Grandma's Homemade Ketchup Recipe (2024)

June 19, 2018October 30, 2023

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Grandma’s Homemade Ketchup can be made with fresh tomatoes and onions or canned tomato juice for a condiment that will remind you of the good old days. With a mixture of cinnamon and ground cloves, this catsup – as Grandma called it – is delicious on everything.

This is our grandma’s favorite condiment. Growing up, we ate it on everything, even homemade dumplings. It has a unique flavor from cinnamon and ground cloves. To this day, every recipe that has ground cloves reminds us of Grandma and this recipe.

Old-Fashioned Catsup

Barbara decided to try her hand at making Grandma’s catsup (that’s what we grew up calling it) earlier this year. One bite of this took us right back to our childhood.

Grandma made her homemade ketchup from garden fresh tomatoes. She would boil down the tomatoes and onions until she had 2 gallons of fresh tomato juice. You can definitely do this and then just add the rest of the ingredients.

Since tomatoes were out of season when Barbara decided to make Grandma’s Homemade Ketchup, she used canned tomato juice. Grandma’s version was a thinner, runnier texture; while Barbara’s has more of a consistency of the ketchup you buy at the store.

Please note, all Barbara had was whole cloves which she ground herself. You’ll notice the flecks of cloves in our photos.

Ingredient List

• Fresh Ripe Tomatoes
• Fresh Onion
• Salt
• Ground Cinnamon
• Ground Clove
• White Vinegar

How to Make Homemade Ketchup

Step by Step Instructions

1. Cook tomato and onion in large pot or large saucepan until onions are translucent.
2. Run juice through a sieve and discard onions.
3. Add juice back to pot and mix in salt, cinnamon, cloves and vinegar.
4. Boil until reduced by one-third.
5. Mix together sugar and cornstarch and then add to the liquid mixture.
6. Turn down heat and whisk constantly until thickened.
7. Cool and then refrigerate.

Full recipe for gourmet ketchup is at the bottom of this post.

Recipe FAQs

• Isn’t it cool that old fashioned ketchup is really a gourmet ketchup?
• The distinct flavors of this homemade catsup are ground cloves and ground cinnamon.
• You can use fresh garden tomatoes or take a shortcut by starting with canned tomato juice.
• This homemade catsup stores great in the refrigerator.
• Try using the leftover homemade catsup in pulled pork like this Crock Pot Sweet Pulled Pork Recipe.

Small Batch Ketchup Recipe

You can also do a smaller quantity if you are only wanting 1 quart of ketchup. Here’s the ingredient measurements for the smaller batch of Grandma’s Homemade Ketchup:

• 46 oz. tomato juice
• 1/2 onion, shredded
• 2 Tablespoons salt
• 1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/2 Tablespoon ground cloves
• 3/4 cup vinegar
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch

Why is my homemade ketchup not thickening?

If your homemade ketchup is not thickening, it could be due to a few reasons.

The first thing to check is your patience. Make sure you have cooked it for a sufficient amount of time. The reduction process takes a long time; let the mixture simmer until it reaches the desired thickness.

Secondly, the ratio of cornstarch to liquid in your recipe may be off. If you added too much liquid or too little cornstarch, it may not thicken properly.

Lastly, be sure you whisk constantly while the ketchup is simmering on low heat. This will help the cornstarch to activate and thicken the mixture.

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