Homemade tomato paste is easy to make and requires very little hands-on time, as the oven does most of the work. Once the paste is done, it can be stored in ice cube form in the freezer. I like to toss the cubes into pasta sauce and soups for thickening, or add them to rice or quinoa as it cooks for a burst of summery tomato flavor. It also makes a great addition to homemade breads, pizza crust, and noodles. And trust me, once you've tasted homemade, you'll never want to go back to canned paste!
Which tomatoes make the best homemade tomato paste?
Romas and other paste tomatoes are the best choices for homemade tomato paste, because their meatier fruit contains less water. Some good varieties to try include heirlooms like Amish Paste Roma and San Marzano, plus hybrids like classic Roma, Heinz Super Roma, and even Juliet Roma Grape
But don't feel limited to using only paste tomatoes. Adding in other types of tomatoes can enrich the flavor of the final product, which is why paste-making is a great way to use small amounts of chopped tomatoes or juice left over from canning, salsa, or sauce making. I also find it's an excellent solution to dealing with the handfuls of tomatoes that tend to trickle in from my garden later in the season. If time is tight, I sometimes freeze late-season tomatoes in zipper bags until I'm ready to whip up a batch of paste.
How to Make Homemade Tomato Paste
Yield: If you start with 8 cups (2 quarts) of juice and pulp, you should get about 24 frozen cubes.
*One cube equals approximately 2 tablespoons of paste.
Click through the slide show below for a quick tutorial on how to make homemade tomato paste.
Article written by Julie Martens Forney.