(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

queencallipygos
2008-04-03 05:53 pm UTC (link)

I'm more confused about the people who're asking "why would you want to make your own ketchup anyway".

Because, hell, why not make your own ketchup? I've made my own mustard, liqueur, soap, ice cream, and jam, and I'm looking into making my own cheese. It's a weird rush, because you're used to something just coming from a bottle in the store, but then if you mix something up with your two hands and it tastes just like it, that's kind of awesome.

...Granted, I'm an enormous food geek and such things may impress me more than they do others, but -- dudes, I don't care, I've made my own amaretto from scratch! For reals! Shit, yeah, I wanna try ketchup!

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	brennalarose 2008-04-03 06:04 pm UTC (link)
	Amaretto from scratch? Okay, now I'm curious. I hate amaretto, but my mother loves the stuff. That'd be an awesome gift! (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

queencallipygos
2008-04-03 06:12 pm UTC (link)

I've long since lost the book where I got the specific recipe I use, but did a search and managed to find the recipe printed as the "excerpt from the book" on Amazon. They've since changed it so the excerpt is from the introduction instead. This recipe comes closest.

But it's this easy, really -- most of the liqueurs I've made follow the same plan of "dump stuff into a glass jar, add vodka, and let the whole thing soak for a month; then strain out the solids, add some sugar syrup to taste, and let age for another couple weeks." And that's it. Some recipes do instead call for boiling everything together and then only steeping for a week or so, but the "dump it together and let it sit a way long time" method is even easier.

Check the book out -- they've got a lot of other recipes in there. But it's pretty damn easy.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	brennalarose 2008-04-03 09:21 pm UTC (link)
	You rock! Have some cake? That's one thing I WILL make from scratch. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	belafarinrod 2008-04-03 09:23 pm UTC (link)
	Damn, and I was just going to ask you if you lived somewhere where home distilling was legal ;) But "dump stuff in alcohol and add sugar" is surprisingly easy, I did it with strawberries. And it's so cheap lives in tax-~~heaven~~ ~~hell~~ MOTHERLOAD-of-taxes-country (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

queencallipygos
2008-04-03 09:27 pm UTC (link)

I personally don't know the exact legalese about distilling, but if it tells you anything, my neighbor makes his own mead...then again, the aforementioned neighbor sometimes has taken a slightly relaxed approach to the law, so it's equally likely that it IS legal, or that it's illegal and he's just adopted a "oh, well, I only make a little and they probably won't catch me" policy.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) -

belafarinrod, 2008-04-03 10:01 pm UTC

(no subject) -

stinksap, 2008-04-04 02:24 am UTC

	miraba 2008-04-03 10:13 pm UTC (link)
	I've been doing the "dump stuff into a bottle of vodka, let sit and strain" technique myself. Habanero peppers are 24 hours, coffee beans are 48, I think basil was about a week (but I really dumped it in), and cinnamon was somewhere around 2 weeks. Lemongrass and garlic-black pepper vodkas are up next. I may do a fruit liquor once something comes into season. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

queencallipygos
2008-04-04 05:51 pm UTC (link)

(donning pedant's cap)

Whatcha got there are flavored vodkas, which are also just as cool and a little bit more versatile. (Alton Brown made a very impressive bid for pepper vodka on an episode once and I've been wanting to try.) Let it all sit longer, though, and it crosses from flavored vodka to liqueur, which has more intense flavor but a little less versatlity in usefullness.

(pedant cap off)

How'd the coffee bean one work, though? I haven't tried a flavored vodka yet, largely because the only other person I know who has is CallipygosConsort, who's gotten a habanero vodka that's so strong he keeps it in the freezer and only brings it out when he and his guy friends are having testosterone-induced "who actually can do a shot of this without flinching" bravery contests.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) -

miraba, 2008-04-05 04:18 am UTC

	sidewinder 2008-04-03 06:05 pm UTC (link)
	IKR? Suddenly I have an intense urge to make my own. Super-food geek here, too. I bought a whole wine-making kit last year which I have yet to find the time to use, but I so want to. Even if the wine I make tastes like crap (which I'm sure it will! But dude, recipes for potato wine? I MUST TRY.) (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

queencallipygos
2008-04-03 06:23 pm UTC (link)

I sometimes work in theater, and so sometimes I have need for "opening night gifts" for casts -- and jam works GREAT for "need large quantity of some random gift for little money and little effort." A standard batch of jam makes enough for 16 of those cute little half-a-cup size jars, which is about right for a gift, and that's enough to take care of a standard cast, the crew, and all the designers and the director; it only takes about an hour, especially if you use pectin; and you look amazingly impressive when you hand people these jars and they all go, "holy shit you MADE this???"

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	shaysdays 2008-04-03 09:20 pm UTC (link)
	http://www.recipezaar.com/13921 nod nod nod Not quite 'homemade' but also a good 'crowd' present- I always have a bunch on hand around Xmas for people who fall through the cracks or give me something I wasn't expecting. Dollar store Xmas mugs FTW, btw. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	queencallipygos 2008-04-03 09:29 pm UTC (link)
	I actually did a cranberry-walnut conserve this year -- the best part is, all my friends give me back the empty jars, and my family is a supplier to Ocean Spray so I also get all the cranberries free -- so the only thing I had to buy were the walnuts. So I ended up making three Christmas presents for only about three bucks. :-) (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) -

shaysdays, 2008-04-03 09:38 pm UTC

(no subject) -

queencallipygos, 2008-04-04 05:52 pm UTC

magic_lilybean
2008-04-03 10:51 pm UTC (link)

Yeah, I haven't done the jam/jelly thing yet, but at Christmas time I made honey butter (it's honey + butter, but people are weirdly impressed by this) and homemade bread for everyone because we were really strapped. People raved. Success!

(I never cared for honey butter, but this recipe called for some orange zest and that was just what it needed to push it into PURE WIN. 1/3 cup honey + 1/2 cup butter + 1 teaspoon orange zest = WIN.)

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	risha 2008-04-03 11:53 pm UTC (link)
	Mmmm! You just mix them together, right? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) -

magic_lilybean, 2008-04-04 12:43 am UTC

(no subject) -

risha, 2008-04-04 01:21 am UTC

	wtf 2008-04-03 06:09 pm UTC (link)
	That's pretty much what I got out of this wank. That, and the poster is a leetle touchy. XD KETCHUP MAKING TIME ON F_W! (Reply to this)(Parent)

papervolcano
2008-04-03 06:57 pm UTC (link)

This is very true. I'm unlikely to make my own tomato sauce because I eat it so rarely, but I made up a batch of bread at the weekend, and it's so neat to turn a bag of flour into a sticky mess and then into a distinctly lovely loaf.

As soon as I've cleared some of my debt, I'm going to get into cider homebrewing (and just in case that isn't *blatantly* obvious, this is me fishing for homebrew tips, tricks and recipes). I know I could buy it (and do, by the gallon), but it's *interesting* to make my own.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

rosehiptea
2008-04-03 09:14 pm UTC (link)

Yeah, I was saying that up there: Back when I was married and more motivated I made my own tehina for kicks. I made yogurt cheese and I don't even eat cheese. (I think my ex ate it.)

And I looked into grinding my own flour, not because I was that hardcore but just because I could.

So while the person did get wanky I don't see what's not to get about wanting to make your own ketchup.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	tofuknight 2008-04-04 05:06 pm UTC (link)
	They make an attatchment for the Kitchenaid mixers that grinds grain. loves her mother's Kitchenaid I haven't actually tried it, but the meat grinding, juicing, and pasta making ones all worked great ~~and made a god-awful mess but it was so tasty!~~! (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	fearthainn 2008-04-08 11:29 pm UTC (link)
	...really? Intriguing. adds to Christmas list (Reply to this)(Parent)

	pishbadlarr 2008-04-04 02:52 am UTC (link)
	Hell yes. I'm not getting why many of those people are not getting that some of us just find it fun to make things from scratch. I make all my own beauty products now and am working on salad dressings, bread, and butter. It may not be as convenient, but I have a hell of a lot more fun making my own bread than buying it in a bag at the grocery. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	caffeine_fairy 2008-04-04 12:57 pm UTC (link)
	I know! Oh, and making your own cheese rocks. But make sure you have good ventilation. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

queencallipygos
2008-04-04 05:54 pm UTC (link)

I'm going with the softer cheeses, largely because there is nowhere I can set up a cheese cave or cheese mold. So I'm doing, like, mozzarella and creme fraiche instead of cheddar and such.

Although, I have a neighbor who makes his own mead and lets it distill in his basement, which may be cool enough in summer for me to talk him into playing foster-parent to some cheese, if I get really into this...

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	caffeine_fairy 2008-04-04 06:08 pm UTC (link)
	If you've never done it before, try paneer (Indian cheese) - it's just a couple of lemons squeezed into a pint of hot water, mix into whole milk and stir over a gentle heat, then drain and press. I think you can let it mature but the question has never arisen... (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) -

msmanna, 2008-04-04 08:14 pm UTC

	lysana 2008-04-04 09:22 pm UTC (link)
	I made mushroom ketchup once. Swoonworthy. (Reply to this)(Parent)

judyhazeleyes
2009-01-29 11:21 pm UTC (link)

I realize this is way old, but I saw your comment while reading old wanks and it reminded me of something I've been pondering lately. Would you mind if I asked you a bit about soapmaking? Over e-mail or here, whichever works. I'm totally into organic soap now, but I can't really afford to keep myself in it, and I've also always wanted to give handmade gifts but I'm horribly uncrafty. So let me know, okay?

(Reply to this)(Parent)

(Read comments) -