Homemade Apple and Tomato Ketchup for Winter

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   For this recipe, gather the ingredients from the list.

2. Step 2:

   

   Don't forget to get the spices ready.

3. Step 3:

   

   We usually start thinking about making ketchup right in vegetable season—late summer or early fall. That's how it was for me, since this is the best time to pick tomatoes and put them up, when they're fresh, plump, and straight from the garden (as they are for many people). I picked out fleshy, ripe tomatoes. Less-than-perfect tomatoes work for this recipe too—just trim away the bad spots.

4. Step 4:

   

   Wash the tomatoes and run them through a juicer, which gives you clean tomato juice with no pulp left behind.

5. Step 5:

   

   Peel the onion and cut it into quarters. Peel and wash the apples, cut them into quarters too, and remove the cores. Grind the onion and apples to a pulp in a meat grinder or blender.

6. Step 6:

   

   Put the tomato purée and the apple-onion pulp into a roomy pot big enough to cook the ketchup. Stir, and set the pot over medium heat. As soon as the mixture comes to a boil, add the salt, sugar, vinegar, cinnamon, cloves, and ground pepper. For a spicier ketchup, you can also add a chili pepper, ground together with the onion and apple.

7. Step 7:

   

   Stir everything well and cook the ketchup down to the thickness you want, stirring regularly. It took me two hours and yielded 1 liter (about 1 quart) of finished ketchup. Ladle the hot ketchup into sterilized jars of a suitable size and seal with sterilized lids. Half-liter (1-pint) screw-top jars, like the ones mayonnaise comes in, are handy here. Turn the hot jars upside down and wrap them up. Let them cool completely.

8. Step 8:

   

   Store the finished ketchup in the fridge (to use soon) or the cellar (for the winter). Save a little to taste—it's perfect with main dishes, especially meat.