{"id":16535,"date":"2020-12-02T10:00:32","date_gmt":"2020-12-02T15:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=16535"},"modified":"2020-11-18T15:20:16","modified_gmt":"2020-11-18T20:20:16","slug":"creative-use-of-tomato-paste","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2020\/12\/02\/creative-use-of-tomato-paste\/","title":{"rendered":"Creative Use of Tomato Paste"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Chef Nancy Berkoff, EdD,\nRD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A good-quality tomato paste\nis a bit of summer sunshine in a can or a tube, just perfect for this cold time\nof year. Tomato paste is the concentrated essence of cooked tomatoes, period.\nWhen purchasing tomato paste, be certain that the main (and hopefully only)\ningredient is tomato; a very small amount of salt or citric acid may be added,\nbut is usually not necessary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Tomato paste is used to thicken and\nenhance the flavor and color of sauces, pasta fillings, salad dressings, soups,\nstews, chili, or in any items where you\u2019d like the tomato flavor to stand out.\nYou can coat sliced vegetables (such as potatoes, parsnips, plantains, or\nmushrooms) with tomato paste and bake or grill to create a tangy crust. Friends\nof ours use tomato paste as a sandwich spread, instead of ketchup. Use it\nsparingly, however, because tomato paste has an intense flavor. If you are using\nonly a portion of a can of tomato paste remember to store the remainder in\nplastic or glass, never metal, and never, ever in the can (no, we have not been\npeeking into your refrigerator). If you like, you can freeze properly-stored\ntomato paste until it is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     To make tomato paste, ripe tomatoes are\nfirst cooked for several hours to reduce moisture, are strained to remove the\nseeds and skin, and then are cooked further to reduce them to a thick, rich\nconcentrate. Yes, you could try this at home, but you\u2019d need lots and lots of\ntomatoes, pots that are not made of aluminum or copper (cast iron is best), and\nlots and lots of time.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Ever wondered what the difference is\nbetween tomato pur\u00e9e and tomato paste? We\u2019re glad you asked! Tomato pur\u00e9e\nconsists of tomatoes that have been cooked briefly and strained, resulting in a\nthick liquid with a consistency between tomato paste and crushed tomatoes.\nTomato paste goes a step further, attempting to remove as much moisture as\npossible, capturing the tomato \u201cessence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Two tablespoons of tomato paste has only 30\ncalories with no fat and about 20 milligrams of sodium, a bit of fiber, some\niron and potassium, and some Vitamin C and A. Tomato paste, and all tomato\nproducts, contains lycopene, a naturally-occurring plant chemical said to help\nreduce the incidence of certain cancers and cardiac conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Tomato paste is indispensable in any\nkitchen. You can use it in soups and stews, casseroles and roasted grains, and\nas a base for pasta and pizza sauces. Create toaster-oven pizza with bagels or\nEnglish muffins topped with tomato paste, your favorite pizza flavorings\n(oregano, garlic, basil, etc.), a small spoonful of silken or soft tofu (or\nvegan cheese), and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Chef Nancy Berkoff, EdD, RD A good-quality tomato paste is a bit of summer sunshine in a can or a tube, just perfect for this cold time of year. Tomato paste is the concentrated essence of cooked tomatoes, period. When purchasing tomato paste, be certain that the main (and hopefully only) ingredient is tomato; […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16535"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16537,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16535\/revisions\/16537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}