Tomato paste is a thick paste made from tomatoes, which are cooked for several hours to reduce water content, straining out seeds and skins, and cooking the liquid again to reduce the base to a thick, rich concentrate. It is used to impart an intense tomato flavour to a variety of dishes, such as pasta, soups and braised meat. It is used as an ingredient in many world

cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, List of cooking techniques, techniques and Dish (food), dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, ...

s. By contrast, tomato purée is a liquid with a thinner consistency than tomato paste, while

tomato sauce Tomato sauce (; ; ) can refer to many different sauces made primarily from tomatoes. In some countries the term refers to a sauce to be served as part of a dish, in others it is a condiment. Tomatoes have a rich flavor, high water content, s ...

is even thinner in consistency.

History and traditions

Tomato paste is a traditional food ingredient used in many cuisines. One traditional practice was applied by spreading out a much- reduced tomato sauce on wooden boards that were set outdoors under the hot sun to dry the paste until it was thick enough, when it was scraped up and held together in a dense mass. Commercial production uses tomatoes with thick

pericarp Fruits are the mature ovary or ovaries of one or more flowers. They are found in three main anatomical categories: aggregate fruits, multiple fruits, and simple fruits. Fruitlike structures may develop directly from the seed itself rather th ...

walls and lower overall moisture.

Regional differences

In the UK, ''tomato paste'' is also referred to as ''concentrate''. In the US, ''tomato paste'' is simply concentrated tomato solids (no seeds or skin), sometimes with added sweetener ( high fructose corn syrup), and with a standard of identity (in the

Code of Federal Regulations In the law of the United States, the ''Code of Federal Regulations'' (''CFR'') is the codification of the general and permanent regulatory law, regulations promulgated by the executive departments and agencies of the federal government of the ...

, se
21 CFR 155.191
. ''Tomato purée'' has a lower tomato soluble solids requirement, the cutoff being 24%. For comparison, typical fresh round tomatoes have a soluble solid content of 3.5–5.5% (refractometric Brix), while cherry tomatoes have double the amount.

Uses

Tomato paste is added to dishes to impart an intense flavour, particularly the natural

umami Umami ( from ), or savoriness, is one of the five basic tastes. It is characteristic of broths and cooked meats. People taste umami through taste receptors that typically respond to glutamates and nucleotides, which are widely present in me ...

flavour found in tomatoes. Examples of dishes in which tomato paste may be commonly used include pasta sauces, soups, and braised meat. The paste is typically added early in the cooking process and sautéed to achieve caramelization. Based on the manufacturing conditions, the paste can be the basis for making

ketchup Ketchup or catsup is a table condiment with a sweet and sour flavor. "Ketchup" now typically refers to tomato ketchup, although early recipes for different varieties contained mushrooms, oysters, mussels, egg whites, grapes, or walnuts, amon ...

or reconstituted

tomato juice Tomato juice is a juice made from tomatoes, usually used as a beverage, either plain or in cocktails such as a Bloody Mary (cocktail), Bloody Mary, a Caesar (cocktail), Caesar, or Michelada. Production Many commercial manufacturers of tomato ju ...

: * Hot break: heated to about ,

pectin Pectin ( ': "congealed" and "curdled") is a heteropolysaccharide, a structural polymer contained in the primary lamella, in the middle lamella, and in the cell walls of terrestrial plants. The principal chemical component of pectin is galact ...

is preserved, paste is thicker and can be used for ketchup * Warm break: heated to about , colour is not preserved, but flavour is preserved * Cold break: heated to about , colour and flavour are preserved, so it can be reconstituted into juice

References

{{Tomatoes Food ingredients Tomato products Food paste

History and traditions

Regional differences

Uses

See also

References