Green Tomato Ketchup
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This Green Tomato Ketchup knocks socks off its red supermarket cousin. It has a full bodied flavour that’s both tangy and sweet with a gentle chilli kick.
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The green tomatoes we use in this recipe are those scallywags left on the vine at the end of the season who resolutely will not turn red.
Green tomatoes are firmer and not as sweet as fully ripened red ones so you can’t really substitute one for the other in recipes, also why would you want to? These beauties are the cherished treasure at the end of the tomato harvest and they are an amazing ingredient in their own right.
This Green Tomato Ketchup is a brilliant recipe which allows us to enjoy our green produce even after the season has ended. It also elbows out the processed red stuff which somehow always wheedles its way into our fridge.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Uses up those green tomatoes left at the end of the season which never end up turning red.
- Full bodied flavour that’s both tangy and sweet with a gentle chilli kick.
- It enhances whatever food you are accompanying it with rather than overpowering it.
If you still have a load of green tomatoes to use up after making this recipe then why don’t you try this Green Tomato and Stem Ginger Streusel Cake. It may seem unusual but it’s an amazing cake!
Ingredient list
- Green tomatoes – these are the ones left at the end of the season that don’t turn ripe.
- Bramley apple – for texture and fruity flavour
- White onion - for flavour
- Green chilli – leave the seeds in for the chilli kick or remove the seeds if you want something a little mellower. You can even leave the chilli out entirely if it's for the kids too.
- Fresh ginger – here’s where we pack in the flavour.
- Spices - mixed spice, fennel, coriander and star anise for a little complexity
- Cider vinegar – for that tang and for the preservation of the ketchup
- White sugar – for sweetness and for the preservation of the ketchup
Hey, but this ketchup has another very special secret ingredient…
- Sherry - The sherry provides a lovely cheeky note to the end of the ketchup which cannot be left out. I like to use Fino but a sweeter sherry can be used if you like.
How do you make Green Tomato Ketchup?
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Place all the ingredients, except for the sherry, in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Turn the heat down and cook at a medium simmer for about 50 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour in the sherry.
- Pour into a blender and blitz until smooth.
- Pour back into the saucepan and add the sherry, turn the heat back on and simmer for a further 20 minutes until it reaches a ketchup consistency.
- Decant immediately into sterilised bottles.
Tips and troubleshooting
- You can leave out the seeds of the chilli for less intense heat.
- Cider vinegar can be swapped out for white wine vinegar.
- Once you’ve blended the ketchup then pour back into the saucepan and cook for a little longer until it reaches a lovely thick ketchup consistency. This can take up to 20 minutes.
- Use clean sterilised bottles and new lids to ensure the bottles are sealed and stored correctly with no contamination.
- The sauce will keep un-opened if stored in a cool dark place for up to 6 months.
- The ketchup is good to eat immediately but only gets better if you leave for at least 2 weeks before eating.
- Once you’ve opened the ketchup store in the fridge where it will keep for up to 1 month.
How do you sterilise the bottles?
- Place the very clean bottles you would like to use in an oven pre-heated to 140°C for 20 minutes.
- Sterilise the lids by dropping them into a saucepan of boiling water for 10 minutes with a splash of vinegar (this keeps the lids from going cloudy). I don’t sterilise my lids in the oven as they tend to ruin.
Recommended equipment
How to serve it
Don’t draw the line at chips this green tomato ketchup is excellent with sausages or in a bacon sandwich but we also love it with...
- Salmon Fishcakes
- Shepherds Pie
- Quiche
- Cauliflower Cheese
- Fish Pie
- Sausage Rolls
- Crispy Salmon Nuggets
- Bubble and Squeak
- Popcorn Chicken
Homemade preserve recipes you'll love
If you make this Green Tomato Ketchup then please leave a comment below and give the recipe a rating which allows others to find this recipe on Google. If you make the recipe or use it as a building block for another delicious creation, I’d also love it if you tag me on instagram. It is so lovely for me to see your creations and variations of my recipes.
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Green Tomato Ketchup
Ingredients
- 1 kg green tomatoes - diced
- 1 large white onion - diced
- 1 large bramley apple - diced
- 1 green chilli - roughly chopped
- 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger - chopped
- 2 teaspoons ground mixed spice - see notes
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 star anise
- 200 ml cider vinegar
- 200 g white sugar
- 150 ml sherry
Instructions
- Place the fennel seeds and star anise in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar and grind until fine.
- Place the spices with all the ingredients, bar the sherry, in a large saucepan and cook on a medium heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the sherry then pour into a blender and blitz until smooth.
- Pour back into the saucepan and simmer for up to 20 minutes until it reaches a good ketchup consistency.
- Decant into sterilised glass bottles.
Video
Notes
- Taken from Hazel Atkinson’s recipe in the Metro, slightly adapted for quantities
- Makes 4 x 250ml bottles.
- If you don't want the chilli kick then you can leave it out.
- I urge you to make your own mixed spice which tastes so much better than shop bought. This recipe is also ideal if you can't find it in your local grocery store British Mixed Spice Recipe.
- To sterilise the glass bottles place the very clean bottles you would like to use in an oven pre-heated to 140°C for 20 minutes. Sterilise the lids by dropping them into a saucepan of boiling water for 10 minutes with a splash of vinegar. I don’t sterilise my lids in the oven as they tend to ruin.
- You can use the ketchup straightaway. The flavour will mature though if left for a couple of weeks.
- The ketchup will keep up to a year if stored in a cool dark place.
Ingredient measurements
- US customary measurements for the ingredients provided are based on a conversion calculator. This recipe was tested with metric measurements and I recommend using a digital scale to weigh ingredients for the most accurate results. READ MORE >>> Why you should always weigh vs measuring with cups
Produce this but also added whole red peppers and chilli from the Greenhouse, also Cumin. Tastes great!
Such great additions to the recipe! I'm happy you enjoyed it - thank you for leaving your feedback.
Hello from NZ, thanks to your recipe, I've successfully emptied the freezer of green tomatoes. I tried two different recipes, we taste tested the resulting brew of each, and yours was definitely our favourite. Spicy and complementary to many flavour profiles. The blend of spices is just perfect. As I cannot eat apples (fruit causes skin issues for me), I used rhubarb and a little extra sugar instead.
I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe - thank you so much for leaving your comments!
Hi
I have just made this for the first time as given a load of tomatoes by a neighbour who had a glut.
I tasted it as I bottled the sauce and it was piquant and fresh but a little sweet for my taste. However, the family love it and do not believe it will last long!!!
Hello! I'm looking forward to trying this recipe. We have so many tomatoes, and lots of green ones... Do you see a problem using cooking sherry? OR since we don't have real sherry, how about red wine? I'm curious to know if you have tried anything else instead of sherry or if you have a recommendation here.
I've only used sherry in this recipe. Cooking sherry should be fine.
This is a wonderful recipe and my Scottish husband loves it! I do water bath. I allow 30 minutes after boil for my pints, or pressure can @ 11# for 15 minutes. Thank you so much for this as I have sooooooo many green tomatoes!
You are so welcome - I'm happy you like the ketchup!!
Thanks for this recipe. I followed your recipe (without any adjustments) and it turned out great! As I am Canadian, I appreciate you sharing the proportions for the British Mixed Spice. I had never heard of it before.
I'm happy you enjoyed the recipe- and found the mixed spice info useful!!
Would love to try this but live in Canada. I am not sure what is in your mixed spice since I have nothing called mixed spice....greek seasoning, italian seasoning, cajun spice but no mixed spice.
Hi Joy, mixed spice is a spice mix which is a combination of ground cinnamon, ground coriander, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. If you can hang on for a few days - I'm posting a recipe with the ratios later this week.
The recipe for Homemade British Mixed Spice Recipe is now available! Hope you enjoy it!
Thank you so much. I am buried in green tomatoes right now so I will give it a try.
Made this today smells great and tastes delicious husband would like more chilli but i say perfect as it is. Got a kick but doesn't blow your head off!
That's great to hear - thank you Marina!
Hi Georgina I just made your Green Tomato Sauce. YUMMO! I swapped sugar for molasses for added depth of flavour but had to watch it really carefully so that it didn’t catch.
Hi Pam, I'm so happy you like the recipe - it's such a favourite of mine!!
what could I use instead of sherry please?
You can just omit the sherry if you like.
I'm afraid I do not like this ketchup - too spicy I think. I will definitely see if it improves on keeping, though.
Thank you for the recipe. It was a pleasure to make. I hope I can use it eventually!
Elizabeth
Hi Elizabeth - I'm sorry to hear that! This one does have a chilli kick. Did you make it with the seeds in or out? I usually find that if it's made without the seeds the heat isn't so intense. Having said that chillies do vary in strength so you can never been totally sure. If the strength doesn't mellow out for you then the ketchup makes a great gift or you can use a little bit in sauces like a bolognaise, a chilli or even in fajitas to give an extra layer of flavour - the heat shouldn't be so noticeable then.
How long does this last for please?
It lasts for up to 6 months if the bottles are correctly sterilised and the ketchup is kept somewhere cool and dark - a larder or pantry would be fine.
Just made some ketchup! looks and smells delicious.... can we eat it straight away or should is be left to "mature" for a while?
You can eat straightaway! The flavours do mature over time as well but it's delicious too freshly made.
Great and tasty way to use the last of summer's bounty.
I made it again this weekend! Totally agree - thank you for your feedback!!
With all due respect, your canning instructions are not safe. The acidity of cider vinegar is insufficient, nor is there any processing of the sterilized jars after filling them.
The New York Times requires a 5% red wine vinegar AND processing for 20 minutes. America's Test Kitchen says that even with controlled acidity such a recipe is unsafe to process and store at room temperature.
Therefore I'll be refrigerating and freezing my filled jars, and recommend that your instructions be modified to exclude room temperature storage.
Hi Don, thank you for your comments. Cider vinegar does have an acidity of 5% - it usually says on the label as well if you are unsure about your specific brand. I am based in the UK where we don't often process our preserves in a water bath, the amount of sugar and vinegar in the recipe makes the ketchup safe to store. It is totally your choice if you choose to process in a water bath at the end of the recipe, I know a lot of US readers who use UK based recipes like to make that choice as it seems crazy we don't use water baths. If you are freezing your jars make sure they have enough headroom between the sauce and the top of the jar to allow for expansion in the freezer.