Everybody needs to know methods and tips for storing various tomato-based products like tomato paste. Therefore, we are going to provide you with the information required for the extended refrigerator life of these products.
Even if you prepare your own breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, there is always something new to learn in the kitchen. Today, when reading up on how best to utilize and store tomato paste, something occurred to me.
If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know that one thing I always do is investigate and respond to your most pressing cooking-related issues. Do tubes of tomato paste go bad? is one of them.
In the fridge, an opened can of tomato paste will spoil in about 5 days. However, if you keep the lid on a tube of tomato paste for seven to eight weeks, it will remain usable.
Tomato paste can be frozen in a clever manner that allows it to last for up to six months in the freezer, and then thawed out as needed.
Tomato paste is just tomatoes that have been boiled down into a thick paste, after the skins and seeds have been removed. Since raw tomatoes are quite acidic and have an umami flavor, tomato paste packs a lot of flavor. As it reduces in cooking, its flavor becomes more concentrated and robust.
You can find tomato paste in the canned goods or Italian cuisine department of your local supermarket. When using it in the kitchen, you’ll quickly learn that a little goes a long way because the flavor is so potent.
Tomato paste, once opened, has a five-day shelf life in the fridge. Now you can either cook with tomato sauce all week or throw it away. If you’re in the same boat as me and don’t care for either choice, you have another one.
Get tubes of tomato paste rather than cans. Tomato paste has a short shelf life once opened; only five days in the fridge will do. But if you keep your tomato paste in the fridge, it will stay fresh for around eight weeks.
Let’s say you’re the family cook for a big clan. Canned tomato paste makes sense because you can use it up quickly in this situation. Tomato tubes are the obvious choice otherwise.
Tomato paste in tubes is more expensive than canned tomato paste. I checked the price of tomato paste at Kroger and found that most 6-ounce cans cost between $0.60 and $1.00, while 4.5-ounce tubes can be purchased for anywhere from $1.90 to $2.50.
You may find tomato paste with added herbs and spices like basil, oregano, and garlic in the supermarket. Plain paste should always be used. It’s the most unadulterated flavor around, and you may customize the seasoning to your liking.
Tomato paste tubes are more expensive than cans, but I think they’re worth it because they keep for a much longer time once opened. Avoiding food waste typically results in financial savings.
What Can You Do With Tomato Paste?
Tomato paste would serve as the low end if you were composing music. Use it to make your music sound more meaningful and serious.
Tomato sauce is one of those essentials that should always be there because it’s cheap, useful, and delicious. It works wonderfully as a base for a wide variety of tomato-based sauces, such as those used in creating pizza, spaghetti, and chili. Since it has a pronounced umami taste, it also works well to improve the flavor of stews, soups, and braised meats.
Alex Delany of Bon Appétite says that caramelization is the key to making the most of tomato paste.
Adding tomato paste to a sauce or cooked vegetables will not magically make them taste great. Alex is firm in his belief that this “won’t” occur. To achieve a deep, caramelized color and flavor, “sizzle it in some olive oil or other fat until it turns brick red,” the author advises.
Here’s how I advanced farther on his recommendation:
Before using tomato paste to prepare sauce, sauté it with olive oil and a few garlic cloves for 5 minutes in a skillet over medium heat. Then, depending on the dish, deglaze the pan with red, rose, or white wine.
This little hack may increase your cooking time by only 5 minutes, but it will have a huge impact on the final product’s flavor.
Comparing Tomato Paste
Can I use tomato sauce, puree, or crushed tomatoes in place of tomato paste? Check out how tomato paste stacks up against different canned tomatoes!
Paste versus sauce for tomatoes
Tomato sauce is made from either seasoned or unseasoned cooked tomatoes that have retained their sauce. Tomato paste is a very thick substance made from tomatoes that have been boiled down to a very concentrated flavor.
Most premade tomato sauces benefit from the addition of tomato paste to improve their flavor. In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the tomato paste with the 2 garlic cloves and the EVOO for 5 minutes. Then, add the tomato sauce, season with salt and pepper to taste, and let boil for 5 minutes.
Don’t forget that pre-prepared tomato sauces already have salt added to them. You should try the seasoned tomato sauce you plan to use this method on before adding any more salt.
What’s the Difference Between Tomato Paste and Tomato Puree?
The texture is what sets tomato paste apart from tomato puree. Tomato paste and puree are both prepared by grinding cooked tomatoes into a thick consistency. On the other hand, tomato paste has been reduced for a longer time in the oven, giving it a thicker consistency and a more concentrated flavor than tomato puree.
Tomato puree is the standard ingredient in both Italian and Mediterranean cuisines. Tomato paste is not a suitable substitute for tomato puree; however, it can be used to improve the flavor of sauce when combined with puree.
It’s recommended to sauté 2 tablespoons of tomato paste on medium-high heat for 5 minutes prior to adding the tomato puree.
Choice of Tomato Paste or Canned Tomatoes?
Cans of tomatoes contain whole, peeled tomatoes that have been cooked in tomato sauce. Tomato paste is a thick, creamy condiment made from cooked tomatoes that have been peeled, deseeded, and reduced until they have an acidic, savory flavor.
To make a chunky tomato sauce, canned tomatoes are ideal. Tomato paste can’t be used in place of canned tomatoes, but it can be added to a sauce for more flavor.
Do You Know If It’s Possible To Freeze Tomato Paste?
If you want to keep your tomato paste for a longer time than it would last in the fridge, you can freeze it. In the case that you purchased a can of tomato paste and have leftovers that you won’t be using up within the following five days, this is a fantastic technique to avoid wasting perfectly good food.
The tomato paste in a can can be frozen in individual servings if you remove it from the can and store it in an airtight container (with enough space apart). If you put the scoops in the fridge, they will harden. Remove a single serving and let it defrost over low heat in a saucepan before using it in your next recipe if the tomato paste has been frozen.
A simple ice cube tray and the freezer are all you need to preserve leftover tomato paste from a tube. Use one cube of tomato paste whenever a recipe calls for tomato paste. Tomato paste cubes can be stored in the freezer for up to six months.
