Homemade Ketchup Recipe

Who does not love tomato ketchup? It is one of the favorite condiments served with French fries, sandwiches, grilled cheese, and many savory and spicy appetizers.

When you have a lot of tomato harvest from the garden or end up buying a bulk of tomatoes, you can make this homemade tomato ketchup recipe. It does not have high fructose corn syrup like the store bought ones.

This homemade tomato ketchup made with fresh tomatoes is absolutely delicious and you will never want to buy from the stores again! It is very easy to make in the pressure cooker like an instant pot.

Ingredients

The base ingredient for homemade ketchup is fresh tomatoes. It is a great way to use up all your harvest from the garden or make it when tomatoes are available at a great price.

I have used fresh Roma tomatoes and any other variety will work fine. You can also use fresh tomatoes in combination with canned tomatoes or paste.

Spices like red chili powder, whole cloves, and peppercorns are all you will need if you use fresh garlic cloves and onions. Garlic powder and onion powder can also be used instead of fresh ones.

Organic cane sugar, salt, and apple cider vinegar are added for taste and flavor but they also act as preservatives.

Instructions

Making tomato ketchup in an instant pot is very easy. Put all the ingredients except the apple cider vinegar into the instant pot liner. Add half a cup of water and pressure cook on high-pressure mode for 5 minutes with the pressure release knob in the sealing position.

The instant pot will take some time to come to pressure and then it will pressure cook for 5 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes and then release the remaining pressure manually by moving the pressure release knob to the venting position.

Carefully blend all the ingredients into a smooth puree with the help of an immersion blender. If you are using a standalone blender, allow the mixture to cool a little bit and then blend.

It is now time to strain the puree with a strainer into a large bowl to remove any seeds and other solids. Once done, clean the instant pot liner once before transferring the smooth puree back into it.

Pour the puree into the instant pot liner and mix in the apple cider vinegar. Turn the saute mode on high setting, the normal setting will take a little longer. Continue to simmer on the saute mode for about 40-45 minutes until the puree thickens.

Initially, there will be some froth on the top layer but as it continues to cook, the ketchup will become clear and have a deep red color. Stir the ketchup intermittently to ensure it does not stick to the bottom of the pot.

Once it reaches the desired consistency, turn off the saute mode and let the ketchup cool down completely. Transfer it to clean and sterilized glass jars and refrigerate it.

Substitutions

The best thing about this fresh tomato ketchup is that it is made with basic ingredients easily found in the kitchen pantry. It can also be easily adapted to substitute some ingredients

• Sugar - instead of organic cane sugar, brown sugar or other sugar substitutes can be used.
• Tomato paste - a combination of fresh tomatoes and canned tomato paste can be used.
• Spices - I have used fresh onions and garlic but they can be substituted with onion powder and garlic powder and added towards the end.

Variations

This homemade tomato ketchup is vegan, gluten-free, and made with fresh tomatoes. You can make it spicy by adding some extra red chili powder or serrano peppers.

Equipment

I have made this tomato ketchup in the 6 qt. instant pot and it will work for larger ones as well. You can easily make a smaller batch in the 3 qt. instant pot. It can also be made on the stovetop or using a regular pressure cooker.

To blend the tomatoes, an immersion hand blender or any other blender like Vitamix can be used, and then finally use a fine strainer to make a smooth puree and discard the other solids.

Storage

Homemade tomato ketchup will last for about 3-4 weeks in the fridge when stored in an air-tight glass bottle or jars. It can also be frozen for about 3 months. When defrosting the frozen ketchup you can leave the container in the fridge overnight.

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