If next year I start talking about wanting to can some more ketchup, please remind me that Heinz is just fine. :)

A buddy from Canning Club told me that I'd never go back to store-bought ketchup once I'd tasted homemade.

And, yes, I'll grant her that if I were making a decision based on taste alone, she would be entirely correct. This stuff is GOOD!

She forgot to mention and thus factor in, though, the time involved and the MESS!

My amazing hubby worked with me for the solid 5 hours it took for us to complete this project. As it got later and later and neared midnight, I admit that I got a bit cranky about it all. He persevered, though, and encouraged me, and we did (finally) get finished.

Then, though, we had to begin the clean-up. And, if I'm being honest, it's still going on. I keep finding sticky splatters in remote places. And, even though the kitchen floor has been mopped twice, our shoes are still making that sticky sound when we walk across it. :(

I'm guessing it was so messy because my pots weren't really big enough to accommodate the boiling goop, and it was so sticky because it contains about 1 cup of sugar PER PINT! Wowza! Still, it's got to be better for us than the high-fructose-corn-syrup-packed store-bought variety that currently inhabits my fridge door.