All about tomato paste

[BRM]

Like BeJam above I have made my own but IMO its worth the effort. There is nothing like uncorking a jar of your own in the middle of the winter. I use it like really good olive oil, i.e. when you really want the good stuff.

As for creative uses, I really like the sweet tomato jam recipe from Paula Wolfert's Couscous...The tomotoes and honey called for in that recipe really are a great flavor combination and you can add other spices to taste.

Edited March 5, 2007 by BRM (log)

[srhcb]

I've experimented with freezing the rest of the can, but have found this to be an unsatisfactory solution because it's a huge pain in the butt when all you want is just another tablespoon of tomato paste. 

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Sometimes when I'm lazy (which is often) I freeze whatever is left of the can scooped out into and wrapped up really tight in plastic wrap to avoid freezer burn then put that in another, thicker plastic bag wrapped tight. Yes, lazy but slightly neurotic.

Then when I want a spoonful (which is usually all I use anyway) I take it out and pull out a big sharp knife and chop off what I want from the frozen thingie.

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If you buy tomato paste in cans that you can cut both ends off, just remove one end, push on the other end to extrude just as much paste from the can as you require. (it works like ice cream Push-Ups) You can then cover the exposed paste with the removed end and wrap the whole works in foil for refrigeration or freezing.

SB (just be careful not to cut your fingers on the sharp can lid edges )

[Carrot Top]

I confess it never occurred to me to use both cans and tubes.

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Personally it would feel wrong to me. It would be like having two children then needing to decide between them in every situation that came up.

In thinking about it, probably I would just remove the bottle of vodka from the freezer and drink it up while trying to decide. Thereby making more room for more tomato paste in the freezer.

[Fat Guy]

I'm with Sam, in that I feel it's not worth any effort on my part to preserve tomato paste in multiple-bag arrangements, penguin-shaped ice-cube trays or end-capped cylinders. And I too have limited freezer space. My current practice is to use however much tomato paste I need and throw the rest of the can in the trash, unless I know I'll be cooking something else with tomato paste in the next day or two, in which case I'll leave the rest of the can on the door of the fridge.

[Carrot Top]

Well, it makes me sad to think that so many are missing out on this satisfying feeling of chopping up frozen tom paste, but to each their own.

If you buy tomato paste in cans that you can cut both ends off, just remove one end, push on the other end to extrude just as much paste from the can as you require.  (it works like ice cream Push-Ups)  You can then cover the exposed paste with the removed end and wrap the whole works in foil for refrigeration or freezing.

SB (just be careful not to cut your fingers on the sharp can lid edges )

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Maybe this could be a new invention to be marketed somehow perhaps?

I might try a variation soon, based on this idea, just for fun. Using a cookie press. Useful for developing upper-arm strength, too.

[srhcb]

My current practice is to use however much tomato paste I need and throw the rest of the can in the trash,

I'm afraid that, being the offspring of Depression Era parents and grandparents, I'm of the "waste not, want not" school-of-minute-amounts-of-food-storage.

This applies not only to tomato paste but nearly everything else. Whether it's .125 grams of saffron or 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour left over, I have to save it.

The introduction of disposable food storage containers has futher aggrevated the situation. My refrigerator and cupboards contain literally dozens of the little four-ounce (1/2 cup) "Mini-Rounds", many less than one-third full.

.... unless I know I'll be cooking something else with tomato paste in the next day or two, in which case I'll leave the rest of the can on the door of the fridge.

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The little containers are, of course, also perfect for storing small amounts of leftovers!

I often plan my meals in advance with the express intent of using up as many Mini-Rounds full of remaindered ingredients and leftovers as possible. This often results in very creative useage, with varied degrees of success.

For instance, I've incorporated small amounts of tomato paste into dishes as varied as beef gravy and chocolate cake!

SB (of course I wash and re-use the "disposable containers too )

PS: Hey Look! After countless futile attempts I finally got my Left-Handed-Flying-Pink-Pig posted as an avatar!

Edited March 5, 2007 by srhcb (log)

[Smithy]

I'm with Sam, in that I feel it's not worth any effort on my part to preserve tomato paste in multiple-bag arrangements, penguin-shaped ice-cube trays or end-capped cylinders. And I too have limited freezer space. My current practice is to use however much tomato paste I need and throw the rest of the can in the trash, unless I know I'll be cooking something else with tomato paste in the next day or two, in which case I'll leave the rest of the can on the door of the fridge.

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But...but that's WASTEFUL!

FG, you must not be a Hoarder. If you were a Hoarder, you would have your cupboards overpopulated by packages of interesting spices, grains, beans, preserves and prepared sauces that you're going to try someday. Your refrigerator and freezer would be filled with the remnants of excellent meals you'd prepared (yours are always excellent, of course), stocks, bones for more stocks, trimmings from celery and parmesan rinds for stock enhancement. And you'd have bits of frozen tomato paste in there, because you could never bring yourself to throw away perfectly good foodstuffs.

Edited to add that I got this information by looking in my own cupboards and refrigerator/freezer.

Edited March 5, 2007 by Smithy (log)

[alwang]

I confess it never occurred to me to use both cans and tubes.

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I gotta admit, it never occured to me either, even though I do exactly the same thing with chicken broth: I buy both cans and the more expensive resealable boxes. Boxes when I just need a little bit of liquid to deglaze a pan, cans when I'm making a soup, or for a braise.

-a

[Carlovski]

One use I have found is that it is the 'secret' ingredient to making the Madras curry just like my local takeaway - copious (I'm talking a whole tube here) amounts of tomato paste along with lemon juice and lots of black pepper.

The other thing I use it for is a quick sauce for thin pasta of garlic, anchovies, chilli flakes and evoo - normally I have it without tomato but sometimes i'll add a spoonfull of tomato paste.