Fermented Ketchup Sauce

Description

For many it’s the go-to pairing for nearly everything under the sun, even cooked spaghetti; FYI: this is not a recommended ketchup sauce pairing.

If you go to any grocery store, the low-cost and solid flavors available for many famous bottled ketchup sauces can make it hard to justify creating your own version at home. Enter: Fermented ketchup sauce.

With the addition of some live sauerkraut brine and a day or two of quiet fermentation on your countertop, this ketchup sauce is ready to be transferred to a squeeze bottle, chilled, and stored in the fridge for use throughout the month. You can adjust the sweetness level to your own preference, although we find that the added molasses and maple syrup help to balance out the perceived acidity from the apple cider vinegar and tomato paste.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Serves: 60

Note: If you ferment this ketchup for a longer period of time, the finished product will become more tangy and sour. If you push it for too many days, some off-flavors will begin to develop. We recommend sticking to a maximum fermentation period of 48-72 hours.

If you are looking for a smoother consistency that more closely resembles store-bought ketchup, you can puree the ketchup in a high-speed food processor and use high fructose corn syrup in addition to regular corn syrup, instead of the maple syrup or molasses used in this recipe. We think you’ll prefer this easy, unblended homemade version, without the added corn syrups. And don’t mind the more rustic consistency and homemade feel to the final ketchup sauce described below. Honey can also be used as a sweetener, which can work in its own way.

Make some French fries at home to serve with this ketchup. Fry your cut potatoes once until they are fully cooked-through, but still pale in color, and then freeze them on parchment after they have drained on paper towels. When you’re ready for French fries, fry the frozen cut potatoes a second time at 175°C (350˚F) in neutral oil, such as sunflower seed oil, until they are lightly golden brown. Then drain and season the fries with Kosher salt while they are still hot. Serve immediately, with your homemade fermented ketchup.

You can make your own tomato paste using fresh tomatoes (this will take you a long time at the stove), or buy high-quality prepared tomato paste in cans. Two 6-oz cans of tomato paste usually provide about 320 grams of product, although the stated quantity on the cans in grams is a bit more than what shows up on my scale— You don’t need to rinse them out to get every last bit, but you could use the apple cider vinegar to help rinse the remaining tomato paste out of the cans if you feel inclined.