Agree!

I've started making my own homemade mayonnaise, and this fall I've made batch after batch after batch of home-made salsa. You can follow the links to see my favorite recipes.

But mustard and ketchup?? I've yet to tackle these. I'm happy to hear that the NYT and I are mostly on the same page.

I wasn't sure about the shelf life of homemade ketchup, so I've never bothered. I did make some tomato jam this summer, though, that's going to replace ketchup in some things. mmm.

I agree in general, but the Times's recipe for cocktail sauce includes mayo, which seems weird to me. I use Bittman's, which doesn't.

I make my own mustard, which is my favorite condiment and by far the only one I use often enough to do so. (I also have six or seven diffferent kinds of store bought mustard. You can never have too much mustard.)

The rest of the condiments seem like a waste of time to me. I have a bottle of ketchup that's been in the fridge since I graduated college. I use a tablespoon about once a year (if that). I see no reason to make my own. Same for mayonnaise (though I buy tiny jars and replace them more frequently).

I love making my own condiments. I make tomatillo sauce: http://lifecurrents.dw2.net/?p=5908, Homemade Spicy Tomato Chutney, Sweet Pickle Relish, Cherry-Lime Jam, and Tomato Ketchup (among other things). They taste so much better when they're homemade.

YES YES YES. Mayo = gateway drug of condiments, but ketchup and mustard = soo easy and good. I do a lot of my own jams and jellies as well, and make extra to give as gifts or trade at food swaps for salsas and hot sauces! :)

I make almost all of our condiments--we no longer buy any salsas, jellies/jams, nut butters, or salad dressings--but, I don't think we'll give up store-bought ketchup or mustard any time soon. We eat them very rarely, meaning a batch might go to waste before we could get to it, and it's easy to find organic/all-natural varieties in our supermarket.

I'd rather make most of mine. Most of the store bought stuff is packed with nasty preservatives. Though there are a few brands that I actually trust and buy from.

we make most of our own condiments, and i love it and don't plan on changing that. but my question is: longer shelf life? really? that hasn't been my experience. still worth it, but slightly false advertising, i think!

I'd like to make our condiments, but that's an investment of time that I don't really have.

@elizabethann, by "often have a long shelf-life" I meant that condiments can usually be kept for weeks or even months in the fridge, not that they last longer than store-bought. So you get a lot of bang for your buck!

I think the real source of false advertising is the NYT article which claims homemade condiments "can be stored forever (well, relatively)." And, as usual, their recipe for ketchup contains the token rarely-used/expensive/hard-to-find ingredient that all their recipes seem to contain-- in this case, ground cloves. (Bittman is the exception to this rule.)

I've ground my own cloves with a little food processor.

Fresh mayo is great if I'm using a lot for a salad, but the idea of storing a jar of homemade in the fridge to use a tablespoon/week squicks me out. It's so easy to find nice organic mayo, anyway. And hot sauce, you'll pry my Frank's out of my dead hands!

I'm in the midst of this debate myself with the canned vs. fresh pureed pumpkin conundrum. Looking at a Kitchn post from a few years back in which most readers heartily approve canned. It must be before the BPA scare. The lack of consistency with fresh pumpkin puree makes for a tough argument in favor of it. It's kind of a bummer.

I make salad dressing, salsa, bbq sauce, peanut sauce and various dipping sauces on a regular basis.

But I wouldn't make ketchup or mustard, partly because I go through them slowly and partly because I'm fine with the store-bought. I also wouldn't try most Asian condiments because I don't feel confident enough about my ability to recreate them accurately.

There are a bunch of other condiments I make occasionally but wouldn't commit to because it takes too much time.

I think my partner would rebel if I ever tried to take away his Heinz ketchup. I'm planning on trying a recipe for HP Sauce that I found on Serious Eats, though, because we have to get that through mail order.

Salad dressing is so easy to make and making it yourself means no preservatives! I haven't bought salad dressing in a few years after I started making it myself. Just olive oil, balsamic, honey and garlic.

Eating anything other than Heinz ketchup is just silly.

Ground cloves are rarely-used/expensive/hard-to-find? Not only are ground cloves common and inexpensive (especially since one usually only needs a tiny pinch at a time), I use cloves all the time - with some ginger and cinnamon in my oatmeal this morning, actually.

re: pumpkin purée

The problem I have with making my own is that the pumpkins on offer at stores are not sugar pumpkins, and so make a very watery, flavourless purée. Finding the right pumpkin for the job is the trick, and where the time-consuming aspect comes in.

Ditto for jams and jellies: finding superior fruit is difficult. We love Staud jams and marmalades, and I simply cannot match the quality and flavour of their fruit. For example, finding truly delicious strawberries suitable for jam is difficult; growers tend not to choose varieties primarily for their flavour. So my solution has always been to find jams in places where they really do have delicious fruit.

We eat so little jam, that it had better be amazing when we do!

Ditto what Jaime said. That clove comment had me scratching my head. But, then, I'm from a Northern area where fall foods using cloves are very common - pie spices, mulling spices, in addition to cinnamon in oatmeal based foods like oatmeal, cookies and crumbles... a little lasts a long time, but if you go to a bulk store, you can buy a TBSP for pennies.

Since when are ground cloves hard to find? Especially this time of year? It's harder to find whole cloves....

I'm don't think I'm going to make regular ketchup or mustard, but if someone has a good copycat recipe for Durkee's Famous Sauce, I'd be much obliged. It's very difficult to find in the SF Bay Area and expensive to order online. I really start jonesing for it around the prime turkey-eating holidays.

I've found one supposed copycat recipe for it so far, but the one review posted online for it blasted it. I'm sure there are other supposed copycat recipes for it online as well, but I trust Kitchn commenters' suggestions more! :) ...

I think it depends on what you use a lot of, and if you want to use organic or non-GMO oils. Balanced against the time it takes to make. For me, making salad dressings is worth it; making BBQ sauce and ketchup (yes, Heinz is the only one) is not.

I made the ketchup according to the recipe. There is cornstarch in the recipe which would act as a thickener if cooked, so I simmered it for about an hour and it is now the right consistancy. Did anyone else try it?