At my house, we live a very frugal lifestyle. I shop sales, use coupons and maintain a pantry stockpile. But there are three things we will never compromise on - Coffee, Toilet Paper and Ketchup. We have specific brands we love - and although we've tried others - it's just not worth the trade off, so I stock up when I can.
Recently, we discovered just before lunch, that we were out of Ketchup. My eight year old was devastated, until I suggested we try making our own! Surprisingly, it took about 3 minutes!
2 small cans of Tomato Paste $1
1/3 cup of Water $0
1/4 cup White Vinegar $0.03
1 Tbsp Sugar $0.03
1/2 tsp Salt $0.01
1/4 tsp Black Pepper $0.01
1/2 tsp Mustard Powder $0.03
1/2 tsp Oregano $0.03
1/2 tsp Cayenne $0.02
1/2 tsp Onion Powder $0.02
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder $0.02
1/4 tsp Celery Salt $0.02
Total Recipe Cost: $1.22 / 400+ ml ($0.72 / cup)
1. Whisk everything together and serve.
This recipe was a little thick so I added the Water, but depending on the consistency you prefer, the Water can be completely eliminated. This was VERY close to Heinz Ketchup - and was a hit with the whole family.
Heinz Ketchup 1L costs $3.99 ($1 /cup)