Inspiration: I recently bought myself a present….A new cookbook!

Ben Mervis, a food historian, compiled over 500 classic British bakes, entrees, sides, and staples for his readers. And whilst I’ve earmarked a veritable ton of pages to visit in the future — there was one in particular which caught my eye.

My very favorite condiment — tomato ketchup!

And who knew, I mean other than Heinz and Hunts, that the stuff was so easy to concoct? There’s about two-and-a-half hours of hands-on work — which honestly is only about ten minutes of chopping. The rest is reduction time, where you occasionally wander past the pot and give it a good stir. However, the sticky wicket of the recipe is that it takes about a month sitting in a cool dark cupboard to marry the flavors properly.

Meaning you must be patient.

Which is hard.

However, the wait is absolutely worth it! Especially since you can easily adjust the spice level or add in extra flavors (just like the name brands) should you enjoy doing that sort of thing!

Christie: Since ketchup, in one form or another, has been around for ages, I can honestly say I can see Captain Hastings, Inspector Japp, Tommy (as in Tommy and Tuppence), and a whole host of other characters peopling Christie’s books loving a homemade version of this refrigerator staple.