Tomato paste vs tomato puree, differences?
- Thread starter georgevan
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
larry_stewart
Master Chef
The paste I use is significantly thicker with a more concentrated flavor than puree. Its basically puree reduced to a paste. Puree, when making a sauce is usually more of a base, where as the paste is a thickener/. and gives a ' cooking on the stove all day'. flavor to it.
***When making sauce, I personally prefer canned whole or diced tomatoes over puree ( when Im not using fresh)***
***When making sauce, I personally prefer canned whole or diced tomatoes over puree ( when Im not using fresh)***
Chief Longwind Of The North
Certified/Certifiable
Tomato paste can sometmes have a slightly metallic flavor, depending on the brand. It can also be sweeter than puree. I also prefer crushed, or chopped tomato, with no seasonings added. It has the most pure tomato flavor.
Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
pepperhead212
Executive Chef
Pastes vary in concentration, as various brands note, stating 2x or 3x. I use a lot of those tubes of paste, for when I only need 1-3 tb of paste. I have a bunch of 4 tb containers in the freezer.
I made those with some dried tomatoes, which I soak in just enough warm water, and blend in the Vitamix, which grinds the skin and seeds up totally, just barely circulating, and blending until steaming, so it's hot then it goes in the pan. Then I cook it down over med-low heat in a NS wok, until it darkens, and is totally paste like, scraping with a silicone spatula almost constantly towards the end. The good thing is starting with it thick at first, it's much easier than starting with sauce or purée.
I made those with some dried tomatoes, which I soak in just enough warm water, and blend in the Vitamix, which grinds the skin and seeds up totally, just barely circulating, and blending until steaming, so it's hot then it goes in the pan. Then I cook it down over med-low heat in a NS wok, until it darkens, and is totally paste like, scraping with a silicone spatula almost constantly towards the end. The good thing is starting with it thick at first, it's much easier than starting with sauce or purée.
You have to remember that the terms are used differently in different countries. In North America, the paste is thick and you usually have to shake or scrape it off a spoon, while puree is pourable. When I was using tomato regularly, I bought passata, which is the Italian word for tomat puree. But, Wiktionary says that passata is strained and thinner than puree. I have bought bottles of tomato passata that said that they were passata and said that they were puree. I believe the Brits use the term tomato puree for what North Americans call tomato paste. Danes seem to use the terms (translated word for word from Danish), tomato puree and concentrated tomato puree.
buckytom
Chef Extraordinaire
taxy, that reminds me of the usage of the word prawn. Thanks for the tomato paste info.
Has anyone bought a good tomato paste in a tube? I've always bought those little cans, but very rarely need all of it. The remainder often gets saved, takes up space, then gets chucked out.
Has anyone bought a good tomato paste in a tube? I've always bought those little cans, but very rarely need all of it. The remainder often gets saved, takes up space, then gets chucked out.
Cooking Goddess
Chef Extraordinaire
I've used tomato paste from a tube. Can't remember the brand; no tube in the fridge right now. However, when I buy a can, I put 1 tablespoon lumps on squares of wax paper, freeze them, and then pack them into a small freezer bag. No fuss, no muss, no waste.
blissful
Master Chef
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2008
- Messages
- 6,388
When I take fresh tomatoes to can them. I wash and core them, then blend them in the blender. Then cook them down by half, that is a fairly thick sauce (beginning to mound but the mound then sinks into the sauce). Due to circumstances I couldn't can a batch and had to leave them on low (electric roaster) overnight. They lost about 1/3 more of the volume and were more like a paste. (paste, distinctly mounding, thick) This is the similar to what pepperhead said, the puree:paste ratio is 3:1 or 2:1 in volume.
That is exactly what I used to do. It works a treat, eh? But, then I found little jars of good tomato paste at the health food store. Those close pretty air tight and stay fresh in the fridge for months. It's sort of like the difference between buying little cans of anchovies and buying anchovies in a jar. And, the anchovies come in a tube too.
karadekoolaid
Head Chef
Tomato paste is traditionally made in Southern Italy by drying tomato purée in the sun, so I´d say that paste (that which comes in little tubes) has a more intense tomato flavour. Tomato purée is not as thick; I buy mine in tins or jars. And the purée is much thicker than the passata, which is simply tomatoes which have been passed through a sieve to remove seeds and skin.
So is there a big difference in taste? Well I think a lot of people would be pushed to tell the difference between a tomato sauce made with paste and one made with purée.
So is there a big difference in taste? Well I think a lot of people would be pushed to tell the difference between a tomato sauce made with paste and one made with purée.
Aunt Bea
Master Chef
IMO, whole canned tomatoes offer the best value.
Whole canned tomatoes can be diced, crushed, pureed, or strained when a thicker tomato product is needed for a recipe.
A splash of tomato juice or V-8 can be another good option.
Knorr tomato bouillon cubes with chicken flavor work in a pinch.
Covering leftover tomato paste with a thin layer of olive oil and storing it in the refrigerator works for short-term storage, but I've never had good results trying to freeze small amounts of tomato paste.
Whole canned tomatoes can be diced, crushed, pureed, or strained when a thicker tomato product is needed for a recipe.
A splash of tomato juice or V-8 can be another good option.
Knorr tomato bouillon cubes with chicken flavor work in a pinch.
Covering leftover tomato paste with a thin layer of olive oil and storing it in the refrigerator works for short-term storage, but I've never had good results trying to freeze small amounts of tomato paste.
Just Cooking
Master Chef
GotGarlic
Chef Extraordinaire
There is a big difference in flavor. I make tomato paste using Roma tomatoes from our garden, reducing sauce to a thick paste in a low oven. Cooking tomatoes for a couple of hours, evaporating the water, brings out the sweetness in the fruit. Rehydrating the paste results in a sweeter sauce than purée.
larry_stewart
Master Chef
I remember seeing this video a few years back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV5oqHYjjjc&t=22s
I've also made my own in the oven in sheet pans on a low heat. My freezer was getting taken over by tomato puree from the garden, so I had to down size. I figured no better way then just taking what I got and reducing its footprint. I think it was like a 6 to 1 ratio in how much I reduced the puree to paste. Then stored in a silicone Ice tray for future portioned use.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV5oqHYjjjc&t=22s
I've also made my own in the oven in sheet pans on a low heat. My freezer was getting taken over by tomato puree from the garden, so I had to down size. I figured no better way then just taking what I got and reducing its footprint. I think it was like a 6 to 1 ratio in how much I reduced the puree to paste. Then stored in a silicone Ice tray for future portioned use.
buckytom
Chef Extraordinaire
Thanks, Ross. I'll look for it.
You think the confusion in the usage of the word prawn is bad, how about "scampi"? To me a scampi is a "Norwegian lobster", not a shrimp. It's not confusing in a resto here, because all the menus have French and usually English. In French, the critter I think of as scampi is a lagoustine. But, I've never seen or heard the word scampi used by itself to describe something made with shrimp. I think I have heard "shrimp scampi" to describe a dish.
buckytom
Chef Extraordinaire
OH, yes. If you say scampi here, most people would think of some protein, almost always shrimp, in a butter and garlic sauce. It's on menus as Shrimp Scampi. I've seen Chicken Scampi, or "in a scampi sauce" as well.
I guess you could cover 2 bases with Scampi Scampi. Or Prawn Scampi.
karadekoolaid
Head Chef
You can find "Scampi and Chips" on many British pub menus. Basically, breaded deep fried shrimp.
In a "scampi sauce" would make me assume that the sauce had a scampi (lagoustine) stock as the base. And, let's just leave the prawns out of this discussion. Shrimp vs prawns is too much of a mess. Maybe I'll just call them Norwegian lobsters or lagoustines or go nerdy and call them Nephrops norvegicus.
LOL, we often dined at a chain restaurant in FL on our trips. Shrimp Scampi was one of our favourite dishes.
We were shocked when all of a sudden there were NO shrimp in the dish, but a shrimp flavoured sauce. When we complained they explained that was what Scampi meant - a shrimp flavoured sauce.
Then where did the shrimp come from in our previous meals? Their explanation was we must be mistaken as they never served it that way!
My biggest frustration was that at home I had one of their menus that clearly stated Shrimp Scampi was Shrimp served with this Scampi sauce. I had kept it from a previous trip but it was in Canada not in FL. Upon return to home discovered hubby had cleaned out the desk, including the menu.
So as taxy says - scampi, prawns, lagoustine, shrimp heck, all the way to rock and lobsters .... all a big mess, a delicious mess, but a mess.
We were shocked when all of a sudden there were NO shrimp in the dish, but a shrimp flavoured sauce. When we complained they explained that was what Scampi meant - a shrimp flavoured sauce.
Then where did the shrimp come from in our previous meals? Their explanation was we must be mistaken as they never served it that way!
My biggest frustration was that at home I had one of their menus that clearly stated Shrimp Scampi was Shrimp served with this Scampi sauce. I had kept it from a previous trip but it was in Canada not in FL. Upon return to home discovered hubby had cleaned out the desk, including the menu.
So as taxy says - scampi, prawns, lagoustine, shrimp heck, all the way to rock and lobsters .... all a big mess, a delicious mess, but a mess.
Similar threads
