MockGrownup Ketchup

So you know you have that dirty little secret. Ketchup. You secretly want to slather your scrambled eggs, your hashbrowns, your french fries, your cottage cheese... (okay, not me on that part, but I am sure someone does) but the tomatoey goodness is marred with High Fructose corn syrup and preservatives that you pretend you don't care about but secretly dread because you think it MAY turn you into a zombie after you die of natural causes (big deep breath in).Okay maybe that last part is totally me.

The Mockhomestead is having a barbeque tonight. That means grilled stuff, and my mom coming over. My ketchup bottle was about.... 10 years old and the stuff left at the bottom looked alright but I wasn't going to risk it. So I made new ketchup. A delicious ketchup gleaned from a few places on the web (hello hillbillyhousewife and that instant gratification girl.. I have lost her web addy) and added a few of my own touches. and Volia, yummy ketchup.

So, what I did.
Washed out that old ketchup bottle with hot water and soap. Took off the labels, and let it dry in the drainer.

I opened

(3) 6 oz cans of tomato paste (ALDI! woot!)

and dumped them into a 2 quart sauce pan. I saved one can and didn't put it into the recycling bin yet.

to this red yummy goop, I added

3/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
1/4 of a cup of organic sugar
1/2 tsp of Molasses
(substitute 1/4 cup of Brown sugar for the sugar and molasses if yours isn't all clumpy like mine and I didn't feel like microwaving it again to soften it)
1/4 cup of honey
1 tsp of RealSalt (use whatever you have, this was just what was right there)
1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon (you can put a stick in a muslin bag if you don't have any ground up just take it out when you are done cooking)
1/4 tsp of ground cloves (you can stick a few whole cloves in a muslin bag and add that if you don't have any ground or just leave it out, whatever)
a pinch of cayenne pepper
a pinch of allspice
a pinch of dried mustard powder
a pinch of dried garlic or garlic powder

Whisked this together and turned the burner on medium high heat until it started to bubble. Remember that one can? I filled it up with water, and whisked it in. Waited for it to bubble again, and did it again, and then again. 3 cans of water. Whisked it until it was bubbling again. I let it bubble for 5 minutes and then took it off of the heat. Tasted it, and was shocked at how delicious it was! I used a funnel and ladled the ketchup into the old bottle and stuck it in the fridge. It's supposed to get better as it sits, though I don't know how that will be possible. It's THAT good.

Now, this should last quite a while if you don't eat it all right away. Vinegar is a natural preservative, as is the sugar and garlic. As long as you don't have any yeasties or mold in the bottle (which surely you don't because you WASHED it, for the love of pete) it should be safe for a long time.