared that the ketchup was homemade, everyone was amazed. It was so good, no one even guessed.

Here's what you need:

1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup honey or brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 teas salt
1/2 teas onion powder
1/4 teas garlic
pinch of cloves
pinch of nutmeg
tiny pinch of cayenne pepper

In a saucepan, whisk the ingredients together until smooth. Cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes, stirring often. You really don't want to skip the cooking step because it helps the flavors blend together nicely.

Cool and store in the fridge.