I noticed the other day that I am low on ketchup but kept putting off buying it until I needed it. My pantry is a bit stuffed and I didn’t want to add anything that would have to sit on the shelf unused.

Then Papa Satyr brought in a pound of date-sized Roma tomatoes, ripe or near ripe, that he wanted to save from the tomato bugs. Then, he did this again and again. Suddenly I had three pounds of tomatoes to use.

I also had a new canning pot I had picked up in the spring in anticipation of needing to preserve things for later use. Last year, I had just used a pot and a pair of tongs  and I can dangerously close to scalding myself a couple of times, so decided to get the right set up.

What to do with my tomatoes?  I could stew them for later use, I supposed, but I already have a fair amount of store-bought canned diced, stewed, and crushed tomatoes because I purchase them in 12-packs.  I make a lot of tomato based dishes.

<Light bulb appears over my head.>

I could make ketchup. So, first I went over to Wikipedia for a cursory tour of the history of ketchup, armed with my knowledge they were not always made with tomatoes, but started as an Eastern fish sauce. Not that I intended such a thing, but a girl likes to know what came before.
Somewhere in the 1800s, tomato became the favorite, displacing oysters, mussels, mushrooms, and walnuts as the main ingredient of various catsups, though I am considering making a small batch of the walnut variety in the future.

As I wanted to get back to the roots of tomato ketchup, and because I have an obsession with the founding fathers, I turned to The Virginia Housewife by Mary Randolph (relative of Thomas Jefferson).

Her recipe called for a peck of tomatoes, salt, half a pint of chopped onions, a quarter ounce of mace, and whole black pepper. I like my ketchup sweet and tangy and like the modern improvements of additional spicing, plus I changed the process to do in my slow cooker because I am lazy, but it all started with Mary Randolph.

My was made of baby tomatoes so I skipped strainer the seeds and skins, instead just blending them in. That is up to your preference. Then, I canned it. Yay.

Easy Homemade Ketchup (Basics, Sauces) Makes 3-1/2 pints

• 3 lbs ripe tomatoes
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp wildflower honey (keto: 1/3 tsp liquid stevia)
• 1-1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp ground mace
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp celery seed
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1. Place all ingredients in slow cooker
2. Cook 10 hours on low.
3. Mash and cool.
4. Sieve, if you will.
5. Blend on high.
6. Pour into hot jars and seal.
7. Place in boiling water to cover in canning rack.
8. Boil 15 minutes
9. Remove and let sit 12 hours.

Jars may be frozen or store in cool, dark pantry. Refrigerate if opened or proper deal was not achieved.

I came to my own rescue this morning when I wanted to serve my leftover potato pancakes but Papa Satyr had eaten all the sour cream the night before with the tamales that will feature in a subsequent post. Silly Hattie…I know better than to let him make his own plate.