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Tomato paste

Vegetables · Pickled & preserved

Tomato paste

Thick, concentrated cooked tomato sold in tubes, cans or jars, used by the spoonful for colour and depth.

Also called: tomato purée (UK), domates salçası, concentrated tomato

A kind of tomato

114 recipes with it

Photo: SKopp, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-3.0)

What it is

Tomato paste is tomatoes cooked down for hours, strained of skins and seeds and reduced to a thick, brick-red paste. In the UK it is called tomato purée, which confuses it with passata (a thin sieved purée). Double-concentrated paste is stronger still; Turkish salça may be sun-dried and salted.

How it’s used

  • Fried briefly in oil at the start of stews, curries and ragùs
  • Adds depth to soups and braises
  • Thickens and colours sauces
  • Mixed into marinades and glazes

Characteristics

Taste
Intensely tomatoey, sweet and savoury with some sharpness; raw it tastes harsh.
Texture
Thick, smooth and dense.
When cooked
Cooking it in fat for a minute or two darkens it and removes the raw, tinny taste; burns quickly if the pan is too hot.
Sold as
paste
Cooking uses
Commonly cooked, Mainly a seasoning, Used for thickening

Storage

Refrigerated. Once opened, keep tubes or jars in the fridge; cover jarred paste with a film of oil. Spoon leftover canned paste into portions and freeze. Discard if mouldy.

Diet, allergens and safety

No major allergens in typical versions.

  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy-free
  • Egg-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Nut-free
  • Soy-free
  • Caffeine-free

Nutrition per 100 g

Energy
82 kcal
Protein
4.32 g
Carbohydrate
18.91 g
Fat
0.47 g
Fibre
4.1 g
Sugars
12.18 g

USDA FoodData Central: Tomato products, canned, paste, without salt added (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program).

Substitutes

Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.

  • Tomato passata — About 3 tablespoons passata per tablespoon paste, then reduce longer.
  • Canned tomatoes — Blend and simmer well down; weaker colour and depth.

Related ingredients

Recipes with tomato paste

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