Tomato paste

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Tomato paste is a thick, rich concentrate made from tomatoes. It’s made by cooking tomatoes to reduce their water, removing seeds and skins, and cooking the liquid again until it becomes very thick. Tomato paste gives a deep, intense tomato flavor to many dishes.

It is much thicker than tomato purée or tomato sauce. In the past, some paste was dried in the sun on wooden boards to thicken it, then scraped up into a dense mass. Today, commercial paste is made from tomatoes with thick walls and low moisture.

Different places have their own ways of making it. In Iran, it’s made by long cooking to remove water, removing seeds and skins, and cooking longer to a thick condiment. In the United States, tomato paste is basically concentrated tomato solids, sometimes with a little sweetener.

Flavor depends on the tomato’s sugars and acids; a good balance of sweetness and acidity gives the best taste. Tomato paste is usually added early in cooking and sautéed to help it caramelize, which deepens its flavor. Depending on how it’s made, tomato paste can also be used as the base for ketchup or reconstituted tomato juice.