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Homemade Tomato Paste

by:
October  7, 2011
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0 Ratings
  • Makes 6 to 8 cups
Author Notes

A little hesitant to share this recipe because it most likely falls into the category of "Everyone knows this - what took you so long to figure it out?"

After canning tomato sauce and dehydrating tomatoes, there still remained about 15 pounds of tomatoes. And I then had a most unoriginal thought – make tomato paste! Off to Google-Land and read that in Sicily, Southern Italy and Malta reduced tomato sauce is put on wooden boards in the sun until it is thick enough to hold together. Well, I didn't have the sun and didn't want to buy wooden boards so why not use my dehydrator to make the tomato paste. How hard could that be? In practice I didn’t reduce the sauce enough and it took forever for not much yield. I am still cleaning up that mess.

I then decided to reduce the tomatoes on the stove for as long as it took to have paste. At least the house would smell good! And not being a lover of peeling tomatoes, I also used two simple steps which cut the prep time by hours.

The tomato paste I have is rich, dark brick red, divine and in the freezer waiting to be used.




—SKK

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Ingredients
  • 15 - 16 pounds tomatoes, preferably organic, of variety of your choice
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped, or more to taste
  • 4 bay leaves
  • kosher or sea salt to taste
Directions
  1. Cut tomatoes into quarters, cut out dark or bad spots and run through Vitamix of food processor. (I prefer my Vitamix because it is faster and held larger volume.)
  2. Run tomatoes through food mill, with small or medium screen and place in large stock-pot.
  3. If your knife skills are like mine, questionable, run garlic through food processor.
  4. In stock pot holding tomatoes, add garlic, olive oil and salt. Simmer, uncovered, until you have the consistency you want. (I simmered for about 12 hours.)
  5. Either cover and store in a glass jar in refrigerator, lasts for several months. Or freeze on parchment or wax paper on cookie sheet in about 2 tbsp amounts. When frozen place in plastic bag and use when needed
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Recipe by: SKK

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13 Reviews

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ashleychasesdinner October 17, 2011
Thanks SKK! That picture is from our wedding day. I have so few pics of just me:)
ashleychasesdinner October 17, 2011
This looks wondeful! Thanks for sharing.
SKK October 17, 2011
Thank you, Ashley. By the way, I love your photo!
SKK October 7, 2011
Thanks, boulangere. The flavor is amazing. I also put it on toast and on eggs and have been known to just eat it by the spoonful!
boulangere October 7, 2011
Mmmm I can understand why. Is that some sort of whimsical animal between whose paws your lovely bowl is sitting?
SKK October 7, 2011
When my daughter was 3 (20 years ago) she really, really wanted a puppy. As a naive mother I thought I could get around it by getting her a ceramic dog. Of course it didn't work and you can see the dogs paws on either side of the dish.
boulangere October 8, 2011
LOL! So what did you end up getting her?
SKK October 8, 2011
A blue heeler, or Australian Cattle Dog, named Katy who spent her life herding kids and cats.
aargersi October 8, 2011
We had a heeler before Ginger (do NOT tell Ginger that) they are great dogs. And this looks great too. OK so what if we cook the sauce down and just motorboat the heck out of it with an immersion blender??
SKK October 8, 2011
@aargersi - Ginger won't hear about your heeler from me! I have an immersion blender and it doesn't work as quickly as my Vitamix or food processor. And it won't take the skins and seeds out which is why the food mill. If you use a food mill after the tomatoes are cooked down (of course taking out the bay leaves) you won't even have to use an immersion blender.
boulangere October 8, 2011
I'm a border collie person. I'm on my 5th, all rescues, and recently got Esmé her own border collie-heeler cross, Poppy. They herd each other, their toys, me and my bike, and the cats when I'm not looking.
boulangere October 8, 2011
GTK about the food mill. Sometimes it's good to be reminded that the food processor isn't the end-all-and-be-all of food tools.
boulangere October 7, 2011
I keep a couple of ice cube trays (I still make it the old-fashioned way) designated just for odiferous or colorful concoctions. They'd be perfect for this. It's crossed my mind a few times whether or not tomato paste would be better if home made, and you've proved that it truly is. Thank you for your experiments!