Ketchup!

8 lbs of tomatoes ( about 24 medium size ones if you don’t want to weight them). Core and quarter them.

Dump in a large, large nonstick pot along with:

1/2 cup chopped onions

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Heat to boiling and cook covered for 15 minutes, stirring often so all the tomatoes go soft.

Take a hand blender and blend up the tomato goodness until it’s as smooth as you can.

Press the tomato mixture through some kind of sieve/food mill or strainer. Discard this part:

Keep all the great tomato juice and dump it back in the nonstick pot. Stir in 3/4 cup of sugar.

Stick a ruler into the tomato juice and pull out and check the height.

Now turn on the heat until it boils. Then reduce the heat so it can simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. OR until the mixture is reduced by half. This is where that ruler trick comes in handy. Stir occasionally so that nothing starts to burn or stick where it’s not suppose to.

Once it’s almost ready, and in another smaller pot heat the following to a boil:

1 cup white vinegar

1 1/2 inches of stick cinnamon, broken up

1 1/2 tsp whole cloves

1 tsp celery seeds

Once it boils remove from heat, strain everything through a sieve and throw out the spices. Add 1 TBS of salt the vinegar mixture then add it to the tomato juice that’s been cooking for the past 2 hours.

Simmer this for 30 minutes or until it thickens up more to your liking. Stir often.

To Can: Use half-pint or pint jars. Leave a 1/2’’ head space. Screw lids on and process in boiling-water for 15 minutes. (Start timing it after the water returns to a boil). Remove from water and allow to cool on wire racks of heat proof surface.

Canned Ketchup….done!!!

~Jess