Saturday, May 11, 2019

A Ketchup Adventure--Part I

My friend Hvitr recently blogged about making an 18th century recipe for mushroom ketchup. Her blog post about it may be found here.

It happens that I have been curious about how one makes mushroom ketchup for a while, but had not gotten around to tracking down a recipe and trying it.  Apparently the process is simple; you sprinkle salt on raw mushrooms, heat them gently, squeeze all the liquid out of them with your hands, add spices to the liquid, simmer the liquid for 15 minutes or so, and then bottle it.  

I have a slow cooker, which seems ideal for the gentle heating part.  Moreover, mushrooms are cheap and easy to find in supermarkets here, since Kennett Square, often called, with only a bit of exaggeration, the "Mushroom Capital of the World," is only about 10 miles from here.  My husband and I both love mushrooms; we may well find that this ketchup is just the thing to use for flavoring our stews and soups.

This weekend originally looked like a good time to perform such an experiment.  Until my car's alternator died on Monday, during the very last leg of our trip home from Michigan, where we had been spending a few days at a science-fiction convention.  And until the car developed an engine problem (still undiagnosed, because the mechanics won't be able to look at it until Monday at the earliest).  And until my husband discovered, while trying to install his shiny, brand-new super-computer, that his beloved desk, which he's had from childhood, is missing a leg and may be unrepairable.  Which will require a desk-shopping expedition, after his medical appointment.  On Monday, of course.

So I may not be able to get mushrooms, let alone have time to experiment with them, until sometime next week.  When I do, I'll blog about what I find.

EDIT: (5/16/2019) Got the car back yesterday and bought a bit over a pound of mushrooms for this project.  Possible ketchup making this weekend: stay tuned.

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