The easiest recipe for Hawthorn Ketchup you can find online!

Ingredients

• l 500g of hawthorn berries
• l 300ml of apple cider vinegar
• l 300ml of water
• l 150g of honey or brown sugar 
• l 1/2 tsp salt 
• l freshly ground black pepper or angelica seeds

Optional

• Hogweed seeds (3 or 4)
• Crabapples
• Blackberries
• Wild strawberries
• Rosehips
• Rowan Berries.

Method

Pick over the hawthorn berries, removing the stems and discarding any berries that are damaged, mouldy or shrivelled. Rinse and drain them, then put them into a large pan with the water and vinegar and bring to the boil.

Simmer for 15 to 30 minutes or until the skins have split and the flesh of the berries is soft.

The laborious part of the recipe comes next: work the contents of the pan through a sieve set over a bowl, using a spoon to push as much pulp as you can through the mesh – or even better, use a mouli*.

The more pulp you extract, the thicker and more flavoursome the ketchup will be.

Return the pulp to the rinsed pan. Add the sugar/honey, salt and pepper to taste, and wild herbs (if using).

Bring to the boil, stirring gently to ensure the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat and simmer the liquid to your preferred thickness – you’re aiming for a consistency similar to ketchup. Depending on how much pulp you’ve managed to extract, this will take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes.

Pour into sterilized bottles or jars, and leave for at least a month before eating – the flavour will deepen and grow richer. Unopened, the ketchup should last for several months, but once opened store the bottle in the fridge.