Ketchup in the Slow Cooker

I am in love. Totally head over heals in love with canning! It is our second year in this house and I finally got the garden to grow without the bugs eating everything. With tomatoes from my garden and my father in laws I had enough to make some ketchup. This process should be started in the morning to be finished at the end of the day, otherwise you will be up all night. You could also do this over night and can the next morning. Directions are simple.

Adapted from What Julia Ate.
8 cups diced tomatoes (peeled if you do not have a food mill)
1 medium sweet onion sliced thin
2/3 cup of dark brown sugar
3-4 cloves garlic peeled
A spice sack: cinnamon stick, bay leaf, black peppercorns, allspice berries, celery seed
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 tsp salt

Chop tomato, onion and garlic into a non reactive stock pot. Boil for 20 minutes or until soft. Run the tomato sauce through food mill to remove skins and seeds into your slow cooker. If you peeled them first use an immersion blender or small batches in a food processor and transfer into the slow cooker.

At this point at your sugar, salt and vinegar. Using a spice bag, coffee filter or tea ball pack your spices and add to the mixture. Leave on low or for me the 10 hour setting for as long as you can until the right ketchupy (I now deem that word) thickness.

Bottle and follow water bath canning procedure found here at pickyourown.org processing for 15 minutes with 1/2 inch head space.

I put mine straight into Grolosch bottles I had on hand and kept it in the fridge. This will make you want to have french fries and hotdogs for dinner every night!