What Happened To the Local Loquats - Part 3

No Ordinary Ketchup

The highly perishable loquat fruit has a short season and shelf life that lends itself to traditional methods of food preservation such as preserves, chutney, and condiment preparations.  I hear the inventive Japanese make loquat wine.

In an effort to preserve this most time sensitive fruit I experimented with several different condiment preparations.  My most recent posts, (have you noticed how often things appear in clusters of three?), Tuesday's loquat butter, Wednesday's loquat chutney, and today's loquat ketchup, are sister posts that take their parentage from the same prolific loquat tree.

Without the notoriety that her attention-getting sisters have received in recent posts, the ill-flavored loquat rose butter (that Carrisa will be working on), or the spicy and assertive loquat chutney that I hope to marry up with goat cheese, loquat ketchup, the rich color of umeboshi plum, on the other hand, has a complex flavor that I find surprisingly pleasing.

I honestly don't know how I came up with the idea of making loquat ketchup.

I found a recipe for traditional tomato ketchup in Sally Fallon's cookbook "Nourishing Traditions" and randomly wondered what loquat ketchup would be like.

Here is the recipe that I made based on her ketchup recipe:

Loquat Ketchup


4 c. loquats, washed and pitted
1 T. sea salt
1/2 c. maple syrup
1/2 c. fish sauce
1 clove garlic
1/4 c. whey or 1 t. probiotic powder


Cook the loquats in a little bit of water in a covered pan until they are tender.  Cool slightly and blend in blender or food processor until they are smooth and creamy.


When the loquats are room temperature mix all of the ingredients together until well blended.  Place in two pint-sized wide-mouth Mason jars.  The top of the ketchup should be a least 1-inch below the top of the jar. Leave at room temperature for about 2 days before transferring to fridge.

As a food aside, I did a little internet research on the history of ketchup making and found that if you go back to the 17th-century, when ketchup was still a regional artisanal food preparation and not the ubiquitous product, synonymous only with the tomato, that it is today, you will find that ketchup, first brought from China by British sailors, could actually be made from any number of ingredients. Pontac ketchup, popular in the 19th-century, for instance, was made from elderberry juice, shallots, anchovies and spices.  I am not a huge tomato lover myself, tomatoes are way too acidic for me even on the best of days, unless absolutely dead-ripe and fresh from the vine. This loquat version of traditional ketchup, which features garlic, fish sauce, maple syrup and a little fermentation, is just the tasty ticket.  Most importantly, though there are sure to be a few refinements, I LIKE IT!