Review: A step-by-step to delicious ketchup!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 16, 2013
Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions expressed below are entirely my own.I admit, when this review offer showed up in my inbox, I was more than a little hesitant. I'm a college student, and I barely have time to sleep, let alone make my own ketchup! Furthermore, I don't often do cookbook reviews. But I figured I'd give the book a whirl anyway - maybe with some help testing the recipes, I'd learn a few things and be able to give a decent review.Receiving the book, I realized that I had seriously overestimated the difficulty of ketchup-making, or perhaps Mr. Ionescue is just very, very good at getting even complete novices to produce fantastic results. He offers a lot of assistance, from helpful general hints to a conversion table to substitution help within some of the recipes. And they're so simple! It really is just a matter of properly cooking and seasoning tomato puree or paste (not exactly a fresh ingredients, but miles better than the ketchup you'll find in stores). What makes them really great, of course, is the amount of flexibility - not everyone has the same tastes, and this book recognizes that by helping to balance the recipes to individual preferences. While not every recipe was an immediate hit with everybody (Everyone likes their ketchup differently, it turns out!) there wound up being something for everyone.Editorially, the color photos were pretty and helpful at least in terms of determining what the color was supposed to be - though I suppose witch ketchup, there's not a whole lot more a photo can tell you (as opposed to with other recipes, where step-by-step photos can be more useful). Ionescue's tips are not just limited to the ketchup either, he has many contributions for storing it and making it last.Bottom line: If you want to add both a little spice and a little health to your culinary life, this book is a quick and simple way to start. For those with special dietary concerns, low-sodium and sugar-free ketchup are particularly helpful recipes. At 99 cents, what's there to lose? With questions or comments, please feel free to use the comment form below or to contact me at SeanOnAmazon@gmail.com