Homemade Ketchup Recipe (No Refined Sugar) - Only 5 Minutes To Make (2024)

FAQs

Why does ketchup need sugar? ›

High level of sugar and corn syrup: The main ingredients that contribute to the sweetness of McDonald's ketchup are sugar and corn syrup. These ingredients help to balance the tartness of the tomatoes and create a sweet and savoury flavour that has become synonymous with McDonald's.

Add some acid to the sauce

Nutritionist Lisa Richards told the outlet that some fresh lemon juice or bottled vinegar should brighten up the sauce, and recommends gently heating the sauce, adding the juice or vinegar one teaspoon at a time, tasting, and adding more as needed.

You honestly can't tell that it's sodium and sugar free ! This tastes very similar to ketchup with salt. Very impressed.

Homemade ketchup is simple and much more flavorful than anything you can buy at the store. I use 4 tablespoons of sugar, but adjust the sugar to your taste.

A 20-ounce bottle of Heinz tomato ketchup contains about two-thirds of a cup of sugar. One serving size of duck sauce contains 11 grams of sugar.

If the reason you're wanting to “sweeten” the sauce is because the tomato is too tart [highly acidic] then a pinch of baking soda should do the trick. Or if you really like your sauce sweet for the sake of sweetness, then add a carrot or bit of sweet potato while it's cooking.

Distilled white vinegar is essential for ketchup's signature tanginess. Plus, it elongates the shelf life. White sugar cuts the acidity of the tomatoes and vinegar while offering a hint of sweetness.

How to Make Food Less Sweet. Add an acid or seasonings such as vinegar or citrus juice; chopped fresh herbs; a dash of cayenne pepper; or, for sweet dishes, a bit of liqueur or espresso powder.

What is the most healthy ketchup? ›

Primal Kitchen Organic and Unsweetened Ketchup

If you want to give added sugar of all kinds the boot, Primal Kitchen is the ketchup brand for you. Made with tomato concentrate, balsamic vinegar, and spices (and no HFCS, dates, honey, or syrups of any kind), it's a personal favorite of nutritionist Keri Glassman, RD.

While you can purchase sugar-free ketchup at most stores, a lot of them contain artificial sweeteners and fillers. And the ones with clean ingredients are quite expensive, and sometimes not that flavorful.

Heinz and many commercial ketchups also contain high fructose corn syrup, though HFCS-free versions have been making their way into the market. If this is something you prefer to avoid, making ketchup yourself is a sure bet for getting what you want. MAKE OR BUY? It's hard to side against a classic like Heinz.

Pack and Store Your Homemade Ketchup

Ladle your ketchup directly into sterilized jars and store in fridge or freezer. Ketchup will keep 3 weeks in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer.

Fancy ketchup is a U.S. grade A ketchup that has good color, good consistency, good flavor, and is free from defects, according to the USDA. Grade A ketchup must also have at least 33% tomato solids — making it thick enough to stay in place on your food.

Ketchup turned sweeter in the mid-19th century with the addition of sugar to suit the American palate, according to Andrew F. Smith, author of Pure Ketchup: A History of America's National Condiment, with Recipes.

The traditional thinking behind adding sugar to tomato sauce is based on the idea that it will balance out the natural acidity of tomatoes.

But sugar was a later addition—Smith notes that it was not a common tomato ketchup ingredient until after the Civil War. Cooks began adding more and more vinegar and sugar, each to balance out the other, until ketchup arrived at the sweet-and-sour flavor profile to which we're accustomed today.

Most people never realize how fattening ketchup can be. If anything, they think “oh, tomatoes, something in there that might fight cancer, healthy.” But most brands of ketchup add a boatload of carbs in the form of refined sugar to their recipes (BTW did you know that not all ketchups are made from tomatoes?)