Foodie Friday – Old Fashioned Tomato Ketchup (Catsup)

Here is an entry in Foodie Friday – non-pastry recipes and food info from archival and historical cook books.

Think ketchup is something that Heinz made up? The tomato preserve called ketchup, or catsup, or any other variation to the name, has been around a long time. Here are two versions from an 1890’s cookbook. By the way they are spiced; this condiment back then was an intensely flavored one.

Tomato Catsup – No. 1

One-half bushel ripe tomatoes cut in halves; sprinkle with salt and leave them over night. Drain off the juice, add one pint of water, and stew slowly in a large preserving-kettle till quite soft. Then put through a colander to free from skins. Return to the kettle and add one cupful of salt, one-half ounce cayenne pepper, one ounce powdered cloves, one ounce each of nutmeg and mace. Simmer slowly for two or three hours, and add, when nearly cooked, one bottle of cooking wine.

Tomato Catsup – No. 2

Boil one bushel of tomatoes in a granite ware kettle until soft, press them through a sieve; then add half a gallon of vinegar, two ounces of cloves, one and a half pint of salt, one ounce cayenne pepper, five heads of garlic skinned or chopped, two ounces of whole pepper, one pound of allspice, five ounces of mace, and five ounces of celery seed. Mix all together, and boil until it is reduced one-half. Strain. Black pepper may be used instead of cayenne, and onions instead of garlic.