Ketchup for Canning

Print Recipe

5 Ratings

A delicious, homemade ketchup that is safe for canning.

Prep Time1

Cook Time2

Processing Time15

Total Time3 15

Course: condiment, Sauce

Cuisine: American

Keyword: canning, ketchup, preserving

Servings: half pints

Calories: 204kcal

Equipment

1 Sauce Maker
1 Blender immersion blender works well too
1 Water-bath Canning pot

Ingredients

2 teaspoons celery seeds
4 individual whole cloves no teaspoons or tablespoons just count them out
5 individual whole allspice
3 cups vinegar half white and half cider (5% acidity)
24 lbs tomatoes
3 cups chopped onions
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup canning or pickling salt
1 tsp dried garlic

Instructions

Turn oven to 425ºF
Make a spice bag by taking cheesecloth and cutting out a square. Add celery seeds, cloves, and all spice on top of the cheese cloth, then tie in a knot or use twine to tie it together. (Some of the celery seeds may fall out, that's ok!)
In a stainless steel saucepan, add the vinegar and the spice bag. Bring to a boil over high heat, then remove from heat and let it sit for a half hour with the spice bag in it. Then discard the spice bag.
Meanwhile, cut tomatoes in half and core. (For Roma or San Marzano tomatoes, no need to core, just cut in half.) Place tomatoes cut side down, with one layer on baking trays and roast tomatoes for 1 hour at 425ºF.
While the tomatoes cook, sauté the onions for 5-10 minutes on medium low heat until soft and translucent.
After the tomatoes finish, use a food mill or sauce maker to remove skins and seeds. *Include all the released tomato juices on the tray as well as roasted tomatoes to food mill ensure proper acidity. Discard the seeds and skins.
Place tomato sauce in a very large stainless steel saucepan.
Add onions, sugar, salt, vinegar, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and dried garlic to the saucepan with the tomatoes.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer, stirring frequently, until it becomes the desired thickness.
While reducing the liquid, prepare a water bath canner and half pint jars.
Working in small batches, transfer the mixture to the blender and puree until very smooth. Return all the pureed ketchup to the pot. Alternatively, you can keep the sauce in the pot and use an immersion blender. (Use caution if your sauce is hot. Keep a hand on the blender lid so it doesn't pop off)
Ladle hot ketchup into half pint jars leaving a 1/2 inch of head space. Wipe rim. Center lid on the jar. Screw on the band with until it is finger tip-tight.
Place jars in canner and ensure the jars have at least one inch of water above the tops of the jars.
Bring to a boil and process for 15 minutes. Remove lid, turn off heat, wait 5-10 minutes then remove jars. Let cool and store.

Notes

Do not change the ratios in the recipe. It has a specific amount of acid to keep it safe for water bath canning. I can only fit 14 half pints in my water bath canner at a time. For me, it's not really worth the time to do a whole different batch to get the last 2 jars canned. I ended up setting it aside and using the extra ketchup to make a homemade BBQ sauce, then I froze the result.

If you end up with slightly more or less yield, don't worry. Tomatoes vary in water content and this can lead to the yield being a little different.

If using a blender, use caution if the sauce is hot. Keep your hand on the lid while blending.

You can also use a crock pot with the lid off and the heat on high in to cook down the tomatoes.

Nutrition