JAS_OH1
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Recently my nephew's wife was diagnosed with gestational diabetes (in her 7th month of pregnancy) and now she has to watch her sugar intake until after the baby is born. I was looking online and saw that a 12-14 oz. bottle of no sugar added ketchup can cost anywhere from $4 to as much as $8. Whoa! I did buy her a bottle though (as well as some no sugar added barbecue sauce), but it got me thinking: how hard can it be to make a ketchup without adding sugar or high fructose corn syrup? I started looking at recipes online. Some of them call for cloves, some call for allspice, and there were a variety of other spices and seasonings for various recipes that had me wondering, so I decided to try to come up with something that contained some of those seasonings that seemed the most appealing to me. I used Stevia for my sweetener since it's plant based and made the most sense to me. Oh, and while I was doing my research, I was totally taken aback at how much hidden sugar is in regular ketchup. Yes, tomatoes have some sugar naturally, but there can be up to 4 grams of added sugar in a single serving of ketchup!
Some recipes I looked at called for using fresh tomatoes and some recipes listed canned whole or crushed tomatoes. It's winter here so no homegrown tomatoes on hand, and with canned whole or crushed tomatoes, there would be pureeing and straining involved, so I went with something a little different: canned tomato sauce! The crockpot (AKA slow cooker) made this task easier, as there is a long process of cooking down and reducing the tomato sauce to make ketchup. No cloves or allspice here, though I did end up using a little cinnamon.
So here's what I came up with. I used it on my cheeseburger at dinner last night and also for dunking fries, and although it wasn't nearly as sweet as regular ketchup, I actually think I prefer this. I don't have any sugar issues currently, but it might be beneficial to cut out some of those unnecessary hidden sugars if I can find an alternative that doesn't contain them and tastes good.
If you try this recipe, you might decide to add a little more of this and a little less of that, but recipes are generally adaptable and should be tailored to each individual's taste. Give it a go!
INGREDIENTS:
1 28 oz can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar but white would work well)
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp of stevia
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 pinch of cinnamon
INSTRUCTIONS:
In a small slow cooker, combine all ingredients and cook on high heat without the lid for approximately 3 hours, stirring and scraping the bottom of the cooker about once every 1/2 hour. Adjust seasonings as needed and cook on low for additional reducing of the mixture if necessary. Cool and put in an airtight bowl and keep in the refrigerator until ready to use. Your ketchup is ready to spread on your burger buns or dip your fries, onion rings, or other foods you enjoy eating with ketchup!
Notes: best if used within 3 weeks but can be frozen for future use.
Some recipes I looked at called for using fresh tomatoes and some recipes listed canned whole or crushed tomatoes. It's winter here so no homegrown tomatoes on hand, and with canned whole or crushed tomatoes, there would be pureeing and straining involved, so I went with something a little different: canned tomato sauce! The crockpot (AKA slow cooker) made this task easier, as there is a long process of cooking down and reducing the tomato sauce to make ketchup. No cloves or allspice here, though I did end up using a little cinnamon.
So here's what I came up with. I used it on my cheeseburger at dinner last night and also for dunking fries, and although it wasn't nearly as sweet as regular ketchup, I actually think I prefer this. I don't have any sugar issues currently, but it might be beneficial to cut out some of those unnecessary hidden sugars if I can find an alternative that doesn't contain them and tastes good.
If you try this recipe, you might decide to add a little more of this and a little less of that, but recipes are generally adaptable and should be tailored to each individual's taste. Give it a go!
INGREDIENTS:
1 28 oz can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar but white would work well)
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp of stevia
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 pinch of cinnamon
INSTRUCTIONS:
In a small slow cooker, combine all ingredients and cook on high heat without the lid for approximately 3 hours, stirring and scraping the bottom of the cooker about once every 1/2 hour. Adjust seasonings as needed and cook on low for additional reducing of the mixture if necessary. Cool and put in an airtight bowl and keep in the refrigerator until ready to use. Your ketchup is ready to spread on your burger buns or dip your fries, onion rings, or other foods you enjoy eating with ketchup!
Notes: best if used within 3 weeks but can be frozen for future use.
Last edited:
) did a half baked online nutrition course and set herself up as a nutritionist. When I talked to her I realised her knowledge was poor, extremely superficial.
