Glenn's Catsup

Overrun with tomatoes? This homemade condiment is the catsup's meow! One of our members got it from a friend with a huge garden years ago.

4 quarts peeled, cored, chopped tomatoes (dunk in boiling water for 30 seconds to remove skins easily)
1 cup chopped onions
½ cup chopped sweet red peppers
1½ teaspoons celery seed
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1 teaspoon whole allspice
1 stick cinnamon
1 cup sugar
¼-½ teaspoon ascorbic acid
1 tablespoon salt
1½ cups vinegar
1 tablespoon paprika

Cook tomatoes, onions and peppers in a heavy pot until soft. Press through a food mill or sieve. Cook strained liquid rapidly until volume is reduced by half, about 1 hour.

Tie whole spices in a cheese cloth bag, add with sugar and salt to tomato mixture. Cook gently about 25 minutes, stirring frequently. Add vinegar and paprika, continue cooking until catsup-thick. As mixture thickens, stir frequently to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Pour boiling hot into hot canning jars, leaving an 1/8 inch head space. Adjust caps. Process 10 minutes. Yield: about 3 pints.