Tudor Cottage B&B's Homemade Brown Sauce (Spiced Plum Ketchup)
It has to be admitted that this is a labour of love, but it is a very therapeutic way of dealing with a glut of plums on a cold and dreary day; it fills the house with the most amazing Autumnal aroma and the resulting shiny piquant brown sauce will put you off HP for ever.
Ingredients
This makes enough for about 4 x 1 lb jam jars (sterilised, see Helpful Hints)
1 kg plums, halved and stones removed
300g onions, peeled and roughly chopped
600ml wine vinegar
500g light soft brown sugar
3 tsps. ground cinnamon
2 tsps. ground coriander
1 tsp. mustard powder
3 fat cloves of garlic, chopped
3 tbsps. maple syrup
Oven 180c, 160 fan
Method
Put the de-stoned plum pieces and the onions into a deep roasting pan. Add half the vinegar and all the other ingredients except the maple syrup. Give them a stir.
Bake uncovered in the oven for 3-4 hours, stirring every hour or so. The plums and onions should be meltingly soft and the juice should have become a sticky syrup
Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little.
Transfer the aromatic mixture to a food processor and whizz to a smooth purée.
Transfer to a large saucepan and stir in the remaining vinegar Bring to the boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, until it thickens and becomes a pleasingly thick ketchup consistency; about half an hour. Add the maple syrup, pour into warm sterilised jars and seal.
Helpful Hints
An easy way to sterilise jars is to put them through a hot cycle of the dishwasher. Keep them in a low oven until you are ready to fill them.
Allow to mature and mellow for at least 2 months before consumption
Sealed jars of brown sauce should keep at least 12 months.
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