I almost exclusively use puree for everything including sauce.
It doesn't take long to cook down and seeds get bitter.
That's the reason they are removed from chilies too before hydrating and cooking.
Tomato ketchup isn't hard to make.
Ya just gotta get away from what the stuff in the bottle looks like.
Another good ingredient to help thicken it is sweet paprika.
If you have it in stock like I do you will have pounds of it.
The sky is the limit as to what you can concoct.
You'll look back at store bought ketchup and wonder why you've been buying the crap.

I usually use salsa on my morning eggs but have used ketchup in the past. I compared the ingredients from the Costco salsa I use and the Heinz Organic ketchup I currently have in stock. There isn't a lot of difference. The ketchup had more salt and sugar and the salsa had a larger variety of spices. I tried putting some of each on the eggs. The ketchup was definitely sweeter and more of a tomato flavor.

I think the sugar is a key ingredient if I want to somewhat duplicate the flavor of traditional ketchup. Honey will definitely be in my first ketchup experiment. And yes I have a lot of paprika and that is a definite yes. Also onion powder and dry mustard. Allspice is a definite maybe because it shows up in a lot of ketchup recipes. I don't know or have a feeling for its flavor profile and have none in stock (maybe some hiding behind a large selection of spices sitting on a shelf).

I think tomato puree, vinegar and sugar make up the core of ketchup. Spices are a bit more tricky to figure out.

It is clear to me I shouldn't start with a large batch. Try a small amount and learn from my mistakes.

Some common spices include onions, allspice, coriander, cloves, cumin, garlic, mustard, paprika and sometimes celery, cinnamon, or ginger.

Just be careful what puree you buy and stay away from stuff made by conagra.
You don't want to end up getting something from China either.
Cento has been my favorite brand for awhile.
One well known brand isn't really puree.
It's water and tomato paste.
I really don't know what the laws are on labeling when it comes to this stuff.
If you didn't look at the video please do.

I've had to be cautious with sugar and salt intake for several years, and that was a factor in expanding my garden. Processed tomato products were among the first foods to get booted. Years went by without a drop of ketchup. I found a brand of jarred lower sugar pasta sauce but it was very expensive. I had to switch to mustard for burgers, fries, etc.

Eventually when I felt better, I bought a small bottle of Heinz sugar free ketchup. It was sooo expensive. It tasted very good , much more tomatoey than regular ketchup. My son liked it too much and gulped it down despite my request to leave it for me. Needless to say for the price, it was the only bottle purchased. Now that he is grown and I have a choice, need to resist temptation before I take it for granted.

Sometimes a small taste bite with ketchup slips by me, and I agree it is much sweeter than I remember in the last 2 or 3 years. McDonalds ketchup is almost like candy.

- Lisa

Heinz sugar free ketchup $6.99 29 oz at Ralphs 150 mg sodium

Organic Ketchup Reduced Sugar & Sodium- 19.5oz- Good & Gather $3.19 at Target added sugar 1 gram(total 2 grams) sodium 70 mg

Simple Truth 50% Less Sugar & Sodium Organic Tomato Ketchup 39 oz $4.79 at Ralphs sugar 2 grams total sodium 75 mg

sodium and sugar are per serving

Free shipping at Target with $35 order

Muir Glen Organic Tomato Puree 28 oz @ Target $3.59
Ingredients: Organic Tomato Puree (Water, Organic Tomato Paste), Citric Acid.

Muir Glen Organic Tomato Paste 6 oz @ Target $1.29
Ingredients: Organic Tomato Paste, Citric Acid

It is relatively easy to find no added salt and sugar in paste and puree. It is more difficult to find other tomato products with no sugar or salt added.

From the Muir Glen site
https://www.muirglen.com/faqs/

Q: ARE YOUR CANS AND JARS BPA-FREE? AND IF SO, WHAT DO YOU USE INSTEAD?
A: Yes, all Muir Glen cans and jars are non-BPA because they are packaged using a can lining that is made without BPA. We use food-grade or food-safe vinyl liners in our cans. If you prefer, we also offer tomatoes in glass jars.

Q: WHERE ARE MUIR GLEN TOMATOES GROWN AND PRODUCTS PRODUCED?
A: From vine to can, all Muir Glen tomato production takes place in California, USA.

Q: ARE MUIR GLEN TOMATOES GROWN ORGANICALLY?
A: Yes, Muir Glen is committed to helping farmers grow tomatoes organically. All Muir Glen tomatoes are field grown and vine ripened under certified organic practices—without the use of synthetic pesticides or chemical fertilizers, thereby qualifying for the USDA Organic seal. All Muir Glen ingredients are grown by farmers who use methods that strive for a balance with nature and a commitment to sustainability.

Comparing Muir Glen paste and puree which appear to be the same thing one has to ask which is the better deal? It seems to come down to concentrations. How much paste does it to make to make puree?

Using the ingredients listed on the label paste is about 2.5 x as concentrated as puree. At first look paste seems to be the better deal. 8.6 cents per ounce for paste and 12.8 cents per ounce for puree if the paste is adjusted to the same concentration of tomato as the puree. (based on Target prices)

Muir Glen Organic Puree 12.8 cents per oz 3.59 28 oz
Muir Glen Organic Paste 21.5 cents per oz 1.29 6 oz x2.5 = 8.6 cents per oz

paste 20.8 mg sodium per oz
sugar 3.3gr per oz
potassium 208 mg per oz
iron .67 mg per oz

puree 6.4 mg sodium per oz x 3.25 to equal paste
sugar 1.28 gr per oz x 2.57 to equal paste
potassium 114 mg per oz x 1.82 to equal paste
iron .21 mg per oz x 3.19 to equal paste

Some confirmations of the ratio.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/pack ... substitute

How to Substitute Tomato Sauce or Puree for Tomato Paste
You don’t have to dash out to the store if you’re out of tomato paste; tomato sauce and tomato puree are both an excellent substitute.

For every 1 tablespoon of tomato paste needed, use 3 tablespoons of tomato puree or sauce. Add the puree or sauce in place of the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until the puree or sauce has reduced and thickened. You’ll have a similar deep, savory flavor.

A good brand tomato paste is actually good on a hamburger.
Takes the place of the tomato.

@worth1 maybe it can take the place of a store bought tomato, nothing but nothing can take the place of a fresh homegrown heirloom tomato.

It's Beyond Tomato.
Like Beyond Meat.
If you were to air dry an heirloom into paste it would be a highly concentrated heirloom flavor.
Then you could form it into a round disk with some sort of jell to hold its shape.

Big, flavorful beefsteaks, heirlooms make for great delicious sauces and likely would make a great ketchup. Seems like the main and perhaps only advantage of paste tomatoes is that a lot of the moisture has already been removed during the growing and ripening process. The San Marzanos I grew were almost bone dry and practically already paste without much additional processing. I get the idea if it’s hot outside and inside and someone is canning a bunch or sauce and paste they don’t want to spend hours behind the hot stove in a hot kitchen reducing flavorful yet loaded with moisture slicer/beefsteak tomatoes when there’s already tomatoes available that grow, paste tomatoes, with a lot less moisture in them to begin with.

If I was inclined to make ketchup with garden tomatoes I think I’d find the most flavorful non-sauce type tomatoes and use those instead of the in my experience rather unimpressive tasting paste tomatoes. Maybe freeze the slicer or beefsteak tomatoes first and then pour off some or most of the clear liquid as they thaw if I was concerned about processing time. Perhaps reserve the mostly clear and flavorful liquid that’s generated upon thawing to work back into the ketchup if needed or save for some other use.

Xanthan gum will keep it from separating.

@karstopography more an more people are using oxheart tomatoes for sauce these days. They have great flavor, lots of meat and few seeds.

worth1 wrote: ↑Thu Nov 17, 2022 11:37 am Xanthan gum will keep it from separating.

I was going to say the same thing. Xanthan and guar gum are in just about every bottle of sauce of any kind as a thickener.

If I had a choice I would use a mix of home grown slicers. I would pass them through my tomato mill which eats tomatoes as fast as I can feed them. I would reduce in a stainless steel roasting pan in the oven overnight. I have tried stirring in a large sauce pan and using a crockpot but found the oven the best. I would also have to dominate the kitchen which doesn't usually go over well.

But I have to live with my new reality so it's store bought puree and paste for me. I am more concerned about unwanted ingredients like herbicides and insecticides than the most flavorful tomatoes. I will try to support the organic growers because they are less likely to have the unwanted ingredients in their products. Also I support their growing concepts.

I am a little in awe of this topic. I didn't know people ATE enough ketchup to have any real dietary impact, lol. I don't dislike it, I use it occassionally with Mayo on a rare hamburger, dip some fries in it occassionally, but I don't cook fries at home so I use whatever the restaurant has. I have thrown away multiple bottles simply because they expired. But most people I have seen use it, use like a tablespoon at a time, maybe 2 tablespoons. Do you all follow diets that are so low in sugar that the sugar in a condiment like Ketchup would really impact your diet and health? Honestly, I would bet for the vast majority of people, what you put the ketchup on is much worse for your health than the ketchup.

I've been forced as a child to eat fish so muddy fishy and nasty only a bottle of ketchup could kill the taste.
And that was holding my nose too.
Then there are the people that will dump half a bottle in a bowl of chili.

@Sue_CT if you have ever had a heart issue or diabetes and had to attend one of your hospitals classes on how to manage your life with these, you should hear how the nurses there hound you to stay away from the forbidden condiments due to their sugar and sodium content. If you are on a restrictive diet using condiments adds up to be quite a bit throughout the week. Some people use them at every meal. So yes, to the medical field, condiments are a very big deal.

Well, I am in the medical field and took care of MANY people on restrictive diets. But I didn't realize many people used it them that extent Also, there are varying degrees of restriction in diets. For example some with heart disease and blood pressure issues that were mild were ordered "no added salt" diets, others 2 gm Na diets. Mild diabetics might be ordered "no concentrated sweets" or 2000 calorie or 1200 calorie diabetic diets. There highly insulin dependent diabetics and those that were just diet controlled or those who only had to take oral medication. We occassionally ran into people who didn't like the low salt or low sugar or low fat diets and would try to make them taste better by covering them in salt or condiments. Those could be problems. I am sure that there must be people out there for whom a squirt of ketchup on a hamburg would be a problem, but for almost anyone on that type of severe restrictive diet, the burger and the bun are bigger problems than the squirt of ketchup. I have aslo seen the food posted by some on this thread that they make, and believe me, ketchup is not going make a huge difference. That said, I am sure there are some who are very consicous of everything they eat but I know that is not the norm in this country. I would have been very happy if I could just get people on restrictive diets to read labels and avoid high salt high fat foods or concentrated sweets. So again, a little ketchup was not what I worried about unless it was someone who really went overboard with the condiments. I wonder if being so strict in those classes actually caused more people just ignore it all.

If you happen to love ketchup and want to make your own for taste reasons, great. If you follow that strict a diet, also great. But eating Hotdogs and hamburgers with buns (your body turns carbs into sugar), and fries and then worrying about the salt and sugar in a tablespoon of ketchup, you might be focusing on the wrong things. JMHO.