Homemade Ketchup

What You Need:

• 3 lbs of ripe tomatoes
• 1 onion
• 2 teaspoons celery seeds
• 1-teaspoon pepper
• 1-teaspoon ground mustard
• 1-teaspoon parsley
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ¼ teaspoon cloves
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/3-cup brown sugar
• 1/3-cup apple cider vinegar
• ½ lemon
• 1 ½ teaspoon salt
• 1-teaspoon honey
• Blender
• Saucepan
• Paring knife
• Spatula
• Jar with lid

What You Do:

1. Start by helping your child get out all the ingredients needed for making the ketchup along with a saucepan.
2. Now offer your child a pairing knife and invite her to cut the tomatoes in half and place in the saucepan. She can also roughly chop the onion and place it in the saucepan.
3. It’s time to get measuring! After putting the heat on medium under the pot, your child can start measuring and adding the rest of the ingredients for the ketchup, except the brown sugar, vinegar, lemon, honey and salt.
4. Invite your child to set the kitchen timer for 30 minutes and let things simmer. She can use a spatula to give things a stir every once in awhile.
5. Once time is up your child can turn off the heat and let the tomato mixture cool for 10 to 15 minutes. She should also remove the bay leaf before things hit the blender.
6. Now your child can gently pour the mixture into the blender and blend on low until a smooth consistency is achieved. Remember, things may be hot, so blend with caution!
7. Invite your child to pour the mixture back into the saucepan and add the sugar, lemon, apple cider vinegar, honey and salt. She can turn the heat back to medium and let her ketchup simmer for another 15 minutes.
8. All that’s left is to let her ketchup cool and make some French fries to dip in her homemade condiment! What isn’t eaten can be put in a lidded jar and saved for later!

Did you know: Ketchup was actually invented in Indonesian and Asian culture and was very popular in the 1700 is China? Henry J. Heinz was the first to bottle the condiment in 1876, putting it at the top of American’s favorite things to have on the kitchen table.

Tip: If the taste of your ketchup changes, it's probably time for it to be thrown out.