Banana Ketchup

[labradors]

From some earlier posts, I noticed that some of you have some experience with Filipino banana ketchup.

Well, I'd like to know how you would describe the flavour of it.

Here's the Filipino recipe from which I made some, yesterday, and it is awesome, with plenty of kick, but I've never had the real thing to have a basis for comparison. I have converted the units from metric to U.S. and translated the words for a couple of the ingredients into English. Since the recipe had been geared toward commercial production, I have left out the preservative and colourings. Also, not sure what the final quantity would be, I only made half of the following batch, though now I wish I had made the full batch.

Banana Ketchup

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 Lb. (about 6 large) Ripe bananas, peeled
  
• 2 Cups Vinegar
  
• 15 Cups Water (see note)
  
• 5 1/2 Tbsp. Salt
  
• 2 1/4 Lb. Brown sugar
  
• 1 Large Red bell pepper
  
• 20 Bird chiles
  
• 1 Onion, chopped
  
• 1 Head Garlic, peeled and minced
  
• 1/8 Tsp. Ground cloves
  
• 1/8 Tsp. Paprika
  
• 1/8 Tsp. Ground Cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Purée the bananas with water, bell pepper, bird chiles, onions and garlic.
   
2. Pour the mixture into a Dutch oven or stock pot.
   
3. Add the remaining ingredients.
   
4. Cook until thick.
   
5. Place in bottles while hot and seal tightly.

Note:

• This really seems as though it co do with much less water. The amount specified made a mixture that was VERY thin and took a LONG time to cook down. I know that that can be done to promote a better blending and concentration of flavours, but this seemed to be even beyond that. I'm going to try another batch, using less water. In fact, one other recipe I had found, which a Filipino told me didn't sound as close to the Banana Ketchup he knew as the recipe I had chosen, said to use an amount of water equal in weight to the amount of bananas used. That would mean that THIS recipe should only use about 4 1/2 cups of water and THAT seems right, based upon how thin my first batch started out. Thus, my next batch will still use this recipe, but I shall base the amount of water upon the weight of the bananas.

The guy who suggested the banana-ketchup recipe also suggested that I try Filipino Pork Barbeque, which uses banana ketchup. I'm not going to be making that right away, but I can taste how wonderful this would be with pork and I shall make the pork recipe in the not-too-distant future.

[Harborwitch]

We love banana ketchup! More comments tomorrow - it's bedtime!

[cjs]

Labs, I have Lumpia in one of the next books and I've been looking for a banana ketchup recipe to learn to make it - this one I've been hanging on to, but haven't had time to make it yet.

May have to try both of them -
Reviews:
Great made 3 times the amount as I have a supply of ripe bananas at the moment, It made like a thin dipping sauce and the pulp that would not go through the sieve has made a great pickle that is great with cheese and so many things. Great sauce and chutney for very little money, will now be some thing that will be made again and again. So many possibilities, nice and spicy but I for got the rum! Thank you for sharing

I had over ripe bananas and I was very curious as to how this would taste. I followed the ingredient list to the letter. I did not use the food processor but instead cooked everything and mid way through the cooking process used my immersion blender. The end result a truly rich, amazingly flavorful, ketchup. I'm not sure what I'll do with it--I'm thinking shrimp at the moment--but it is awfully good.

Banana Ketchup Recipe
Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, About.com Guide

1/2 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup chopped sweet onions
2 large garlic cloves -- quartered
1/3 cup tomato paste
4 large ripe bananas -- peeled and sliced
1 1/3 cup cider vinegar -- divided use
3 cups water -- (3 to 4)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar -- (packed)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground chipotle chile pepper or to taste
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 tbsp dark rum

Place the raisins, onions, garlic, tomato paste, bananas, and 2/3 cup vinegar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process until smooth and pour into a large, heavy saucepan.

To the banana mixture in the saucepan, add remaining 2/3 cup vinegar, 3 cups water, brown sugar, salt, and ground chipotle chile pepper. Stir to combine.

Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often. Reduce heat to low and cook uncovered, stirring the ketchup occasionally, for 1 hour and 15 minutes. If the ketchup gets too thick and begins to stick, add some of the remaining water (up to 1 cup).

Add corn syrup, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, for another 15 minutes or until it is thick enough to coat a metal spoon. Stir in the rum and remove from heat. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Push ketchup through a fine strainer, mashing the solids with the back of a spoon. Let cool to room temperature, pour into glass bottles, cover, and refrigerate. Use within 1 month. Banana ketchup is especially good as a condiment with pork and poultry.

Yield: about 3-1/2 cups

---
But, I've never tasted banana ketchup, I don't think. I just figured it I like it, it goes in the book, authenic or not.

[Gourmet_Mom]

I'm having trouble wrapping my brain around this one. Maybe a little project this summer for fun.

[Harborwitch]

I'm so going to have to try one of these. I'm not sure when I'm going to do that - we love banana ketchup sooo much.

[labradors]

Well, it's delicious, and I"ll be sticking with the recipe I already used - just fine tuning it.

Jean, I had seen the recipe you mentioned, but had specifically rejected it because it had raisins, tomato paste, corn syrup, and rum which, although good sounding, were not in the lists of ingredients that Filipinos IN te Philippines were telling me. In fact, they made it clear that banana ketchup has NO tomatoes, whatsoever (especially since it had been invented during WWII, when they had a shortage of tomatoes but an abundance of bananas).

Ingredients of Jufran brand: Water, sugar, banana, salt, modified starch, spices, sodium benzoate as preservative, citric acid, onion powder, garlic powder, artificial color.

Ingredients for UFC brand: Banana, Water, Sugar, Vinegar, Iodized Salt, Modified Starch, Onion, Spices, Garlic, 0.08% Sodium Benzoate (E211) as preservative, FD & C Yellow #6 (E110) and FD & C Red #40 (E129) as artificial coloring.

Perhaps the about.com recipe was some other banana ketchup, but not a Filipino banana ketchup. Then again, it doesn't make any claim to be Filipino.

[Harborwitch]

Jufran is the one we get. . . I haven't seen it here yet. I'll have to see if I can cut the recipe way down, we don't have space for all of that.

[labradors]

It makes less than I imagined. When I made that half-batch, it boiled down to maybe a pint by the time it reached the right consistency. That means the full recipe (remember the water difference I mentioned) would probably make about a quart.

[Harborwitch]

Well - a pint would be "doable". I could share some!

[Gourmet_Mom]

With me!