The Making of Mushroom Catchup

I decided to try another of Hannah Glasse's recipes, but this time it was for mushroom catchup (ketchup). It took more than one try since the first batch was too salty and completely inedible!

I followed the recipe quite closely to the original, and here is what I came up with:

13 cups mushrooms, quartered;

1.5 tbsp salt;

small piece of ginger;

1 tbsp whole peppercorns;

A pinch of ground mace (I couldn't find pieces like the recipe called for); and

6 whole cloves.

I placed the mushrooms in a large earthen roasting pan and sprinkled the salt over the mushrooms. Leave it overnight and you will notice that the mushrooms will let out some liquid (you can see the difference in the two photos).

Next, you will put them in a pot and bring to a boil, there will be more liquid that comes out of the mushrooms; let this boil for roughly 5 minutes.

After this, you will want to squeeze all of the juice out the mushrooms. Cheesecloth works, but we used an old fashioned food press since it was a lot easier and got more liquid out. This is what they look like after we have squeezed the liquid out:

Next, you will put the juice into a pot with the peppercorns and ginger. We didn't bother clarifying the liquid as the recipe calls for, as we plan on using it up quickly and not storing it for two year! Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer it for 15 minutes.

Finally, let the mixture cool and strain it before pouring it into the bottle.

It is definitely a bit on the salty side, but once added to your meat it gives a wonderful mushroom flavour. I have a feeling that saltiness will mellow out a bit, after a couple of days. We have already tried this on home made hamburgers and it was excellent; enjoy!