Ketchup:
3 Tbsp Celery seeds
4 tsp whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks (broken into pieces)
1 1/2 tsp all spice (I omitted this from the recipe- to pungent for me
3 C Cider Vinegar
24 lbs of tomatoes, cored and quartered
3 C chopped onions
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 C granulated sugar
1/4 C pickling or canning salt
1. Tie celery seeds, cloves, cinnamon stick and allspice in a square of cheesecloth, creating a spice bag.
2. In a stainless steel saucepan, combine vinegar and spice bag. Bring to boil over high heat. Remove from heat and let stand for 25 minutes. Discard spice bag.
3. Meanwhile, in a large stainless steel saucepan, combine tomatoes, onions and cayenne. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and boil gently for 20 minutes. Add infused vinegar and boil gently until vegetables are soft and mixture begins to thicken, about 30 minutes.
4. Working in batches, transfer mixture to a sieve placed over a glass or stainless steel bowl and press with the back of a spoon to extract all liquid. (You can also do this with a food mill). Discard solids. NOTE: Instead of doing this, I ran it ALL through the food processor. Skins, seeds and all. You can't taste the difference, it adds nutrients, and it gives you more product. And it's faster and easier to clean up.
5. Return liquid to saucepan. Add sugar and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, until volume is reduced by half and mixture is almost the consistency of commercial ketchup, about 45 minutes. It takes much longer than 45 minutes, believe me. More like 3 or 4 hours. I got imapatient, and I cooked small batches in a frying pan on high, stirring contantly and it thickened much quicker. You get a more thick product this way, too. No one likes runny ketchup.
6. Lade hot ketchup into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headpace, if necessary by adding hot ketchup. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, the increase to finger tip tight.
7. Hot water bath for 15 minutes. Make sure you jars are completely covered with water.
I got 11 pints from this recipe. If I had removed the solids, I probably would have got 7 or 8 pints. Also to be noted, this recipe is not for the faint of heart! It took me all day, and I was so tired and frustrated by the end of it. I remember stating to my husband as he came home from work, "If you don't REALLY like this, I'm never making it again!!" haha. We both really liked it and both agree that I need to make twice as much next year. Homemade ketchup is the best, it's totally worth it. It has far less sugar and far less sodium. It has no preservatives, and has that wonderful fresh tomato taste.