Those recommendations make sense when given to diabetics, people who are overweight, with most types of heart disease, high blood pressure, etc. Some doctors just tell everyone that. They figure no one eats healthy enough. Others are more selective. You don't necessarily need to reduce fat intake because you an arrhythmia like atrial fibrillation, even though it is considered a heart disease. But if you have high cholesterol, a history of heart attacks, stents, arteriosclerosis, etc. you should. The problem with fried chicken is not that it it is toxic and in someone with healthy cholesterol level it should be fine occassionally. Salmon is very good for you, but you shouldn't eat enough to get mercury poisoning. Once again it comes down to personal choice and risk tolerance as well as your health and circumstances.

Regarding the ketchup, homemade almost always tastes better than store bought. I personally use so little it just wouldn't have any real impact for me. YMMV.

Sue_CT wrote: ↑Sat Nov 19, 2022 6:29 pm Wonder why they don't put iodine in coarse kosher salt? We are getting kind of off topic here. I had to look up some of the foods. Potatoes (you need to eat the skin, though), white fish like Cod, Milk, Shrimp, Turkey, Tuna, eggs... I can't I could have guessed most of those. I always think of salt, too. I wonder why they don't put it in any kosher salt?

Because it is used in dry brining.
This process is called kashering.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_brining

I like the idea of making your own ketchup. Little tweaks that we make to our diets, well they're entertaining. It's a learning experience what some things can taste like when made with a few things left out or changed. Sense of taste is to my mind the basis of health, more so when you understand what is in the thing you're eating. We keep our sense healthy by trying new things.
I also understand the issues of having to count up ALL the salt for example in your diet. My mom has that sort of concern so we've done it all to try and help, even a little - we did the ketchup search last year too.
I believe the anti-sugar rage now is trying to compensate for decades of blaming fat for all our health troubles (when sugar was at least equally to blame). Yes there are fads in health care circles, and the 'officials' we hear touting this or that are for the most part a bunch of conformists who don't look deeply into the issues. They are handed a message cut out for them to deliver, why question it. Periodically they get new fads. I take all of that with a grain of salt (iodized of course! ).

Meanwhile though, I've never been a fan of sugar. I just have a more savory taste, most of the time. I do like sweets but don't indulge much. Sugar is like a drug, I prefer to treat it as a 'substance' not to be over abused. There is a price to pay for using it.

My first batch is based on

Ingredients
3/4 cup tomato paste
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup water
2 tbsp onion, diced
Black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
1/8 – 1/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened
https://pblife.org/recipes/apple-cider-ketchup/

I started with
1 can Muir Glen organic tomato paste (6 oz)
1 can Muir Glen organic tomato puree (6 oz) (used paste can to measure), trying to make this easy
1 can apple cider vinegar (6 oz) (more than recipe called for)
1 packet organic apple sauce (3.17 oz) (more than recipe called for but doesn't seem to have enough natural sugar)
2 tablespoon onion powder
2 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon cinnamon

It seemed too thick so I added 4 tablespoons more puree.

Then tasted. Too much vinegar so I added 1 tablespoon honey.

The saucepan I used was too small making it difficult to add more puree or water to reduce the thickness.

Placed product in a pair of pint wide mouth glass canning jars with stainless steel lids which seal better than the common plastic lids and the jar looks better than a labeled salsa jar or squeeze bottle while sitting on the table. Froze one. I prefer storing in glass over plastic. I serve my salsa with a spoon from a glass jar and now same for the ketchup. And it was too thick for a squeeze bottle.

Tried on my morning eggs mixed with some salsa. Too much cinnamon! and too thick. No water separated out like with ketchup.
I stirred in a little RO water and placed in the refrigerator.

Then two days later( alternate between eggs and cereal) I tried it again. This time with no salsa. Consistency was much better, still a bit thicker than ketchup which seems to be a good thing. Still too much cinnamon but didn't notice it as much as the first day.

Now I am using more ketchup. Maybe because I want to use it up so I can make a second batch but I also like the product. Definately not as sweet as the organic Heinz ketchup I have been using which I find too sweet.

For my next batch I will start with a larger pot. I will probably stick with one can puree, one can paste and use water to reduce the thickness. Less cinnamon, maybe more onion and maybe more paprika. I have to be careful about making too many changes. Also maybe a tiny bit of allspice which seems to be a common ingredient. I am going to research ginger because I was reading somewhere about the benefits for regulating blood sugar levels.

Fresh ginger root is such a great spice. I really enjoy the ginger-garlic-cayenne-sesame oil-soysauce group of flavors. I've heard that ginger speeds up metabolism and I think I would agree that it does. Refreshing.
The dried ginger powder OTOH, a friend of mine uses a pinch of that in just about everything. Says it prevents indigestion. IDK but it doesn't seem to disrupt other flavors.

I quick search and ginger is used in a lot of ketchup recipes.

11 Proven Health Benefits of Ginger

Ginger is a flowering plant that originated in Southeast Asia. It’s among the healthiest (and most delicious) spices on the planet.

Here are 11 health benefits of ginger that are supported by scientific research.

1. Contains gingerol, which has powerful medicinal properties
Ginger has a very long history of use in various forms of traditional and alternative medicine. It’s been used to aid digestion, reduce nausea, and help fight the flu and common cold, to name a few of its purposes.

SUMMARY
Ginger is high in gingerol, a substance with powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

2. Can treat many forms of nausea, especially morning sickness
Ginger appears to be highly effective against nausea (3Trusted Source).

SUMMARY
Just 1–1.5 grams of ginger can help prevent various types of nausea, including chemotherapy-related nausea, nausea after surgery, and morning sickness.

3. May help with weight loss
Ginger may play a role in weight loss, according to studies conducted in humans and animals.

SUMMARY
According to studies in animals and humans, ginger may help improve weight-related measurements. These include body weight and the waist-hip ratio.

4. Can help with osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common health problem.

SUMMARY
There are some studies showing ginger to be effective at reducing symptoms of osteoarthritis, especially osteoarthritis of the knee.

5. May drastically lower blood sugars and improve heart disease risk factors
This area of research is relatively new, but ginger may have powerful anti-diabetic properties.

In somewhat encouraging news, a 2019 literature review also concluded that ginger significantly reduced HbA1c in people with type 2 diabetes. However, it also found that ginger had no effect on fasting blood sugar (20).

SUMMARY
Ginger has been shown to lower blood sugar levels and improve various heart disease risk factors in people with type 2 diabetes.

6. Can help treat chronic indigestion
Chronic indigestion is characterized by recurrent pain and discomfort in the upper part of the stomach.

SUMMARY
Ginger appears to speed up emptying of the stomach, which can be beneficial for people with indigestion and related stomach discomfort.

7. May significantly reduce menstrual pain
Dysmenorrhea refers to pain felt during the menstrual cycle.

SUMMARY
Ginger appears to be very effective against menstrual pain when taken at the beginning of the menstrual period.

8. May help lower cholesterol levels
High levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol are linked to an increased risk of heart disease.

SUMMARY
There’s some evidence, in both humans and animals, that ginger can lead to significant reductions in LDL (bad) cholesterol, total cholesterol, and blood triglyceride levels.

9. Contains a substance that may help prevent cancer
Ginger has been studied as an alternative remedy for several forms of cancer.

SUMMARY
Ginger contains the substance gingerol, which appears to have protective effects against cancer. However, more studies are needed.

10. May improve brain function and protect against Alzheimer’s disease
Oxidative stress and chronic inflammation can accelerate the aging process.

SUMMARY
Animal studies suggest that ginger can protect against age-related damage to the brain. It can also help improve brain function in middle-aged women.

11. Can help fight infections
Gingerol can help lower the risk of infections.

SUMMARY
Ginger may help fight harmful bacteria and viruses, which could reduce your risk for infections.

The bottom line
Ginger is loaded with nutrients and bioactive compounds that have powerful benefits for your body and brain.

It’s one of the very few superfoods actually worthy of that term.

multiple snips

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11 ... -of-ginger

I don't recall seeing iodized salt listed as an ingredient in ketchup. It is doubtfull that using a low salt ketchup will deprive you of iodine. If you are concerned about iodine but also concerned about salt intake it might be wise to use low salt ketchup and then add iodized salt another way or eat some of the natural sources of iodine.

What foods provide iodine?
Iodine is found naturally in some foods and is also added to salt that is labeled as “iodized”. You can get recommended amounts of iodine by eating a variety of foods, including the following:

Fish (such as cod and tuna), seaweed, shrimp, and other seafood, which are generally rich in iodine
Dairy products (such as milk, yogurt, and cheese) and eggs, which are also good sources of iodine
Iodized salt, which is readily available in the United States and many other countries*
*Processed foods, such as canned soups, almost never contain iodized salt. In addition, specialty salts, such as sea salt, kosher salt, Himalayan salt, and fleur de sel, are not usually iodized. Product labels will indicate if the salt is “iodized” or provides iodide.

What kinds of iodine dietary supplements are available?
Iodine is available in dietary supplements, usually in the form of potassium iodide or sodium iodide. Many multivitamin-mineral supplements contain iodine. Dietary supplements of iodine-containing kelp (a seaweed) are also available.

Am I getting enough iodine?
Most people in the United States get enough iodine from foods and beverages. However, certain groups of people are more likely than others to have trouble getting enough iodine:

People who do not use iodized salt. Adding iodine to salt is the most widely used strategy to control iodine deficiency. Currently, about 88% of households worldwide use iodized salt.
Pregnant women. Women who are pregnant need about 50% more iodine than other women to provide enough iodine for their baby. Surveys show that many pregnant women in the United States may not get quite enough iodine, although experts do not know whether this affects their babies.
People who follow a vegan diet or who eat few or no dairy products, seafood, and eggs. Seafood, eggs, milk, and milk products are among the best sources of iodine.People who don’t eat much of these foods or don’t eat them at all might not get enough iodine.
People living in regions with iodine-deficient soils who eat mostly local foods. These soils produce crops that have low iodine levels. Among the regions with the most iodine-poor soil are mountainous areas, such as the Himalayas, the Alps, and the Andes regions, as well as river valleys in South and Southeast Asia.
People who get marginal amounts of iodine and who also eat foods containing goitrogens. Goitrogens are substances that interfere with the way the body uses iodine. They are present in some plant foods including soy, and cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and brussels sprouts. For most people in the United States who get adequate amounts of iodine, eating reasonable amounts of foods containing goitrogens is not a concern.

<snip> bold added

https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iodine-Consumer/

https://www.liverdoctor.com/the-sea-air ... r-thyroid/

Or just breathe in iodine if you live on the coast with seaweed in the water.

Back to ketchup.
As I stated earlier I would attempt to make a chilie based ketchup.
Baby steps first.
I used.
10 guajillo chiles.
1 ancho chilie.
2 Morita chilies.
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar more or less.
And about the same of the water the chilies hydrated in.
About 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon each.
Ground clove.
Ground cinnamon.
Ground allspice.
Big pinch of canning salt.
4 tablespoons white sugar.
That's it for spices.
After running the mixture in the blinder I ran everything through a fine mesh strainer.
Now it needs to reduce down just a wee bit.
It is not very sweet but very flavorful hot and tangy.
Just like tomatoes depending on what you do with chilies depends on how you use them.
This chilie ketchup will go very well on fries or anything else you would use tomato ketchup on.

Adding its 1.787 grams of sugar per tablespoon.
A little more than half the amount in regular tomato ketchup I buy.
Salt hardly nothing.

After it simmered on low it got dark but never burned.
I knew it would happen because that's what chilies do sometimes.
Plus anchos are dark.
That and the dark spice powder did their thing a well.
It made exactly 1 pint.
And it tastes a lot like A1 Sauce but better.
I might even go as far as saying this is more like an original ketchup than today's red tomato ketchup.
Who would have known.

You need a name and label and then start up a business selling that stuff.

Appearance wise it looks like BBQ Sauce. It sounds good.

zeuspaul wrote: ↑Sun Nov 20, 2022 1:40 am I don't recall seeing iodized salt listed as an ingredient in ketchup. It is doubtfull that using a low salt ketchup will deprive you of iodine.

Actually the reason salt was added originally was that there are parts of the country where there wasn't much iodine in the soil. The Southwest and the Great Lakes region if I remember correctly. Since most people grew their own food back in the day iodine deficient soil led to iodine deficient people. And iodine deficient children grew up stupid. Everyone bought salt though, so adding iodine to salt in very small quantities fixed the problem and mental retardation caused by iodine deficiency has been eliminated. If you are worried that the iodine is bad for you it's in many foods too. And since very few people grow all their own food locally anymore most people eat food contsining iodine that the iodine in iodized salt is redundant. Even if you don't use iodized salt at all in the US, you should be getting enough iodine from your diet.

Sue_CT wrote: ↑Sun Nov 20, 2022 4:12 pm Appearance wise it looks like BBQ Sauce. It sounds good.

It doesn't taste like BBQ sauce.
Speaking of sugar and BBQ sauce, have you ever had Sweet Bay Ray's.
It had such high approval ratings I bought a big jug.
WHAT a mistake!!!
It was like pure syrup.
Nastiest stuff I've ever had in my life.
I tried everything to doctor it up but to no avail.
I ended up throwing it in the trash.
A serving is 2 tablespoons and a serving has 17 grams of sugar.
Each serving is half sugar and that sugar is high fructose corn syrup.

I've had Sweet Baby Ray's Jerky from Bridgford. It's like eating candy.

https://uproxx.com/life/best-ketchup-br ... aste-test/

I like the way they taste tested and rated ketchups.

Over 7 dollars for a wee bottle of ketchup?

I tried the chili ketchup sauce on the pork roast and it is proclaimed throughout the land as A1.

karstopography wrote: ↑Mon Nov 21, 2022 1:56 am I like the way they taste tested and rated ketchups.

The top 10 of 20. I had to do some research to find additional ingredients. It seems they don't have to specify all ingredients. Spices are sometimes lumped together in a category called spices. His taste test is based on one person's opinion.

Methodology:
For this blind taste test, I had my partner bring me a single fry (from my favorite corner burger spot) on a plate and a portion of a hot dog (beef franks) with a dollop of ketchup for each — 20 times in a row. This is actually a lot more complicated than it might seem because when it comes to meat, I’m a stickler for hot food. So I had to eat all of these really fast and in batches of five — having my girlfriend cook four dogs at a time on a cast iron pan (seared dogs over boiled!) over the span of about forty minutes for what she called my, “stupid hot dog article.”

1. Brooklyn Delhi Curry Ketchup
tomato paste, brown sugar, garlic, salt, ground chili peppers, tamarind, and other spices

Curry Ketchup has a quarter of the sugar and half the sodium of regular ketchups and a ton more flavor!
Ingredients: tomato paste, water, brown sugar, distilled vinegar, salt, spices (including turmeric), garlic, sunflower oil, tamarind.

2. Sir Kensington’s Classic Ketchup
organic cane sugar, green bell peppers, and a bit of allspice

Tomatoes, Tomato Paste, Fair Trade Organic Cane Sugar, Water, Onions, Distilled Vinegar, Salt, Lime Juice Concentrate, Green Bell Peppers, Allspice.

3. Portland Ketchup Company Organic Ketchup
cane sugar, maybe it’s the cayenne and clove, but whatever it is, it delivers exactly what you want from ketchup but does it better than Heinz.
Instead of tomato paste, this ketchup is made from tomato puree,

Ingredients: Organic Tomato Puree Organic White Vinegar Organic Cane Sugar Sea Salt
Organic Onion Organic Allspice Organic Cayenne Organic Cloves

4. Heinz Organic Ketchup
The best standard-tasting ketchup you’re ever going to taste.

Ingredients
ORGANIC TOMATO CONCENTRATE FROM RED RIPE ORGANIC TOMATOES, ORGANIC DISTILLED VINEGAR,
ORGANIC SUGAR, SALT, ORGANIC ONION POWDER, ORGANIC SPICE, NATURAL FLAVORING.

5. Noble Made Tomato Ketchup
tomato-paste recipe and infused extra spices like allspice, clove, garlic, and onion with a bit of pineapple

The ingredients listed are water, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, pineapple juice concentrate,
sea salt, onion powder, garlic powder, allspice, and clove.

6. Trader Joe’s Organic Ketchup
The cheapest best tasting bottle of ketchup you’ll find.
It has a distinct herbal quality that makes it taste special compared to your standard ketchup.

organic, vine-ripened California tomatoes, organic cane sugar and a concoction of organic spices
INGREDIENTS: ORGANIC TOMATO PUREE, ORGANIC SUGAR, ORGANIC WHITE VINEGAR, SALT, ORGANIC ONION POWDER, ORGANIC SPICES.

7. 365 Whole Foods Organic Tomato Ketchup
cane sugar-sweetened ketchup is balanced with allspice, clove, and paprika

Ingredients: Organic Tomato Puree (Water, Organic Tomato Paste), Organic Vane Sugar, Organic Distilled White Vinegar,
Salt, Organic Onion Powder, Organic Spices (Organic Allspice, Organic Clove, Organic Red Pepper, Organic Paprika).

8. Primal Kitchen Ketchup Organic and Unsweetened
sugar-free and 100% organic, from the tomatoes to the spices.

Ingredients
Organic Tomato Concentrate, Organic Balsamic Vinegar (Organic White Wine Vinegar, Organic Grape Must),
Less than 2% of Salt, Organic Onion Powder, Organic Garlic Powder, Organic Spices

9. Good Food For Good Ketchup
sweetened with date paste which gives it a barbecue sauce-like appearance. Dark color aside, this one is full of spicy flavors

Organic Tomato Paste (made from Fresh Ripe Tomatoes), Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Organic Date Paste,
Organic Onion Powder, Sea Salt, Organic All Spice Powder, Organic Garlic Powder, Organic Ginger Powder, Organic Fine Black Powder,
Organic Clove Powder, Organic Yellow Mustard Powder.

10. Molononay No Added Sugar Ketchup
organic tomato paste, tangy apple cider vinegar, red bell pepper powder, celery seed, mustard seed, onion powder, and black pepper.
It’s so flavorful you don’t really think about the lack of sweetness.

I think the quality of the tomato may be more important than the added spices. I like the consistency and the tomato flavor of the ketchup I made with Muir Glen paste and puree. I am not sure I need the puree because their puree is (paste + water) according to the label. I will probably be more conservative with spices in my next batch. Likely no cinnamon and less onion to reduce the chance of onion breath. Maybe a little ginger and perhaps a pinch of allspice. Maybe more applesauce.

I did a search and Muir Glen wasn't highly rated at one review site for taste but that was for canned tomatoes and not for paste. I assume they use the same tomatoes. It tasted good to me compared to the Heinz Organic ketchup I am using.

This site had their highest rating for Bianco DiNapoli Organic Whole Peeled Tomatoes
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog ... -tomatoes/
I found a can of their paste at Amazon for a price I am not willing to pay no matter how good their product is.

The Bianco DiNapoli Organic Whole Peeled Tomatoes ($6.50 per 28-ounce can at the time of writing) were hands down the best canned tomatoes we tasted two years running. They had a nice balance of sweetness and acidity, with a strong tomato flavor. NYT Cooking’s Julia Moskin said she wouldn’t hesitate to put these tomatoes on a sandwich right out of the can. In fact, she liked them so much she ordered an entire case. I found that their attractive deep red color, slightly thick puree, and semi-firm texture resulted in a rich, velvety sauce. The Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes are sold at some Whole Foods stores or online. Keep in mind that these tomatoes are canned with a sprig of fresh basil, so they lend themselves best to Italian food.

In the top tier and rated #4 and available at Target as a paste at a very reasonable price. No added salt or sugar just tomatoes and citric acid. Target Good & Gather Whole Peeled Tomatoes.
https://www.target.com/p/tomato-paste-1 ... nk=sametab

The Target Good & Gather Whole Peeled Tomatoes (about $1 per 28-ounce can at the time of writing) were packed in a thinner, more watery juice that wasn’t quite as flavorful as that of our other top-rated tomatoes. The tomatoes had a milder muted flavor when tasted raw. They weren’t as velvety when used for sauce, and they had more of a crushed tomato consistency. That said, these tomatoes produced a much brighter, more flavorful sauce than similarly priced brands did. If you want to spend under a dollar per can, this is the brand to get. Like the SMT tomatoes, the Target tomatoes don’t contain basil.