An alternative to ketchup is homemade tomato sauce, which is prepared using a simplified technology. It is based on tomato puree, with various options for vegetable additives. In order to add spice to the homemade sauce, various types of peppers, garlic, basil, parsley, thyme, and cilantro are added to the preparations.
General rules for preparing sauce
There is no strict recipe. When preparing ketchup at home, you should follow the rules for preparing vegetables and the cooking time.Depending on the composition and spiciness, the delicious homemade preparation is used as an appetizer, seasoning for soups and side dishes, and sauce for main courses.
Preparing vegetables
Before preparing the appetizer, all ingredients are carefully sorted out. Vegetables showing signs of spoilage are discarded.
- Blanch the tomatoes for 2 minutes. into hot water. After removing the skins, they are ground in a blender.
- Sweet and bitter peppers are cleaned, removing seeds and internal membranes. The pulp is finely chopped or ground in a meat grinder.
- Vegetables such as apples, zucchini, eggplants are washed, the seed chambers are removed, and cut into small pieces measuring 2 x 2 cm.
- Carrots, onions and garlic are peeled and washed. Finely chop the onion. Chop carrots and garlic using a grater.
The more delicate the consistency you want to get as a result, the more thoroughly vegetables with a dense structure should be chopped.
Heat treatment
The main ingredient in ketchup is tomatoes. They are boiled to the desired consistency for 1-2 hours. If the recipe contains carrots, then place them in the pan before the other vegetables for 15-20 minutes. Next, zucchini, apples or eggplants are placed in ketchup. Lastly, onions and aromatic herbs. At the very end of cooking, spices, garlic and the main preservatives - salt and sugar - are added to ketchup. After this, boil the sauce for about 20 minutes and immediately pack it into sterile jars.
Dishes for long-term storage of home canned food must be sterilized. If these simple rules are followed, winter preparations can be stored even at room temperature for a very long time.
Recipes
I offer you two appetizing recipes that I have already made on my own and was very pleased with.Based on them, every housewife can easily process the tomato harvest into high-quality winter preparations.
The closest thing to traditional winter snacks is a recipe for appetizers with zucchini and hot peppers. Another recipe for tomato preparation, which can be called an intermediate option between ketchup and a snack, is appetizer adjika.
Recipe No. 1
The zucchini preparation option is more reminiscent of a vegetable appetizer. It has a thicker consistency and can be served as a separate dish.
Recipe requires:
- ripe tomatoes – 3 kg;
- zucchini – 2 kg;
- heads of garlic – 4 pcs.;
- hot pepper – 2 pcs.;
- refined vegetable oil – 0.2 ml;
- granulated sugar – 1 cup;
- salt – 50 g.
Tomatoes and zucchini are cut into pieces measuring 2x2 cm. Peppers are cut into strips. Place vegetables, sugar and salt into heated oil. To prevent the vegetable mass from burning, simmer over low heat. The finished snack is placed hot in sterile jars. Canned food is hermetically sealed and turned upside down.
Recipe No. 2
Another version of the appetizer sauce can be compared to adjika. But we will call it an appetizer or salad, because it is prepared with the addition of apples, sweet peppers, and carrots.
To prepare this recipe you will need:
- ripe tomatoes – 2.5 kg;
- apples – 500 g;
- sweet pepper – 500 g;
- carrots – 500 g;
- hot pepper – 2 pcs;
- garlic – 200 g;
- salt – 50 g;
- granulated sugar – 1 cup;
- refined vegetable oil – 1 cup;
- vinegar essence 6% - 140 g.
Peeled vegetables are ground in a meat grinder with a fine mesh. Place on fire and simmer for about two hours. Hot pepper and granulated sugar are added to the boiled mass.
After 35-40 minutes, season the salad mixture with garlic, salt and vinegar.The finished product is placed in sterile jars and hermetically sealed. It turns out to be a spicy, sweet and sour snack.
The variety of recipes allows you to choose any preparation option, with zucchini or bell peppers, apples and eggplants. It can include vegetables that require urgent processing. This allows you to properly preserve the harvest by preparing Appetitka sauce of any complexity. Any type of canned food - vegetable snack, hot seasoning or homemade ketchup will definitely turn out tasty and appetizing.
