Making Ketchup and Mustard
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Summer will be here before you know it, and soon we will all be firing up the grill to cook up burgers and dogs. Why not get a little bougie and serve them with some homemade ketchup and mustard?
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Homemade Vs Store-Bought
Did you know that store-bought ketchup can be up to 24% sugar? Usually in the form of high fructose corn syrup. And often the sugar-free ones aren't unsweetened, they just use fake sweeteners instead. The ingredient list also shows "Natural Flavor", whatever that is.
And while the ingredient list on a common yellow mustard doesn't look too bad, there is that pesky "natural flavor" again. I really wish they would just tell us what they're putting in it. It might be fine, but how do we know if they don't tell us?
Environmental Working Group
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a great resource for evaluating store-bought food, cosmetics, and even organic vs non-organic produce. I did a quick check to see how they ranked the top ketchup and mustard brands.
EWG uses a scale of 1 (great) to 10 (worst). French's Yellow Mustard ranked 5 due to the unidentified natural flavor, while Heinz Ketchup ranked 6 due to the natural flavor and high sugar content.
Does this mean store-bought ketchup and mustard are horrible for you? No! But it does make me think, "hey, why not make my own and see how we like them?"
Ketchup Recipe
I found an inspirational recipe HERE, but I made just a couple of small tweaks because the recipe called for more sweetener than I was interested in using.
Ingredients
6oz can tomato paste
1-2 TBSP honey
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup water
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisking until smooth.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring often.
Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Transfer to a covered container and refrigerate.
The original recipe said to use it within 7 days.
When I make this again, I will likely reduce the vinegar and increase the water a little. Overall, the ketchup was a little more vinegary than I like, which could be because I drastically reduced the amount of sweetener.
I will also likely add a little bit of spice, because that's how I roll.
Ketchup Variations
Add a little spice by adding sriracha or cayenne pepper to taste.
Grate in some fresh garlic using a microplane. Maybe grate in some fresh onion too!
Substitute some of your tomato paste with sun-dried tomato paste.
Add 1/2 tsp chili powder.
Yellow Mustard Recipe
I found THIS recipe.
Ingredients
1 cup water
3/4 cup yellow mustard powder
3/4 tsp coarse salt (if using table salt, use about half as much)
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp garlic puree *
1/8 tsp paprika
1/2 cup white vinegar
* Mince 1-2 cloves of garlic onto a cutting board, add a little sprinkle of salt, then mash with the side of a knife until very smooth or grate it on a microplane.
Instructions
Place all ingredients EXCEPT vinegar in a saucepan. (Avoid using a cast-iron or aluminum pan)
Whisk until smooth, then heat over low to medium-low heat.
Stir often until it begins to bubble and slowly thicken. This took me about 20 minutes.
Original recipe note - open a window and/or use your stove vent. I didn't have any issues.
Whisk in the vinegar and continue cooking until it's slightly thinner than store-bought mustard, as it will thicken as it cools (about 10 minutes more).
Remove from heat, transferring the pan to a cool burner.
Once cooled to room temperature, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 months. Tip - label with an expiration date so you remember when the 3 months are up!
The mustard flavor will mellow over those 3 months.
Mustard Variations
Add 1/2 tsp horseradish to the finished mustard.
Stir in 1 TBSP of honey as the mustard is cooling.
Add whole mustard seeds. Soak about 1/4 cup mustard seeds in a mixture of 1/4 cup vinegar and 1/4 cup water for 12-24 hours. They will soak up the liquid and become soft. Add the mustard at the same time you add the vinegar.
Substitute the 1 cup of water with your favorite beer.
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