R E C I P E S

Grown-Up Ketchup

By Edward Behr

This ketchup contains no added sugar at all. It began with the idea that during their late August peak our garden tomatoes (from the variety Cosmonaut Volkov) might be so sweet that they didn’t need sugar and yet would still make a recognizable ketchup. In truth, although the ketchup is definitely sweet, it’s a pretty grown-up condiment.

Like this recipe, the early ones for tomato ketchup, such as those in Andrew Smith’s definitive, deep-diving book, Pure Ketchup, didn’t call for sugar. The very first English and American ketchups, in the 18th century, had no tomato either. Rather than being sweet at all, they were based on anchovies, mushrooms, walnuts, or other ingredients. Tomato ketchup became important only in the 19th century.

When I made the recipe below, I took the tomato purée from a much larger amount I was canning for winter use. I had merely quartered all the fruit and cooked it until it was completely soft, then passed it through my tomato press. The consistency was still very liquid. If you don’t have the sweetest high season tomatoes, you might want to add a little sugar. And if you like heat, you might want to add hot red pepper or additional black pepper. Store the ketchup in the refrigerator.

2 quarts (2 liters) cooked and strained tomato purée

1 pint (500 ml) cider vinegar

2 big cloves garlic, finely chopped

4 anchovy filets, cured in salt, cleaned

3 teaspoons (20 gr) salt

¾ teaspoon ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon ground clove

Combine all the ingredients in a big, wide pan, and cook them to a saucelike consistency that appeals to you, which may take an hour or a little more. The anchovies will melt away, the vinegar will lose its raw edge, and the flavors will slowly come together.