Canned Ketchup Recipe (Heinz Copycat) - Alyona’s Cooking (2024)

Ketchup or Catsup is a tomato sauce product popular in American cuisine, mainly as a sauce or condiment.

The main ingredients found in Heinz Ketchup recipes include tomato concentrate of red ripe tomatoes (aka tomato paste), vinegar, corn syrup, salt, spices, onion powder, and natural flavorings.Some recipes call for a tomato paste base and spices that you can make in under 5 minutes!

This recipe has no corn syrup and uses fresh ripe garden tomatoes that you boil down to make a tomato concentrate. I absolutely love this canned Ketchup recipe because I can have ketchup any time of the year that I preserved from ripe tomatoes!

This Ketchup recipe uses real tomatoes! Here are the ingredients for homemade ketchup that tastes like Heinz ketchup!

• Ripe tomatoes-collect 1/2 bushel of tomatoes or about 22 pounds of raw tomatoes.
• Vinegar-white distilled vinegar is what gives ketchup that sour taste.
• Sugar-I used 2 cups of white granulated sugar and 1 cup of brown sugar. The Mennonite lady used 2 cups of honey and 1 cup of brown sugar. Mix and match any variation.
• Salt-essential.
• Onion Powder-flavoring.
• cinnamon-distinct Heinz flavoring.
• ground cloves- distinct Heinz flavoring.
• all-spice-distinct Heinz flavoring.
• Cayenne pepper-not detected or spicy.
• tomato paste-helps thicken the tomato sauce.
• Thermflo-a thickener similar to cornstarch only doesn’t leave an aftertaste. It’s used in many canned recipes that Mennonites use. If you have a local Mennonite store they are likely to carry it.

This Homemade Ketchup recipe is preserved by canning for longer shelf life. Once you open a jar of homemade canned ketchup it can last for months in the refrigerator (or at least mine can.)

Canned Shelf-Life: Canned Ketchup can keep for years in a dark cool area if it has been sealed correctly.

Storing Ketchup in the refrigerator once opened: transfer ketchup into a squeezable plastic bottle. Keep in the fridge for up to 3 months. Keep water away and avoid ketchup sitting out all night.

For the most recent food preservation facts on canned Ketchup visit this Preparing and Canning Tomatoes article.

Thermflo is similiar to cook-type clear jel. Both look like white powder in resemblance to cornstarch. However, you do not want to substitute cornstarch for Thermflo in canned foods. You could substitute cornstarch with Thermflo but in canned recipes, cornstarch can leave an aftertaste that is not suitable for canning.

I typically buy Clearjel or Thermflo at local Mennonite bakeries. You can find Thermflo on Amazon too.

1. Collect 1/2 bushel of tomatoes (22 pounds of ripe tomatoes.) Trim, quarter, and throw into a large pot. Bring to a boil stirring occasionally.
2. When tomatoes have softened, either blend with a hand blender or run through a food mill. If using a food mill the skins and seeds can be discarded. Reserve 1 cup of tomato juice (for thickening later.) Simmer down to about half the liquid* (2-3 hours.)
3. Add the vinegar, tomato paste, and spices; bring to a simmer.
4. Meanwhile, place 1/3 cup of Thermflo into a bowl. Slowly whisk in the reserved tomato juice and whisk into the simmering tomato ketchup.
5. Pour ketchup into jars and place lids and bands on, (don’t screw tightly shut.) Place jars into a large stockpot. Pour hot tap water in at least halfway up. Boil for 10 minutes covered from the time the water boils.
6. Remove jars with a jar lifter and screw each jar tightly shut using a kitchen towel. Check if the lids are sealed after 24 hours.

Notes:

*To sterilize jars I wash them under very hot tap water and place them upside down on towels to drain. They don’t have to be dry to hot pack (fill.)

*Simmering time will vary depending on the tomatoes and the temperature of simmering. I simmered over low and used a variety of mostly large tomatoes.

*Lids have sealed correctly if you press down the center of the lid and you hear no popping or clicking. It will just feel like the lid vacuumed shut. You can unscrew the bands before placing them on the shelf to re-use them for other recipes.

There are a few ways to have ready-to-use jars for canning. Sterilizing jars is just a matter of getting the jars hot to prevent them from bursting when you add hot food. Plus you’re cleaning them at the same time.

• Run jars through a dishwasher before you begin canning. The dishwasher does the washing and heats them hot.
• Wash or rinse jars with hot tap water. (My method.)
• Place clean jars on a sheet pan and heat in the oven.

How Many Tomatoes is a Bushel?

Have you ever bought a woven basket of peaches? Well the larger woven baskets are 1/2 bushel (equivalent to 22 lbs of tomatoes.)

If the lids are not damaged, you can reuse the lids. I like to place my used lids into a saucepan and bring it to a boil to ensure they sterilize properly and heat back into shape. Avoid dented, bulged, or damaged lids. If lids fail to seal always toss them.

How To Know if My Canning Lids Sealed?

Servings: 8 quarts

Ingredients:

Instructions:

• 

  Trim, quarter, and place tomatoes into a large stockpot. Bring to a boil stirring occasionally.

• 

  When tomatoes have softened, either blend with a hand blender or run through a food mill. If using a food mill the skins and seeds can be discarded. Reserve 1 cup of tomato juice (for thickening later.) Simmer down to about half the liquid* (2-3 hours.)

• 

  Add the vinegar, tomato paste, sugar, and spices; bring to a simmer.

• 

  Meanwhile, place 1/3 cup of Thermflo into a bowl. Slowly whisk in the reserved tomato juice and whisk into the simmering tomato ketchup.

• 

  Pour ketchup into jars and place lids and bands on, (don't screw tightly shut.) Place jars into a large stockpot. Pour hot tap water in at least halfway up. Boil 10 minutes covered from the time the water boils.

• 

  Remove jars with a jar lifter and screw each jar tightly shut using a kitchen towel. Check if the lids are sealed AFTER 24 hours (they need to seal on their own first.)

• Thermflo is a Canning/Freezing thickener sold in many Mennonite stores. Recipes like BBQ sauce and ketchup can call for it since it thickens sauces nicely. Cook-type Clearjel would be a substitute. Do not substitute cornstarch.
• I own these exact two pots and highly recommend them! 42-quart stockpot for a water bath. And 24-quart stockpot for cooking tomato sauce and other large batches of sauces! They are high-quality pots thanks to my Mennonite friends!
• Notes:*To sterilize jars I wash them under very hot tap water and place them upside down on towels to drain. They don't have to be dry to hot pack (fill.)*Simmering time will vary depending on the tomatoes and the temperature of simmering. I simmered over low and used a variety of mostly large tomatoes.*Lids have sealed correctly if you press down the center of the lid and you hear no popping or clicking. It will just feel like the lid vacuumed shut. You can unscrew the bands before placing them on the shelf to re-use them for other recipes.
• *I used 2 cups white sugar and 1 cup brown sugar. Can also do 2 cups honey and 1 cup brown sugar.