KETCHUP/CATSUP
RECIPES
These Recipes came from my mother's recipe box, somewhere lost in the dark ages prior to the invention of both the wheel and fire, if the stories are indeed
true. Of course, my mother celebrated her 29th birthday last year, too. How she could do that and I'm presently looking at 38 is something I'm still
not clear on. I'm thinking it's in one of those calculus classes I never took.
Anyway, they came from my mother. I got them, and they resided, for a time, on my computer. Which crashed. And I had to build a new one just
to get the damned recipes off it. So these are here so I can find them in the future when the next computer in my life craps out on me.
Let me know if you enjoy them. If you find a military or other use for the final recipe (other than killing your friends and threatening your enemies,
that is), please let me know. I've got a few jars stored away...
--Enjoy--
John Dominik
These originally came in the mail from my father, who later e-mailed me the wordperfect document. Then my hard drive crashed, and in the process, chewed up some of this document. The proportions below might be incorrect on the "Catchup Ketchup" recipes. The "fractional" numbers in the WordPerfect document were all munged, but through research (I called Mom, she said "that sounds about right"), I think I've got them corrected. Anyway, as Mom herself notes, adjust to individual tastes as necessary...
John, After typing all of these into Yahoo to e-mail to you, for some reason Yahoo had closed on me. I'm not going to risk having to type all of this again, so it's coming to you in hard copy. -- Dad.
Four quarts (about 24 large tomatoes) peeled and chopped.
1 c. chopped onions
1 c. sweet red peppers
Cook until soft. Put through a food mill, sieve, or blender.
Cook one more hour until thick and reduced about half. Then add
(in a cheesecloth bag):
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp mustard seed
1 tsp whole allspice
1 stick cinnamon
Also add:
1 c. sugar
1 Tbsp salt
1 c. vinegar
1 Tbsp paprika
Cook gently 25 min., stirring frequently. Remove spice bag. Can
Four quarts peeled chopped tomatoes (about 24 large tomatoes)
3 c. chopped onions
2 c. sliced carrots (about 4)
2 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped green peppers (about 3)
1 Tbsp salt
Put through a food mill, sieve, or blender. Cook until thick,
about 1 hours and reduced to 2 quarts.
Combine tomato puree with:
1 c. vinegar
1/2 c. sugar
In a cheesecloth bag place:
2 tsp whole allspice
1 tsp whole cloves
2 sticks cinnamon
Also add:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp Paprika
1 to 3 tsp Cayenne pepper
Cook slowly 45 to 60 minutes until thickened; remove spice bag. Can.
1 peck tomatoes, sliced (12 to 13 #)
2 medium onions chopped
Cook together 15 minutes or until soft. Put through a food mill, sieve, or blender. Add:
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
Boil rapidly until reduced about 1/2 or thickened.
In an enamel pan, place:
2 c. cider vinegar and a spice bag containing:
1 Tbsp broken cinnamon sticks
1 Tbsp cloves, whole
3 clove garlic, fine chopped
Simmer for 30 minutes, then bring to boil. Cover pan, remove from heat and let stand until tomato mixture is ready. When tomato mixture is thickened, add vinegar and spices and:
1 Tbsp paprika
1 c. sugar
2 tsp salt
Cook rapidly about 10 minutes. Can.
1 quart tomato sauce
2/3 c. vinegar
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp paprika
dash Cayenne pepper
1/2 c. chopped onion or 1 Tbsp onion powder
1/2 tsp gr. celery seed
Cook one-half hour
This is browner than "catchup ketchup" because of the ground spices. It looks like barbecue sauce.
For any young people who don't know how to peel tomatoes: Dip in boiling water for one minute, remove and place in cold water. The skin will fall off.
When I used to make "catchup ketchup" I'd sometimes run out of some spices. It didn't seem to matter. I'd add more of something else and it all turned out fine.
Stearns County Extension Service recipe
TOO MANY TOMATOES? Make Blender Catsup (A popular recipe that appeared in this newsletter a couple of years back and has been requested again.)
Blender Catsup. Wash, peel, and quarter 8 pounds ripe tomatoes, 2 seeded red peppers, 2 green peppers (or use 4 green ones instead of red), 4 medium onions. Chop in blender using 3 cups white vinegar as needed for liquid. Draining it partially off each pitcherful and reusing it.)
Put all in a shallow roaster, adding 3 cups sugar, 3 tablespoons salt, 1 teaspoon all spice, 3 teaspoons dry mustard, 1/2 teaspoon cloves, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, teaspoon hot red pepper if desired. (I think it is hot enough without this.)
Bake uncovered at 325 until volume is reduced by (3-4 hours) stirring occasionally. Seal while hot. Process 15 minutes in boiling water bath. Makes 5 pints.
This is not really hot. I don't know how it got this name. I suspect the sweet red peppers were originally supposed to be hot peppers and someone changed the recipe.
Chop tomatoes dice or put through coarse meat grinder to make 7 cups.
Add: 1 c. diced celery
1.c diced (fine) onion
1 c. diced sweet red pepper
2 to 4 Tbsp salt (to taste)
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. whole mustard seed
1 Tbsp ground black pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
2 c. vinegar
Mix all and put in freezer containers. We used to can it, but it is much better and fresher tasting if frozen. When you serve it, you'll probably want to drain off some of the juice. It goes wonderfully with beef roast.
Cut up tomatoes to make 1 quart.
Add 1 stick celery
1 sprig parsley
1/2 onion
1 whole clove
1/6 Bay leaf
Cook 1 hour. Run through a strainer. Bring tomato mixture to a boil again. Mix together:
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp flour
Add to boiling mixture. Add 1 Tbsp butter and simmer for 10 minutes. Makes about 4 cups.
If you stop this recipe before you add the sugar, salt, flour, and butter, it tastes like V-8; somewhere I think I have a recipe for V-8
John's Chili Sauce
Please note - this stuff is dangerous. Be careful. I'm not kidding. And as any good cook should, adjust yours to your
taste/palette. I don't want to kill anyone with this stuff... -- jd.
In large pot, combine;
12-15 large tomatoes, chopped
2 cups chopped onions
8 cups water
Bring to a boil. Cover and let simmer.
USING LATEX OR RUBBER GLOVES cut up the following;
3-12 hot banana peppers
4-16 jalapeno peppers
4 or more red chili peppers
12-25 red cayenne peppers
3-8 habenera peppers (be especially careful with these)
Place them in the pot. Be sure to cook in a well ventilated area, as the steam might well hurt. Cook 1-2 hours until all vegetables are soft.
Remove the pot from heat, and using a blender or wet-food processor, run the mixture through the blender to remove all lumps and liquify the remaining pieces.
Once the mixture is blended, pour it through a strainer. Using a metal spoon or similar item, press the liquid through the mesh, being careful not to let through the seeds or other pieces (like skins) of the peppers. Place this liquid mixture in another temporary bowl large enough to hold it.
Once the pot is empty, rinse thoroughly to make sure no seeds or skins remain in the pot. Pour the liquid back into the pot and cook over low heat for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally, until volume is reduced by half.
It does not matter if you add additional spices to this sauce - no one will taste them anyway. Be sure to place this in glass jars and LABEL CLEARLY AND CAREFULLY. It will appear to be a form of ketchup, but this stuff will be so potent that a tablespoon or two will create firewalker chili.
WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT STORE THIS IN PLASTIC SQUEEZE BOTTLES LIKE STORE-BOUGHT OR HOT-DOG STAND KETCHUP APPEARS IN. IT WOULD CERTAINLY HARM SMALL CHILDREN.
I'm serious. You know how hot this stuff is? Most peppers affect the tongue differently (or at least, they do mine). This sauce isn't a "slow-burn" type of sauce - it's more The Marines Have Hit The Beach. Except this stuff is "The Entire Corps Of Marines Has Hit The Beach." Your tongue will not like it, unless you appreciate very spicy foods.
How hot is it really? Well, I had some on a burger. TWO HOURS LATER, after milk, peanut butter, and other tongue-friendly things (like ice cream), I kissed my wife. Her lips burned, painfully, from the after-effects left on my own.
And yes, it burns twice. I'll leave it up to you to figure that out.
Why would I make something so hot that I could likely clear my neighborhood with a quarter-cup? Something that is a class-five biohazard unless properly labeled and stored? Something that in a slightly different formula can be used to subdue unruly people (the burning ingredient in the habernero pepper, capiscum, I believe it's spelled, is something like 800 on the "ouch that's spicy" scale - the stuff they make most pepper sprays out of hits 250-300, if I remember right)?
Why do we climb Mount Everest?