Spring Hill Ranch Ketchup and Cocktail Sauce

Author Notes

It is said that ketchup was the very first condiment, invented shortly after humanity first learned that flame-cooked meat, while delicious in and of itself, was lacking just a little something. I have read also that ketchup was the very first foodstuff to be made available in a tin can. Strangely, it is also said that it was this availability of canned ketchup that lead to the rift in North Carolina's barbecue aficionados as canned ketchup was introduced as an ingredient in the sauce (or "dip") used in the western part of the state. Volumetrically speaking, ketchup is still the most popular condiment. Oh, sure, they say that salsa has taken its place, but alas - they speak of dollars, not ounces.

Anyway, here at the ranch we often run short of one supply or another, which can be very inconvenient. It take an hour and a half to go to town, so we try to make do. We made our first batch of homemade ketchup about 20 years ago. While it wasn't perfect at first, we loved the fact that we could control the salt level as well as adjust the flavor more for the adult pallet. So if you are expecting this to taste like what you buy at the supermarket, move on to some "copy-cat" recipe instead. —WileyP