Wellie's Tomato Ketchup

Why is this carried out? I have seen it written before but don't understand the science behind it.

..oh and Wellie's Tomato Ketchup is the top drawer stuff

You have to maintain the temperature above a certain point, for a specific length of time to kill off bugs. As tomatoes have some acidity, you can do it in a water-bath, lower acidity foods have to be done under pressure to get a higher temp. It's all about botulism

We've tried many recipes for tomato ketchup, but the kids 'don't like it' coz it doesn't taste like Heinz.... Heathens

That's a gorgeous sounding recipe. I hope I can get around to making it in the next few weeks (won't be with nice home grown tomatoes though) as it would be lovely for bbqs in the summer...

The vine ripened tomatoes I'm buying from Tesco at the moment aren't too bad, might be worth a go with them.

Thankfully, you took the words out of my mouth Sarzwix, as I've got very little energy left after the marathon of a day I've had today (!) to explain complicated stuff that my brain wouldn't understand?! And perfectly explained, if I might say so.

Rhona - may I encourage you to wait until you have a 'glut' of homegrown tomatoes to try this recipe out? The sheer quantity of 'very' ripe tomatoes that's needed for this would cost you a fortune in shop-bought Tommies, and I promise you, it won't even taste remotely as gorgeous as the recipe suggests if you don't use your own tomatoes.
Honestly.

Sarzwix - I promise you. If your kids ever tasted this homemade ketchup, they'd never touch that Heinz stuff ever again. Unfortunately, the recipe is the only thing I can supply you all with, as the actual ketchup is like Gold Dust at Holly Cottage, and NEVER EVER enters the mouths of anyone other than Trousers and myself. Not even The Piglets....
Edit: My Elderly Neighbour would DEFINITELY class this as 'Swanking', but on the subject of Homegrown Tomatoes, Trousers and I have got five ripened tomatoes left to eat yet from our Tommies grown in the summer of 2008.
I think that's

I totally agree Wellie, things like homemade sauces & ketchups should definitely made in summer, with your very own tomatoes. You would have to use the most expensive tomatoes in the place to come close to that homegrown flavour...

If you think the bratz will like it, then I will definitely try again

As for your swanking, well, Swank On m' dear I must admit to being very smug every time I get a jar of home-made pasta sauce out of the cupboard! And there's still about 10 jars left

Ooh, can you share the recipe for the pasta sauce please Sarzwix?

Ummm, I'll try... It's bit 'in-my-head-ish'

Because I loathe skinning tomatoes I either put them through my passata making machine (Passata - Pulp Machine - Ascott Country Kitchen) or, roughly chop them, and cook them down for about half an hour then put them through a sieve.
Then to every jugful of tomato pulp, I put one onion, one stick of celery and a couple of cloves of garlic; soften the onions, celery, garlic in a big pan with nice olive oil, then add the tomatoes and simmer. I usually have a BIG panful (my jam pan!), so; while it's simmering away, I go out and collect fresh herbs; a good handful of marjoram/oregano stems, a couple of stems of rosemary, a handful of thyme sprigs, a few sage leaves, 3 or 4 bay leaves and a bit of lovage (if I didn't have enough celery, I use more lovage...)

De-stem and chop up the herbs (except the bay leaves), mix them up well, then mix them into the tomato sauce,a handful at a time til it looks like you have a good distribution, (any excess gets frozen in a little bag), and chuck in the bay leaves.
When the sauce is starting to reduce down to a nice thickness, I start tasting for seasoning - salt, pepper & sugar! (It really depends on how sweet your tomatoes were in the first place to whether/how much sugar is needed, but there's nothing worse than bitter tomato sauce )
When the sauce is almost the thickness I want, then I cut a handful of basil and tear it into the sauce. Few more minutes cooking, then into sterilised preserving jars (the ones with the twp-part lid).

Now, I process them in a pressure canner, for about 15 - 20mins - because I can. If you haven't got one, I think you need to add ciitric acid because you've lowered the acidity by adding all the onions & celery. I'm not sure of the quantity, or the processing time, so I'll have to look it up, and come back to you

The sauce iin our house is labelled as Dolwixio, coz it makes the kids chuckle

Sarah, I'm a bit tempted by the passata maker you've tipped. I use tons of tomatoes - love them - and usually don't mind skinning them but always looking for an easy option! Thanks for that!

Just a quickie question...if you don't have the facilities to do the whole boiling waterbath thing...how long approx will both recipes last in jars?would I be better off carrying on with freezing?

The pasta sauce one would deffo need freezing if you couldn't 'process' it in one way or the other.
But a 'waterbath' doesn't really need facilities as such, just a pan deep enough to put the jars in water up to their necks, with a folded tea-towel or something in the bottom to stop them jiggling around.

We've still got £70 of christmas pennies to spend....was gonna get me some new boots that don't slip in the ice(or on wet leaves!!!Tread totally gone!!)....but maybe Ebay will be my friend tomorrow!!

go on then I will ask. having perused the site for tommie sauce recipes I saw the boiling water bath thing and ok. what is it? is it some thing like a jam pot cooker thing?. how do you know you have kept the temp right? is it like a pressure cooker? please help and enlighten me. I am expecting the usual glut of tommies and looking for something to do with and I thought tommie sauce as the kids use it on everything, heathens, but seeing some of the things needed I am beginnng to wonder. tommie soup is easy by the sound of it. any help or advice would be welcome. good luck everyone.

Hi Wellie (or somebody),
I just came across this and fancy trying it tomorrow as glut has started! Is the mace important as I don't have any and too far to shops just for that.

Thanks

Hi, Scottishnewbie!
I have not been on this forum for completely months and months and months, so it was a 'fluke' that I happened upon your question, but this is a VERY good forum, and you should continue to be here and ask questions?? It's just that I am up to my proverbial armpits in a new fruit and vegetable garden - and as talented as I would LIKE to be (!), it is just NOT possible for me to be in lots of places at once, because I desperately want to get my new productive Potager Kitchen Garden up and running by next Spring??
And the answer to your question, is that Mace is NOT an important addition to this recipe. In fact I don't own any Mace in my Herby-Spicey Cupboard.......