Homemade Ketchup

I haven't had ketchup for over 3 months. In fact, the only "dip"/salad dressing I have used in months is homemade ranch dressing (I'll post that recipe later). I was baking up some French fries for a snack this afternoon and I decided I needed something to dip them in. So I whipped up some ketchup that is sweetened with maple syrup instead of the usual HFCS (high fructose corn syrup). Hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon raw organic apple cider vinegar (I use Braggs)
1 Tablespoon organic blackstrap molasses
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (if you don't want your ketchup to have a little zip to it, omit this)
1 1/2 Tablespoons Organic Maple Syrup
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried onion powder (or minced dried onion)
3/4 cup water
1/2 Tablespoon organic flax oil
1, 6 ounce can of organic tomato paste

Combine all ingredients into a small sauce pan. Stir over medium heat just until warm enough to blend thoroughly. Do not boil or simmer. When it is completely blended, pour it into a glass jar to store in the refrigerator. Recipe yields just under one pint.

 

 

This recipe does not taste "just like" store bought. It almost has a taste that is a cross between BBQ sauce and ketchup (from the molasses and crushed red pepper). To get that super sweet ketchup taste you would need to add more sweetener to it and we just don't use that much "sweet" around here. I had both my kids dip their fingers in to taste test it. They both immediately shoved their fingers back in for seconds before I could move the jar away from them. So I say that it is "kid approved"!