Mushroom Ketchup

[minoanmiss]

I want to make this.

Watch on YouTube

18th Century Mushroom Ketchup

Ingredients:
2lbs fresh mushrooms, wiped clean and broken or cut into small pieces.
2T Kosher or Sea Salt
2 -3 Bay Leaves
1 Large Onion, chopped
Zest of 1 Lemon
1T Grated Horseradish
1/4t Ground Clove
1/2t Ground Allspice
Pinch of Cayenne
1/2c Cider Vinegar

Instructions:
Combine the mushrooms, salt, and bay leaves in a non-metallic pot or bowl. Cover and let set overnight.

Transfer mushroom mixture to a cooking pot and add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low to simmer the mixture for 15 minutes. (Optional: you could simmer the mixture longer, stirring all the while, to reduce the liquid to about half for a more concentrated flavor.)

Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Strain out all the solids through a piece of cloth, squeezing or wringing the cloth to remove as much liquid as possible.

Bottle and cork.

PLEASE NOTE! Don’t throw away the wrung-out mushroom mixture! Spread it out on a baking sheet and dry it thoroughly in a 200-degree (F) oven. Remove the mushrooms when they are completely dry and hard. This can be ground into a powder and stored in a tin for seasoning or left in its original form to be added to soups and stews. This mushroom seasoning is absolutely delicious!

Comments

[caitri]

ooooh!! Try it and report back and also take pics!

made often

[dialecticdreamer]

It is DELICIOUS.

I am not exaggerating when I say that we tried it on everything from scrabled eggs on toast to roast chicken.

It tends to have a strong umame element, so I like it best with denser, chewier foods, but I will say that the three of us killed a pint in one sitting when I steamed artichokes and we used the mushroom catsup instead of butter, mayo, or balsamic vinegar.

Re: made often

[minoanmiss]

oh my GOD artichokes and umami I am SOLD.

Mushroom catsup

[dialecticdreamer]

Do you like A-1 or Worcestershire sauce? The recipe comes out thin, very like a vegan Worcestershire, but it's a very hearty flavor that compares well to the tomato-influenced A-1.

We haven't dried the mushrooms and spices to make another type of seasoning, at the bottom of your notes. HOWEVER, we usually do take the leftovers and mix them with tomatoes and cooked white beans to make a vegan sloppy Joe mix. (The white beans are needed to cut the intensity of the mushroom flavor.)

The recipe makes a PINT of mushroom catsup. That lasted three people a week. Seriously, every time I made it, we struggled to make it last even two weeks.

It's NOT a lot of work, especially as I didn't dry the mushrooms after making the catsup, and the payoff is SUPERB.

Me, I keep wanting to make akara (look for it on their set of "Foods of the enslaved" recipes), but my doctors would scream down the heavens over that one! (Dietary restrictions are CRUEL, I say, CRUEL!)

Re: Mushroom catsup

[sovay]

Me, I keep wanting to make akara (look for it on their set of "Foods of the enslaved" recipes), but my doctors would scream down the heavens over that one!

Thank you very much, now I also want akara.

Re: Mushroom catsup

[dialecticdreamer]

I was having a great deal of trouble sleeping a while ago, and ended up watching all of their recipe videos to that point. Favorites include:
switchel
kitchen pepper
baked onions
steak fried in ale (and I /hate/ beer, ale, et al.)

Re: Mushroom catsup

[sovay]

I was having a great deal of trouble sleeping a while ago, and ended up watching all of their recipe videos to that point. Favorites include

Switchel is great.

(Thank you for the pointers!)

Re: Mushroom catsup

[dialecticdreamer]

Order Barbados Molasses via Amazon if you can spare the dosh; it will change your LIFE!

Re: Mushroom catsup

[goss]

Question: Is akara the same sorta thing as West Indian "accra"? It's a fritter, but our version uses salt fish.

Re: Mushroom catsup

[dialecticdreamer]

A fritter made from dried cowpeas/black-eyed peas which are ground and then given just enough water to hold together, like cooked grits. Spiced, and then fried.

I do have to go hunting for a recipe for accra, now!

Re: Mushroom catsup

[dialecticdreamer]

Replying to myself here:

Okay, since I haven't made PROPER akara-- I'm not supposed to eat hush puppies, either-- I'm basing my comparisons on the wonderful video, the flavor profiles that I've tried in other Townsends videos, and a bit of Southern bias.

Grits, hush puppies and fried cornmeal mush are all familiar foods to me. Akara comes across as heavier than hush puppies, much closer to cornmeal mush in density. If you've cooked with chickpea flour as compared to whole wheat, that's the kind of difference I'm seeing.

I did use cooked black-eyed peas and the same spices in the recipe to make fritters, which were tasty, but not deep fried. The texture was shall we say lacking. (Avoid my mistake and go for the real McCoy!) The crisp outer layer of a hush puppy is one of the things that differentiates it from plain old cornbread, and that's one of the things I think will make the proper dish spectacular.

Re: Mushroom catsup

[minoanmiss]

I am SO GLAD I posted this on an evening when you had time to comment this edifyingly!

Re: Mushroom catsup

[dialecticdreamer]

Thank you. I've had quite a lot of fun playing with the recipes the Townsends put on video, but my favorite cookbooks are a Jewish cookbook from 1917, and the Tassajara Bread Book, so it's pretty clear that I don't stick very close to a modern American palate.

If you try nothing else, do try the roasted onions. (I prepped mine as if for slicing, but left them whole, but that meant I had to oil the dish to keep them from sticking.) As an omnivore, I'd suggest roasted onions, then toss a second pan in with whitefish fillets for 15-20mins, and serve them both with mushroom catsup. Have a salad for other veggies.

Re: Mushroom catsup

[minoanmiss]

where did my reply go? anyway, to be brief, I like A1 and LOVE Worcestershire.

Re: Mushroom catsup

[dialecticdreamer]

Just picture me chanting, "Do it! Do it!"

[bikergeek]

You're a period cook, it's true,
Ask the weevils in the stew,
On your birthday (UGH!)
Happy birthday!

Interesting stuff, though. Looks like it'd be good for disguising the off-taste of rotten meat. I'd try it, if you were to make some.

[minoanmiss]

ahahahhaah

I love you and I will definitely give you one of my little foofy jars full when I make this.

[sugarandlime]

Sounds interesting and tasty! Go for it!

[baranduin]

That looks so good. Hobbit sauce.

[sovay]

18th Century Mushroom Ketchup

I have never made it from scratch (or in the eighteenth century), but I have had mushroom ketchup and it is delicious! I look forward to your results.

[potofsoup]

ooo! sounds fun, tasty, and doable!

[sabotabby]

Oooh, that sounds great!

I was watching Crazy Delicious last night and someone made mushroom ketchup and apparently it was great.

[cmcmck]

Mushroom ketchup ready made in the bottle is still a buy-able product here! :o)

[ororo]

Fascinating. The leftover mushroom seasoning screams to go into soup.

soup

[dialecticdreamer]

Soup is difficult, because there is a strong element of cider vinegar in the mushrooms, but a sweet and pungent soup would be a good starting point for designing a recipe.

[kaiz]

Oh. My. This sounds extraordinary!

[lferion]

Ooooo! Sounds delicious!

[acelightning]

Townsends' mushroom ketchup (they also sell bottles of it in their catalog, for those who want to know what it's supposed to taste like.). The only thing they use more of than this is nutmeg :-)