Walnut Ketchup Recipe How to Make Walnut Ketchup | Hank Shaw (2024)

Home | British | Classic Walnut Ketchup

4.84 from 6 votes

By Hank Shaw

June 15, 2015 | Updated June 06, 2022

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Walnut Ketchup Recipe How to Make Walnut Ketchup | Hank Shaw (2)

Squirrels love walnuts. So to be a walnut tree, you either need to be fortunate enough to grow where there are no squirrels, or be strong enough to push out lots and lots and lots of walnuts, so the squirrels and jays and yes, people, can have their share. In fact, these virile trees push out so many little nuts that they factor in loss — to not strip some off in springtime stunts those that remain.

That’s where we come in. There are several things you can do with unripe walnuts. My favorite is pickled walnuts. The French and Italians make a liqueur from unripe walnuts, too. And the English make a wonderful sauce from them called walnut ketchup.

This unusual condiment seems to have originated in 1700s Britain, and the word ketchup is either from Chinese or Southeast Asian origin. Back then there were lots of ketchups, and only later did tomato win the tournament as the One True Ketchup. One of the old ketchups was this walnut ketchup.

Walnut Ketchup Recipe How to Make Walnut Ketchup | Hank Shaw (3)

My recipe is an amalgam of one from 1808 and one from Gourmet magazine from 1948. Basically you mash unripe walnuts, let them steep in vinegar for a week or more, then boil everything with wine, spicy things, anchovies and onion, strain and bottle. Anchovies? Yeah, sounds gnarly. But it isn’t. The sauce isn’t fishy at all, and the anchovies add a savory note to the sauce.

What, then, does walnut ketchup taste like? It’s very sharp, as you might guess from all that vinegar, but beyond the acidity, it tastes like a combination of Worcestershire and A1 Steak sauce. I am not kidding. It really is a dead ringer for A1, but is thin like Worcestershire.

Walnut Ketchup Recipe How to Make Walnut Ketchup | Hank Shaw (4)

Nowadays there’s no reason not to use this sauce right away. But back in the day, cooks would put up this sauce and store it for at least a year before serving. It needs time to mellow, like wine. Take this note, from Maria Eliza Ketelby Rundell, in her book A New System of Domestic Cooking (1808): “It will keep 20 years in the greatest perfection, but it is not fit for use the first year.”

My advice: Go ahead and use some when you make it. But I can tell you that it really does mellow well after a year. I can’t speak for 20.

4.84 from 6 votes

Walnut Ketchup

I used unripe black walnuts for this recipe, but any unripe walnut will do. Ideally they are young enough to jam a knife all the way through, but you can even use slightly older nuts where the inner shell of the nut itself is starting to form. Keep in mind this is not as thick as tomato ketchup. It's more like a Worcestershire sauce, but it tastes more like A1. Use this as a marinade or splash it on any sort of red meat -- beef, venison, duck, goose, hare, etc.

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Course: Condiment, Sauce

Cuisine: British

Servings: 6 cups

Author: Hank Shaw

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Ingredients

  • About 50 green walnuts
  • 3 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 1 12- ounce bottle malt vinegar
  • 3 to 4 cups cider vinegar
  • 2 ounces of anchovies, rinsed well
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 cup red wine or Port
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1/4 cup chopped or grated horseradish
  • A 1-inch piece of ginger, unpeeled and sliced thin
  • 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (optional)

Instructions

  • Crush, chop, crack or grind your walnuts. Remember this is a messy job and the liquid will stain, so your method should reflect that. I wear gloves and a ratty long-sleeved shirt and chopmy walnuts small with a stainless steel knife on a dark-stained cutting board, This minimizes the staining.

  • Put the walnuts in a large glass or other non-reactive container and cover with the two vinegars. I find it makes a better walnut ketchup with only malt vinegar, but as this can get expensive, you can make do with some malt vinegar balanced with some cider vinegar. Just barely cover the walnuts with the vinegar. Put the lid on the container and let this sit at room temperature for 8 days.

  • After 8 days, move the walnuts and vinegar into a large, non-reactive pot and add the remaining ingredients. Boil gently for 45 minutes, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve to separate the solids. As an extra step, you can wait until the sauce cools and then buzz the sauce in a blender with the xanthan gum; this will keep the very fine solids suspended in the ketchup and give you a sauce with more body.

  • Bottle the sauce and keep it in a cool, dark place indefinitely.

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe? Tag me today!Mention @huntgathercook or tag #hankshaw!

Categorized as:
British, Featured, Foraging, Recipe

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About Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet’s largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

Read More About Me

Walnut Ketchup Recipe How to Make Walnut Ketchup | Hank Shaw (2024)

FAQs

How do I thicken my homemade ketchup? ›

But if you want a thicker texture, whisk two tablespoons of cornstarch into 1/4 cup of cold water.

How do you use a lot of ketchup? ›

Ketchup can be used as a sweet glaze or add a kick of flavor to scalloped potatoes, deviled eggs, or meatloaf. Grab a bottle of Red Gold ketchup and explore all that the condiment has to offer with these ten exciting recipes.

What is the thickening agent in ketchup? ›

With the second processing method high-pressure hom*ogenisation is not used and thickening agents such as xanthan gum, pectin or starch (including modified starches) are used to obtain the required viscosity in the finished ketchup.

What does it mean if ketchup is watery? ›

You may see a layer of water appear when ketchup is left alone for long periods. Excess water can eventually separate out of this molecular matrix on its own; this is known as leaching [1]. What you need to do is to shake to hom*ogenize it – to redistribute the molecules of the ketchup.

What is an unhealthy ingredient in ketchup? ›

Two ingredients of concern in ketchup are salt and sugar. Per tablespoon, ketchup contains 4 grams of sugar and 190 milligrams of sodium. Although 4 grams of sugar doesn't seem like a lot, much of it comes from added sugar, as opposed to the natural sugar found in tomatoes.

Why should you not put ketchup in the refrigerator? ›

Despite Heinz' stance, the United States Department of Agriculture says shelf-stable foods like ketchup do not require refrigeration. However, doing so "may decrease in freshness and quality (texture and color) if eaten months or years past the expiration date."

What is the rule for ketchup? ›

Pednekar VS State of Goa through the Chief Secretary][PREM KUMAR SINGH VS STATE OF U. P. ][B. K Pavitra VS Union of India]. The "catch-up" rule is a concept that allows reserved category candidates who are promoted later to regain their seniority over general category candidates who were promoted earlier.

Is it OK to eat tomato ketchup everyday? ›

For most people, ketchup proves perfectly safe when consumed in moderation. The condiment can easily be included in your well-balanced diet. Still, eating too much ketchup may cause you mild side effects.

Why vinegar is used in tomato ketchup? ›

The vinegar ensures preservation of the tomato ketchup and the herbs enhance the taste of the tomatoes. Moreover, starches can be added which swell during cooking and thus increase the viscosity. Because the quality of the tomatoes can vary, the recipe will sometimes need to be adjusted.

How do you thicken homemade condiments? ›

The most readily available sauce-thickener is flour. For a too-thin sauce, try adding a slurry (equal parts flour and water, whisked together) or beurre manie (equal parts softened butter and flour, kneaded together to form a paste)—both are ideal thickeners for rich and creamy sauces, such as steak sauce recipes.

How do you thicken a sauce that's too watery? ›

Use one tablespoon cornstarch mixed with one tablespoon cold water (aka a cornstarch slurry) for each cup of medium-thick sauce. Thoroughly mix the cornstarch and water together, then pour into your sauce. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.

How long does it take for ketchup to thicken? ›

The only correct way to thicken ketchup is to reduce the amount of liquid when cooking. Simmer the ketchup in the pot without a lid until it thickens. Depending on the amount of liquid in the tomatoes, it may take one to two hours for the ketchup to reduce.

How do you fix soupy tomato sauce? ›

When in a pinch, tomato paste is the perfect way to help thicken a sauce in the nick of time. Take some tomato paste, put it in a cup, and dilute it with a little bit of water. Mix it up, and then when it reaches your desired consistency, add it directly to the sauce. This is a step that should be fairly easy to eye.

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