We had an early frost this year even though the fall weather has been just stunning. I pulled in the last of my tomatoes about a week ago (October when I wrote this). They have been sitting on the counter for a week ripening up and they were about ready for me to get busy processing them. It dawned on me that I hadn’t yet tried to make lacto-fermented ketchup! I have a ton of frozen tomatoes already stored in the chest freezer, so instead of just freezing up some more I decided to make my first batch of ketchup. MM-MM, this is going to be fun . . . and just a bit messy. Because I am adding the garlic raw along with raw honey and some starter this will ferment well.
P.S. This came out a bit too sweet for my liking (I like my ketchup sour!) but my sweet loving hubs, loved it. In the future I would add less honey.
What you’ll need:
12-15 Roma tomatoes (You can totally use all tomato paste or jarred tomatoes cooked down)
1 jar of tomato paste (7 oz), optional just use more tomatoes but I didn’t have enough
1 sprig rosemary
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 T raw honey (more or less to taste)
2 t apple cider vinegar
salt (1/2 T or none at all depending on starter used, see instructions)
2 T whey or vegetable culture (I used leftover fermented salsa juice)
Pint mason jar
Procedure
(Skip to #4 if using jarred tomatoes or paste)
1. Boil water and add tomatoes for 2 minutes.
2. Immediately place tomatoes in an ice bath to cool.
3. Peel the skins off the tomatoes.
4. Place tomatoes in a pot to cook down. If using paste add 1/4-1/2 c broth and simmer so as to not scorch the paste.
5. Add rosemary to the cooking tomatoes and continue to reduce liquid until thick. If using paste with broth this will not take as long as the fresh tomatoes (5-10 minutes)
6. After about 20 minutes, puree the tomatoes and the rosemary with a stick blender.
7. Continue to reduce the tomato liquid on medium to low heat until thick (about 40 minutes). Watch carefully and stir regularly to avoid burning. While waiting MINCE the garlic.
8. Allow the tomato paste to cool (about 10 minutes or so). Here’s a picture of my fermented salsa juice for the next step. When I puree and strain off my salsa I save the juice that’s left because it has all those good probiotics and I can use it as a vegetable starter or add it as a flavoring. Feel free to just use whey or add additional salt if you do not have a starter.
9. Add the following to the mason jar in the order listed: minced garlic, honey, apple cider vinegar, whey or vegetable culture, cooled tomato mixture, additional tomato paste (if needed). Add the salt only if you use whey or no starter at all. My vegetable culture (salsa juice was already salty like a brine).
10. Allow to ferment for 3-5 days in a cool dark place. Puree the ketchup a bit more once fermented so the garlic is chopped up a bit. Check taste and adjust to add more honey if a sweeter ketchup is desired. Then refrigerate.
Other Lacto-Fermented Recipes
Fermented Cucumber “Kraut” (Relish)
Fermented Roasted Red Pepper Pesto
Post links to: Monday Mania, Fat Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday, Thank Your Body, Simple Lives,
If your using all tomato paste how many total oz? And do you still cook with rosemary?
Since this jar is about a pint size I would suggest that you use close to a pint size amount. Not much moisture will cook out of the paste since it is almost all reduced to begin with so cooking can be minimal. With paste alone, I might add 1/4 cup of chicken broth and reduce the liquid so that there is not scorching of the paste when cooking with the herbs.
And yes, to get a good flavor profile I would cook with the rosemary or some other herb as the paste has a very bland taste without flavoring. Basil might be a good herb to try as well. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Can you use ACV with the mother as the starter and would you need to add the additional salt? Thank you!
Hi Nicole, Yes you can use ACV, but remember that you are changing the acidity so I might add a bit more honey to counteract that. You also may not have to ferment the ketchup for quite so long. It may be ready as soon as 24-36 hours. Taste it to check before you refrigerate.