Makes six to seven 500 ml (pint) jars or twelve to fourteen 250 ml (half pint) jars.
Ingredients
25 lbs tomatoes (yup, that’s right, 25 pounds!)1 cup finely chopped onions
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup rhubarb juice
1 cup birch syrup
Instructions
- Core and quarter tomatoes and place in 1 or 2 large heavy pots or a slow cooker and heat over low/medium heat, stirring frequently.
- Cook until soft.
- Once soft, run tomatoes through a food mill — this will remove seeds and skins.
- Return purée to pot and/or slow cooker and cook until ¼ of original volume.
- Add remaining ingredients and cook until onion and garlic are soft. Ketchup can remain a bit lumpy or it can be passed through the food mill again for a smoother ketchup.
- While the ketchup is cooking down, sterilize jars and lids (and keep them hot) and prepare a hot water bath canner such that the jars are not touching the bottom of the canner and will be covered with two inches of boiling water.
- Ladle hot ketchup into hot prepared jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe jar rims and threads and cover with two piece lids. Screw bands just until finger tight.
- Process in hot water bath canner dependent on your elevation as per below (time is after the water returns to the boil): 15 minutes (0 – 1,000 ft); 20 minutes (1,001 – 6,000 ft); 25 minutes (above 6,000 ft)
- Turn off heat and let sit for five minutes then remove from canner.
- After jars are cool, check seals. Refrigerate and use first any jars that did not seal.