Ketchup

Lynn Clark, America's Test Kitchen

Makes about 4 cups

Ingredients:

• • 1 teaspoon black peppercorns

  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds

  • 2 bay leaves

  • 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half

  • ½ teaspoon allspice berries

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 1 teaspoon cloves

  • 1 small onion, chopped

  • 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced

  • ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

  • 2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes with their juice

  • ½ cup dark brown sugar

  • ½ cup cider vinegar

  • Salt and pepper

Method:

• 1. Bundle peppercorns, mustard seeds, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, and allspice in cheesecloth and tie with kitchen twine to secure, leaving about 5-inches extra twine on end.

  2. Heat oil and cloves in large saucepan over medium-low heat until oil begins to bubble; cook for 5 minutes.

  3. Remove from heat, cover, and steep 5 minutes. Strain oil through fine-mesh strainer and discard cloves.

  4. In now-empty saucepan, heat clove oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, 8 to 10 minutes.

  5. Add tomato paste, garlic, and cayenne and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

  6. Transfer to blender, add tomatoes and their juice, and process until smooth.

  7. Transfer tomato mixture to now-empty pot, and stir in brown sugar, vinegar, and 1½ teaspoons salt.

  8. Secure twine of spice bag to handle of pot, and submerge bag in tomato mixture.

  9. Bring mixture to boil over medium-high heat, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring frequently, until thick and glossy, 2 to 2½ hours.

  10. Remove spice bag and discard. Pass ketchup through fine mesh strainer into large bowl, using rubber spatula to press on solids.

  11. Cool to room temperature, and season with salt and pepper to taste. (Ketchup can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 month.)