tomato paste
Tomatoes cooked down and reduced far past sauce or canned-puree strength, into an intensely concentrated paste; used by the tablespoon to deepen color and tomato flavor in sauces, stews, and braises rather than as a sauce on its own.
Buying guidance
Tubes cost a little more but are worth it when only a spoonful or two is needed at a time -- an opened can dries out and grows mold within days, while a tube reseals and keeps for months. Cooking the paste briefly in a little fat before adding any liquid cooks off its raw, tinny edge and deepens its color; skipped, it can leave a sauce tasting flatter and slightly sour.
Substitutions
- Tomato puree or sauce, reduced by simmering -- needs roughly three to four times the volume, cooked down until thick, to match tomato paste's concentration.
- Sun-dried tomatoes, blended with a little oil or water -- sweeter and more intense in a different way, but adds a similar deep color and umami.
- Ketchup -- works in a pinch, adding tomato color and body, but brings sweetness and vinegar that plain paste doesn't; use less and adjust other seasoning.
Tips & common mistakes
It's far more concentrated than tomato sauce or puree, so substituting it in at the same measured amount gives an intensely thick, pasty result rather than a saucy one -- if substituting, thin it with water first rather than using it straight.
Storage
Once opened, it spoils faster than most other canned goods because it's already so concentrated and moist -- transfer leftovers out of the can into a small sealed container, or freeze the remainder in tablespoon-size dollops, rather than leaving it in the opened can.