Frugal Fridays: Homemade Ketchup

Make or Buy? Tomato Ketchup

Ketchup is the required condiment for households with children. A hot dog just wouldn’t be the same without it! Have you ever tried making your own?

For purposes of comparison, we’ll use classic Heinz Tomato Ketchup and a recipe for ketchup from Saveur Magazine.

Heinz Tomato Ketchup (40 oz bottle)

TOTAL: $2.50
PER SERVING (1 Tablespoon): $0.02

Homemade Ketchup

1 28-oz. can tomato puree: $1.95
1 medium yellow onion: $1.30
1 clove garlic: $0.06
1⁄2 fresh jalapeño: $0.15
2 tbsp. dark brown sugar: $0.10
1⁄2 cup cider vinegar: $0.30
Pinch cayenne: $0.05
Pinch celery salt: $0.05
Pinch dry mustard: $0.05
Pinch ground allspice: $0.05
Pinch ground cloves: $0.05
Pinch ground ginger: $0.05
Pinch ground cinnamon: $0.05
Salt and freshly ground black pepper: $0.00
(Spices are always roughly calculated)

TOTAL (3 cups): $4.21
PER SERVING (1 Tablespoon): $0.09

Prep Day: All that is required to make your own ketchup is whizzing everything together in a food processor and then letting it simmer on the stove for 45 minutes. The ketchup can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a month or freeze in ice cube trays. Sure, it’s not as convenient as squeezing a bottle, but we’d actually say that making your own ketchup sounds pretty darn easy.

Serve Day: Thaw what you need and serve.

Note: 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.