Active Time

　　20 minutes

　　Total Time

　　3 hours

　　Making your own ketchup may seem a bit over-the-top, but we promise it's worth it. It's easy to do, and homemade is so much more delicious than supermarket varieties, which are loaded with corn syrup.

　　

Ingredients

Makes about 2 cups

　　1 (28-oz) can whole tomatoes in purée

　　1 medium onion, chopped

　　2 tablespoons olive oil

　　1 tablespoon tomato paste

　　2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

　　1/2 cup cider vinegar

　　1/2 teaspoon salt

　　

Step 1

Purée tomatoes (with purée from can) in a blender until smooth.

　　

Step 2

Cook onion in oil in a 4-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 8 minutes. Add puréed tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar, vinegar, and salt and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until very thick, about 1 hour (stir more frequently toward end of cooking to prevent scorching).

　　

Step 3

Purée ketchup in 2 batches in blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Chill, covered, at least 2 hours (for flavors to develop).

　　Cooks' note:

　　Ketchup can be chilled up to 3 weeks.