Reviewed: Sep. 3, 2011

I made a few changes to this like most folks. I used 6 quarts of tomatoes from my garden, and used what I had on hand in rough proportion to the greater amount of tomatoes. Clove oil (6 drops-used in Christmas hard candy) and 1 1/2 caps anise extract for the fennel, star anise and cloves. 2 heaping Tbl minced garlic. Balsamic vinegar for the red wine vinegar. Brown sugar for white. It was way too sweet at first, but I left the sugar out of the 2nd batch and mixed them together. Simmered for about 6 hours and it is STUPENDOUS!

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Reviewer:

Marte

Reviewed: Oct. 15, 2010

Absolutely by far the best ketchup recipe ever! Thank you!!

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Reviewer:

sandycooky

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: San Luis Obispo, California, USA

Living In: Shingletown, California, USA

Reviewed: Oct. 15, 2010

I remember homemade ketchup from my childhood and YUCK. Being all grown up now, I decided to try this recipe and it is wonderful. I replaced the fennel with fennel seed, the star anise with anise extract and the cloves with allspice. Original recipe says it makes 16 servings - so figure ea serving is approx 1 T. I tripled it without a problem. I also put everything in my crockpot on high until it was heated through. then on low WITHOUT a lid - cooked it overnight then put everything through a sieve in the morning and back into the crock pot on low until I had the desired thickness I wanted. I plan on making it again over the winter with the tomato juice I canned this summer. Ummm.

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Reviewer:

ThePittyRanch

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Massillon, Ohio, USA

Living In: Fairfield, Idaho, USA

Reviewed: Sep. 16, 2010

I've made this recipe twice now. The first time, I couldn't get star anise in my local store and so substituted a couple of drops of licorice extract. The result was a great tasting ketchup with a full-bodied country ketchup flavour--better than the commercially bottled stuff. The second time I made it, I actually had the requires star anise and made the recipe extactly as indicated. The result was that the anise flavour was not subtle enough. If you like that flavour in ketchup, then it's a very tasty sauce. Personally, I prefer my first version without the star anise, but with a few drops of the extract.

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Reviewer:

Jaydough

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Reviewed: Sep. 1, 2009

This is awesome!! I make Pho (Vietnamese noodle soup. I use star anise for that dish as well. My wife doesn't care too much for ketchup. She loves this. I am going to try and tripple the batch so that I can do some canning. I had fresh basil leaves from my garden. That added a twist. Excellent recipe!!!

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Reviewer:

Mick

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, USA

Living In: Goshen, Indiana, USA

Reviewed: May 26, 2009

This is fabulous! I used fennel seeds and it was still good. Will defintely make again.

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Reviewer:

KARISLR

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Powell, Tennessee, USA

Reviewed: Aug. 22, 2008

No, sir...I didn't like it. Way too much fennel/anise flavor; aside from that, it was just kind of like tomato paste. I didn't have fennel pods, so I used a teaspoon of fennel seeds instead - maybe that was the problem. Still, the texture and the overall spirit of the thing just aren't what I wanted. Next time, I'll use a more traditional ketchup recipe.

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Reviewer:

GREENIE2600

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Reviewed: Sep. 28, 2007

i've made this ketchup three times already and anyone who tries it, loves it! instead of the fennel bulb, i use ground fennel and replace the salt with sea salt. i've never strained it because the consistency has always been fine. every homemade ketchup i've tried has been a bit thick so i don't mind it. and remember to dump out your crappy store bought ketchup and use the empty bottle for your awesome home-brewed one!

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Reviewer:

KOOLBRICK

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Wall Township, New Jersey, USA

Living In: Brooklyn, New York, USA

Reviewed: Jul. 4, 2006

It's not Heinz but if you want to try to make your own ketchup this is the recipe to try. It's very easy to make and it has a great taste. I just wish it was as smooth as the commercial ketchup (it has an applesauce texture to it). Maybe putting it through some cheese cloth might help.

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Reviewer:

GOTFOOD?

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Canton, Ohio, USA

Living In: Germantown, Tennessee, USA

Reviewed: Apr. 10, 2006

This turned out better than I expected. The flavor is a little strange... but in a good way, if that makes any sense! I personally don't think it is anything like regular ketchup; I thought it was almost like a spicy savory apple sauce. Anyway, I removed the cloves and star anise before blending it, and I had to push it through the sieve because it was so thick. (PS If, like me, you don't want to buy large and expensive amounts of spices you don't use very often, check out your Indian grocer - I buy a 1.5oz bag of Mixed Spices, including cinnamon sticks, cardamon, cloves, star anise and peppercorns, for $1.59. Bargain!)

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