by Ruth Hofer

So last post I showed you how to make root beer into a health tonic, this time I am going to explain how easy it is to make RAW ketchup from scratch. Unlike other raw ketchup recipes this one keeps indefinitely! And it actually helps your body digest and assimilate what ever you eat it with…

I’ve adapted a recipe I found in Nourishing Traditions

I make up a big batch at a time and usually make three different flavours at once, the regular ketchup version, a hare krisna cuisine style chutney and my take on BBQ sauce. I’m pretty lax on measurements in my kitchen so feel free to experiment with the quatities I have listed. Most of all, remember to have fun…

First up, you have to make whey. You could also just use vegan probiotic powder or kefir starter powder into and equal amount of water if you don’t have the time to make whey. The best, and easiest to follow directions for making whey can be found at Cheese Slave. (be careful not to get entirely sidetracked reading all the other posts on this blog, its super fascinating reading but focus on making the ketchup first!) It is entirely possible to make whey from nut or seed kefir too, so keep that in mind if you are keeping dairy products totally out of your diet.

How to:

• Gather together a collection of nice looking glass bottles with decent seals and sterilize them.
• Take about 2-3 kgs of fresh ripe tomatoes, and rinse them in a sink of hot water. Pulverize them, skin and all, in a high speed blender. You can strain this mix if you want, I never bother.
• Add ½ cup whey (or equivalent of probiotics mixed in water), 1 cup maple syrup and 1-2 tablespoons of salt. I sometimes and more of less of these depending on my mood and tastebuds.
• Divide mixture into three:
  • First batch add a teaspoon of cayenne pepper and a bulb of minced garlic. Pour into bottles and label as ‘Ketchup’
  • Second batch: add up to half a cup of freshly juiced ginger, pinch of asafetida, generous sprinkle (more like a handful) of garam masala and some mustard seeds. Bottle and label as ‘chutney’.
  • Third batch: add lots of ground cumin and paprika, ¼ cup molasses, crushed garlic to taste, and either a couple of dashes of liquid smoke or some smoked chili powder. Bottle and label as ‘BBQ sauce’
• Clean up the blender and mixing bowls, leave the bottles out on the bench for a few days without tightly sealing (I used airtight seals on time and ended up with ketchup that exploded out like champagne!) then once its nice and fermented stick the bottles in the fridge where they will keep for months.

How easy is that? Now you have awesome tomato sauce on hand whenever you need it. Its also great to take camping as it survives just fine out of the fridge. I some times use them as a base for raw soups. These sauces also make great gifts, especially for anyone who doesn’t share you enthusiasm for living food… one taste of your loving creation and they’re be intrigued… but the best bit: its fermented! Its full of beneficial bacteria and enzymes, it will help your body better assimilate and utilize the nutrition from whatever food you eat it with (even if that happens to be French fries!)

Tags: Living Food, probiotic foods, probiotic recipe, Raw food, raw food recipe, raw foods, Ruth Hofer

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