How To Make Banana Ketchup
Banana Ketchup is a popular and favorite ketchup condiment in the Philippines. The ingredients is composed mainly of mashed Banana (of course), brown sugar, Vinegar, spices and seasonings. You might be wondering why the color of banana ketchup is red, and banana aren’t supposed to be red. Well, naturally the color of the banana is brownish to yellow, most of the time banana ketchup is dyed with the color red to resemble it with tomato ketchup.
Just a little history, the very first production of banana ketchup in the Philippines is during the World War II, because at that time there were scarcity in tomatoes and abundant supply of bananas.
Banana Ketchup is used mostly in Filipino food as you would use tomato ketchup with. You can pair it with fried chicken, fried fish or fried Lumpia used as a dipping sauce. Not only it is used in meals but during snack time as well, say for example french fries, this ketchup is the perfect banana sauce for it. At times, it is also added to add flavor to the Filipino Spaghetti. Since Banana Ketchup is readily available in the Philippines, most of the Filipinos in other countries don’t have that much access to their accustomed favorite condiment during meal time. That is why in here I will teach you the Banana Ketchup Recipe the simplest and easiest way possible so that you will not ran out of banana ketchup ever again. The ingredients are also easy to find and not hard to cook. Although there are a lot of banana ketchup recipes nowadays, let me teach you my very own way to cook it. Check the recipe out.
Banana Ketchup Recipe
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 5 medium ripe bananas (Peeled and sliced)
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 medium sized red bell pepper
- 15 pieces chili, crushed and minced
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 2 cups white vinegar
- 7 cups brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon coloring (ketchup red)
- 1/2 tablespoon sodium benzoate
- Water, as needed.
Instructions
- In a large cooking pot, pour in water and allow to boil.
- Once water is boiled, add in bananas and boil for at least 10 minutes. Remove boiled banana from pot and let it cool down.
- Once bananas are cooled down, peel bananas and slice each banana into 3 parts.
- In a blender, put in the bananas to mashed it. Then once bananas are mashed, add in onions, bell pepper and garlic. Add at least 2 cups of water and blend until mixture softens. Note: This step can be done little by little, which means it can be done by batch, You don’t need to put everything all at once. Put just enough of it for the blender to blend. And then blend some more.
- Put the above mixture in a large bowl. Then add chili, tomato paste, spices and seasonings, white vinegar, brown sugar and salt. Mix them well.
- In a large pot, put the mixture and cook for about an hour or until its consistency thickens.
- Add in food coloring and sodium benzoate. Stir to blend in well.
- Allow it to cool down. Once cooled down, transfer to air tight containers or jars.
Putting Ketchup in a refrigerator is not really necessary because of the additive called sodium benzoate. Although even if is does require refrigeration, make sure to tightly close the lid of the jar or container you are using so maintain its taste and freshness.
Try this Recipe and let me know what you think. If you have other versions, let us know so that we can also share it here.
Interested in other recipe? Feel free to comment below. Also, let me know your experience along the way. I look forward to hearing from you.
