I hadn’t heard of mushroom ketchup before visiting Colonial Williamsburg. It isn’t at all like tomato ketchup, which didn’t exist in the 18th century. Many people in England and North America still believed then that tomatoes were poisonous, and tomato ketchup wasn’t common until the mid-19th century. Until then, ketchups were prepared from mushrooms, walnuts, anchovies, or shellfish. (The word ketchup is thought to come from the Chinese ke-tsiap, or pickled fish sauce.)
Mushroom ketchup is made by chopping up mushrooms, seasoning them with salt, and letting the mixture sit overnight and macerate. Spices and vinegar are then added and the mixture is cooked. The liquid squeezed from this concoction is thinner and stronger in taste than modern-day ketchup — more like Worcestershire sauce, a fermented anchovy sauce dating to the 1830s that is essentially another early form of ketchup.
In colonial times, mushroom ketchup was used on roast meats and poultry as well as in pies and sauces. I tried a bottle of commercially made mushroom ketchup and it was decent, but I wanted to make my own. I was thrilled to find a youtube video on mushroom-ketchup preparation (what can’t you find on youtube?) by Jas. Townsend & Son, a purveyor of 18th- and 19th-century-style wares and clothing for re-enactors.
Even if you don’t make this ketchup, the video is fun to watch — part of Townsend & Son’s 18th-century cooking series, it’s an actual reenactment prepared over an open fire (you even get instructions for keeping “critters” out of the ketchup). And making this yourself is pretty fun, too, and worth the trouble. It tastes great with beef, lamb, cooked greens, and dishes like polenta. But if I do it again, I’ll be less frugal and use some exotic mushrooms in addition to baby bellas, for a more complex flavor.
Mushroom Ketchup
Adapted from recipe by Jas. Townsend & Son
2 pounds fresh mushrooms
2 tablespoons kosher or sea salt
2 bay leaves
1 large onion, chopped
zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon grated horseradish
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
pinch of cayenne
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1. Wipe the mushrooms clean and chop them or break them into small pieces. Combine the mushrooms, salt, and bay leaves in a large non-metallic bowl. Mash for a few minutes with a big spoon or masher. Cover and let sit overnight. (I mashed it a few more times during the night for good measure.) The mushroom mixture will reduce in size considerably.
2. Transfer the mixture to a Dutch oven or other big cooking pot and stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce heat to low, and simmer the mixture for about 30 minutes, stirring often. The longer you cook it, the more concentrated the flavor will be.
3. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the mixture to cool, then place it in a large piece of muslin-type cloth or a double layer of cheesecloth, and squeeze the cloth over a bowl to remove as much liquid as possible. (I put a sieve under the cheesecloth, just in case.)
4. When you’re done squeezing, you should have about 2 cups of liquid — your ketchup! Store it in a glass bottle with a cork or other stopper. According to the above video, the ketchup can be kept at room temperature for at least several weeks, because of its high salt content, but I’m keeping mine in the refrigerator. (Basically the longer you’ve cooked it, the safer your ketchup will be.)
5. Don’t throw out the wrung-out mushroom bits! Spread them on a baking sheet and dry thoroughly in a 200°F oven. This may take up to several hours, depending on how much liquid you managed to squeeze out. The mixture can be ground into a powder and used for seasoning or left as is and added to soups and other dishes.
If you’d like to make a thicker mushroom ketchup, the Chubby Vegetarian blog has a delicious-looking recipe using porcini salt and champagne vinegar. Or if mashing and squeezing mushrooms just doesn’t appeal to you, you can buy the commercial sauce, George Watkins Mushroom Ketchup, online at Williamsburg Marketplace or Amazon.
Revolutionary Pie 
I’m passing this recipe on to my husband. This is so something he would love to try!
If he makes it, let me know how it turns out.
Good post, honey!
Excellent post, thank you! Especially like the drying of the used mushrooms as a condiment/additive, very clever.
Glad you liked it. I got the dried mushrooms idea from Townsend & Sons. They’re a great resource!
I’ve made Mushroom Ketchup a few times. I always use Hannah Glasse’s receipt (recipe) from her cookbook “The Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy” (1747). As is typical, Townsend is NOT making true historic MK. His recipe is more modern and contains the ingredients for Worcestershire Sauce and other store-bought products that pass as MK nowadays. Drives me nuts! LOL ugh
Anyway…here’s the first of my blog postings on the subject: http://historiccookery.com/2010/07/21/in-need-of-a-bit-o-mushroom-catchup/ It was a fun process!
cheers,
carolina
http://www.historiccookery.com
Thanks for writing, Carolina. I love the Glasse recipe you followed — such wonderful language (e.g., “with your Hand brake them”).
I have a recipe for mushroom ketchup which my grandmother made in Ireland, and she fermented the liquid in the ground, yep she buried it for 4 days,,,tasted amazing.
Interesting! Reminds me of the fermented shark in Iceland, though I think I’d rather eat ketchup fermented underground than fish… Anyway, thanks for writing.
Have you made lemon ketchup?
No, I haven’t. Sounds nice!
I made this recipe and I think that mine tastes better than the Geo. Watkins brand. I also dried the mushrooms and then ground them in a spice grinder. I use the dried mushroom powder to season stews, soup, gravy and sauces. It’s worth the effort.
Using a spice grinder is a good idea. I have got to make this again one of these days… 🙂
I just made some, waiting for some appropriate historical cooking to try it on. But the leftover mushrooms make great hot dog relish!
Good idea, Mike. I’m suddenly craving hot dogs (and it’s only 7:30 a.m.).
Saw that video on YouTube. Good series. Was at the grocery store and forgot the ingredients. Enter google and your blog post. Very helpful. Thanks!
Glad to be of help!
We made this and were very pleased. Used to have this as a child but cannot find suppliers in the uk!!!! Now we are under orders for christmas supplies for the family.
I’m surprised this isn’t sold in the UK! Glad you liked the recipe. It is a good Christmas gift idea, especially if you can find some nice bottles.
James Townsend and Son is now selling an imported mushroom ketchup. They comment they like that brand’s flavor.
Yes, they sell the Watkins brand and I think it’s pretty good.
Planning to make this in my vitamix and use all the leftover mushroom pieces to make a thicker sauce.
Dry out the remnants of the mushrooms on parchment paper @ 220 degrees f. Once it is dried sufficiently you can grind it up in a spice grinder to be used for soup flavoring or for a rub on a roast, steaks or chicken.
Using the Vitamix seems like a great idea (but drying out the remnants in an oven is a good approach, too).
I’ve been making this sauce for a few years now. Just wanted to add my own bit. Instead of two pounds of mushrooms I use three. I’ve also found that if you use store bought pre sliced, it is best to use the ones that have been there for a while and has already started to “goo” up. With them starting to break down already it seems to render its juices better in my opinion. I don’t use level teaspoons for the allspice and cloves, I use a mounded amount. Other than that I keep the recipe, and it seems to have better flavor. Something new that I’m trying with this batch is the use of two Vidalia onions and a half and half mixture of malt and cider vinegar. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.
Your suggestion to use slightly aged mushrooms makes sense, and your latest batch sounds delicious. I’m going to try that combination someday. Thanks for writing!
Pingback: Time to ketchup | The Snail of Happiness
Pingback: Shiitake Mushroom Flavor Concentrate – Pleasant Peasant Cuisine
Pingback: Mushroom Ketchup – Boyd Recipes