Is there arsenic in your tomatoes? New tests reveal that tomatoes contain high levels of…
…JUST KIDDING. I hardly know anything about that stuff. But here’s what I DO KNOW: I’m tired of using just one tablespoon of tomato paste and eventually throwing the rest away. Seriously, can you think of a time when a recipe called for more than one tablespoon of tomato paste? I cannot.
It happened again today, as I was brewing up a batch of Beef Bourguignon (aka fancified French beef stew). I looked at that 1 tablespoon tomato paste on the recipe and had that inner dialogue again: Tomato paste. Doh. I don’t have any. I guess I could buy some. But do I really need it? For that ONE tablespoon? I won’t even use the rest. I guess I could cover it with plastic wrap and leave it in the fridge til the next time I need it. But that probably wouldn’t be for a long time, and then I’d end up throwing it out anyway. No. I don’t need it. But… I’m spending all this time doing everything else by the recipe, what if… bah it’s just one tablespoon. Who needs that…
Well, you get the idea. I mean, I was doing other things while I pondered this, but the tomato paste conundrum simmered away in the back of my mind, one of the 2,857 tabs I’d have to come back to.
I ended up buying it, since I was at the store anyway. After using it, I was about to press a piece of plastic wrap over it when I suddenly remembered a random idea I had seen in a mommy group: divide tablespoons of tomato paste into ice cube trays and freeze for future use! BRILLIANT. What, you already do that? Well, it was news to me.
I was too lazy to use (and later on, wash) ice cube trays. Too lazy to measure. So I covered a plate with saran wrap, eyeballed tablespoons of tomato paste into several mounds, and stuck it in the freezer.
A couple hours later, as I was putting away some cookie dough, I saw my bright red mounds, all frozen and ready to go! I plopped em into a ziplock bag, and now I’ll have ONE TABLESPOON of tomato paste ready to go the next six times I need it!
Woohoo!!
…It’s the little things, guys. Somebody tell me this was a cool tip, please.
And in case you, like me, were wondering…
What’s the point of tomato paste?
Well, lucky you, I searched, “why tomato paste” researched for you. According to Dirtywextraolives on Chowhound:
The paste is a concentrated form of […] tomatoes. Therefore, it does not add liquid to a dish, but it adds tomato flavor, to a degree. It mainly adds body and unctuousness to a dish. It also thickens a sauce. And can act as a binder. It definitely adds an umami quality.
Body. Unctuousness. Umami. Three words I need to work into my food vocabulary.
So there ya have it, folks. The one, the only, The Amazing Tomato Paste. Now available in your freezer section.
(I promise I will post on deeper things soon. Really, at least 10 of my mind-tabs have real, interesting posts started… but actually getting them typed and cleaned up for you might take a week or two :).)
20 responses to “What You Should Know About Tomato Paste”
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I always have the same problem, but with buttermilk. Need 1/2 cup, have to buy a quart. Freeze in plastic bags, 1 cup each.
You can also buy tomato paste in a tube. http://www.amazon.com/Amore-Tomato-Paste-Ounce-Tubes/dp/B001FA1KLW. Pretty much find in most grocery stores. Tend to have to use about 1/2 of the amount since it’s more concentrated than the stuff in a can.
Or, if it’s just thickening you are looking for, think other tasty vegetables – egg plant or the whole variety of squash family tastes. The trick is to microwave them and squeeze them in cheese cloth to separate the juice from the pulp. Do NOT throw the juice away. Put it in a jar and use in your next soup or gravy.
Great idea! Will keep that in mind for next time!
Oh wow, that is brilliant!!!
Thank you so much for sharing this, now I won’t have to throw away mouldy cans of tomato paste with regret.
Woohoo! I’m glad you found it useful!
A wonderful idea….. though I had read it earlier, but still a good reminder….
Thanks, Archana =)