Haw ketchup

Name: Haw ketchup
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: ± 400 ml
Ingredients: 500 g ripe haws, stripped from the stalks; 500 ml water; 200 ml red wine vinegar or cider vinegar of 5 %; 100 g brown sugar; 1 teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon ground ginger; ½ teaspoon ground allspice; 1 pinch of freshly ground black pepper; 1 pinch of nutmeg

Updated on 9 October 2026

Makes: ± 400 ml
Time: 1 hr 15 min
From: Midland hawthorn

Ingredients

500 g ripe haws, stripped from the stalks
500 ml water
200 ml red wine vinegar or cider vinegar of 5 %
100 g brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground allspice
1 pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1 pinch of nutmeg

Method

Wash the haws, remove the stalks and leaves and put them in a pan with the water.
Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 30–40 minutes, until the haws are very soft and fall apart.
Press everything through a fine sieve or a food mill: the stones and skins stay behind. Scrape the purée from the underside of the sieve.
Return the purée to the pan with the vinegar, sugar, salt and spices.
Simmer for 15–20 minutes, stirring regularly, until the ketchup is thick. It thickens further as it cools.
Pour the boiling ketchup into clean, sterilised bottles or jars, seal at once and leave to cool.

Storing: Unopened, a few months in a cool, dark place. Once opened, keep in the fridge and eat within a month. Good with roasts, game, cheese or burgers.