Cranberry Ketchup

Ok, so I clearly bought too many cranberries last fall.  I threw a couple of bags in the freezer in case they were expensive again this year, but I still have plenty of home-canned cranberry sauce, enough to get me through Thanksgiving, and a jar of mincemeat for December.  Time to flip through the Ball book.

There were two interesting recipes using cranberries.  The cranberry mustard was kind of on the high side of cranberry vs mustard ratio, so I skipped to the cranberry ketchup, which came highly recommended.  Without going into a deep history of ketchup, let's just say that tomato has not always been the base of choice for the condiment.  Mushroom was popular until about 150 years ago.  The key is vinegar and spices on a lightly sugared fruit or vegetable base, puréed into a sauce intended to be spread or dipped and often served chilled.

The Ball recipe uses 11 cups of cranberries and makes 8 half-pint jars (one canner load) of sauce.  Yeah, don't need that much and don't have that many cranberries in the freezer.  I did the math on a 1/4 batch to use roughly one bag of cranberries.  There's a handful left that I can throw into something.  Huge relief that the math was easy except the garlic, so I just upped it from 1-1/4 cloves to 2 small.  Weird thing, the first of my home-grown garlic that I grabbed didn't have split cloves; it's just one bulb.  I got the next smallest and it did split.  The other change I made to the recipe was to add "or chili powder" to the cayenne line, because I don't use cayenne.  Even if I wasn't allergic, I prefer the smokiness of a small hint of chili powder.

*2-3/4 C cranberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 C chopped yellow or sweet onion
2 small cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 Tb water
3/4 C lightly packed brown sugar
1/4 C vinegar (the recipe doesn't specify type, but make sure it is 5% acidity)
*1/2 tsp dry mustard
*1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp kosher or canning salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
*1/8 tsp ground allspice
*1/8 tsp cayenne pepper or chili powder

1.  If canning, prepare canner, jars, and lids for a 1 pint yield.  I did four 4 oz jelly jars.  From the photo at the top, you can see that I always prepare one extra jar in case the yield is off.  It's easier than quickly washing and sterilizing one at the last moment.  The math on this recipe was perfect.  If storing in the fridge or freezer, I recommend a glass jar, or at least something non-reactive like ceramic.  Plastic is acceptable, but the aromas could leach into it.

2.  In a non-reactive saucepan, combine cranberries, onions, garlic, and water.  Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes, until cranberries pop and become soft.  This will take a little longer if you start from frozen.

3.  Process in food processor until smooth.  This was a small enough batch for me to use the mini processor on the blender.  Return to saucepan, straining if desired for a smoother consistency.  If you leave the little bits of onion and cranberry skin in there, everyone will know it's homemade.

4.  Add brown sugar, vinegar (I used white wine vinegar), and remaining spice ingredients.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.  Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, until mixture is almost the consistency of commercial ketchup, about 5 minutes.  Remember that cranberries will gel up, so the finished product will be thicker than you expect.

5.  If canning, ladle hot ketchup into jars, leaving 1/2" headspace.  Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary.  Wipe rims, center lids on jars, and screw down rings fingertip-tight.  Process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes.  Wait 5 minutes before removing jars to cool.  Remove bands after 24 hours, wipe clean, and store.  If not canning, allow to cool until no longer steaming.  Transfer to container and refrigerate or freeze.  Open jars keep in the refrigerator several weeks.  Freezer for 6 months.  Canned, 12-18 months.

Makes 1 pint

Difficulty rating  :)