Sweet and spicy tomato jam

As easy as boiling water and so much better than your regular old ketchup!

We all love our ketchup and most of us wouldn’t even consider making this at home ourselves. I found myself with too much cherry tomatoes and as I hate to waste food, I decided to make my own version of ketchup with them. This tomato jam is slightly rougher than your usual pureed ketchup, but hey, at least now you can see that there are actually tomatoes in there!

If you can boil water, you can also make this ketchup yourself! And if you want to bring your burgers, hotdogs, fries or whatever to the next level – this is the recipe you were looking for.

(Makes about 200ml and will keep in the fridge for a few days*)

*It will keep for a few weeks if you put it in a sterilized jar. Instructions are further below

Ingredients

• 250grams cherry tomatoes
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1cm of ginger
• 75grams sugar
• 50ml white vinegar (I often use balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar or herb vinegar – whatever I have at hand)
• Optional: half a red chili pepper

Make the tomato jam

Roughly cut the cherry tomatoes in slices. Peel and grate the garlic and ginger.

Cut half a red chili pepper into small rings, if you like some spice.

Place tomatoes, garlic, ginger, sugar, vinegar and red chili pepper into a bowl. Stir with a spoon to combine. Season with a pinch of salt and some pepper.

Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and let simmer for 25 minutes. Lid off, you want the water to escape.

Stir now and then to check the consistency and make sure it does not burn at the bottom of the pan.

Once it’s thick and syrupy you are done. Congrats, you just made your own ketchup! Yes, it’s really that easy.

Optionally, you could blend and strain this to make it more smooth.

Put on everything where you would normally use ketchup!

Let me know in the comments what you think of the recipe! Have you tried it and think it’s too spicy or has too much ginger and garlic in it to count as ketchup? You do not like the consistency and think it should be pureed or passed through a sieve? Leave your thoughts in the comments below and help me get better.

Optional: Want to keep it in the fridge? Sterilize your jar!

Bring 1 liter of water to the boil – in a pot or a water cooker.

Place the jar and the lid, both with opening upwards, in the (hopefully clean!) kitchen sink or in a larger pot.

Slowly pour the cooking water over the jar and lid, filling them both completely in order to kill all germs.

Let stand for a few minutes, and then drain by touching only the outside of jar and lid.

Fill the jar immediately after the jam has finished cooking. Close the jar tightly with the lid, turn upside down and let it cool. Transfer to the fridge.