Delicious homemade tomato paste for healthy cooking
A bountiful harvest of tomatoes brings special joy to summer residents. After all, tomato paste at home is one of the most important culinary products. Of course, you can buy it at the supermarket, but together with preservatives, dyes, flavorings. It might seem like making a thick pasta in your home kitchen is a bit tricky. However, there are many simple recipes for a valuable product. Let's consider several popular and affordable options.
Tomato paste at home through a meat grinder
Ingredients are required for preparation:
- ripe fleshy tomatoes (5 kg);
- salt (about 1.5 tablespoons);
- vegetable oil (50 g).
The fruits are thoroughly washed with water. Remove damage, rot. Large specimens are cut into pieces.
Gently pass through a meat grinder using the finest mesh of the unit.
For the finished slurry, an enamel container or stainless steel is suitable.
The resulting juice is collected in a large pan. Put on fire. Bring to a boil, stirring the liquid constantly. As foam appears, remove it with a slotted spoon. After 45 minutes, add salt and sunflower oil. Stir and continue to cook until the desired consistency of the product.
To make tomato paste at home a thick consistency, it is boiled for about 3 hours over low heat. Busy people do the work in several stages. First, boil for 45 minutes. Remove from heat and leave until the next day. Then cook for 1 hour, stirring constantly so that the product does not burn. If the paste does not thicken properly, remove from heat and repeat the procedure after 24 hours. The finished product is placed in steamed jars, sealed with lids. Store in a cool room or in small portions in a freezer.
Table of suitable tomato varieties for making tomato paste:
| Views | Ripening time | The form | Weight (1 piece) | Color |
| Big Beef F1 | early | flat-round | 350 g | deep red |
| De-barao Tsarsky | mid-late | plum | 180 g | hot pink |
| Mazarin | early | cordate | 200 g | scarlet |
| Pink Mikado | early ripe | flat-round | 600 g | pink |
| F1 President | early | round | 250 g | red |
| Paul Robson | middle | flat-round | 350 g | brown-red, chocolate |
| Black Prince | mid-season | oval, slightly flattened | 400 g | purple-burgundy |
Pasta for the winter through a juicer
To obtain a thick product of uniform texture, use a manual or electric juicer. The unit removes dense skin and seeds from the juice.
You will need simple ingredients:
- ripe red tomatoes;
- salt;
- sugar;
- laurel;
- favorite seasonings if desired.
The step-by-step process begins with the preparation of vegetables: the tomatoes are carefully sorted. Since various external and internal damages will spoil the taste of the future product.
Suitable specimens are washed in a spacious container, changing the water several times.
Spread out on the table to dry out a little. Cut the tomatoes into pieces.
They are sent to a juicer, and then collected in a cauldron or stainless steel pan. Next, the liquid is placed on the stove. Bring to a boil. Mix thoroughly. Reduce heat to low. Cook until the water evaporates completely.
Add salt, granulated sugar to taste, spices (optional). Tomato paste is ready for the winter. The product is packaged in a steamed container. They clog it up, and when it cools down, they take it to the basement.
If poured into sturdy cellophane bags, it can be stored in the freezer. The main thing is that the portions are small.
Legacy from grandmothers
There are many homemade tomato paste recipes in ancient cookbooks that never go out of date. Let's consider the simplest option.
For preparation you will need:
- meaty tomatoes;
- salt;
- Bay leaf.
Tomatoes are thoroughly washed with water. The stalk is removed. Spread out on a cotton towel to remove excess liquid.
The fruits are cut in half, and large specimens into 4-6 parts.
Placed in a spacious enamel pot. Cover with a lid. They put on low heat.
They simmer for about 45 minutes. During this time, the fruits will become soft, sit on the bottom of the pan, and also let the juice out. Next, the product is removed from the stove. Cool down. Pour the clear liquid into a separate container.
Grind the thick slurry through a sieve with fine sections. As a result, the peel and seeds will move away, leaving a fragrant tomato gruel. Salt and laurel are added. Mix well. The resulting mass is put on low heat. Stirring continuously, cook for 45-60 minutes. The cooking time for homemade tomato paste depends on the amount of liquid in the pot.
To speed up the process, it is advisable to strain the product through several layers of gauze.
When the workpiece becomes the desired consistency, it is transferred to sterile jars. Cover with tin lids. Stopped and covered with a warm blanket. The cooled paste is stored at a temperature not exceeding 15 ° C.
Original Turkish blank
An unusual way of cooking tomato paste at home is used by oriental chefs. Although it takes a long time, the result is truly great.
The recipe consists of 2 simple components:
- ripe red tomatoes;
- sea salt.
Selected fruits are washed, spoiled elements are removed. Cut into pieces, taking into account the size of the tomatoes. Place in a wide bowl.
Sprinkle generously with sea salt. The workpiece is left for 2 days in the fresh air, preferably under the sun. Periodically stir the tomatoes with your hands so that they release juice faster.
The resulting mass is crushed using blender or a meat grinder. Strain through a metal sieve. Seeds and crusts remain on the surface.
The thick juice is poured onto a baking sheet and taken to its original place. Leave for about a week. The product is stirred 2-3 times a day using a wooden spatula. After 7 days, the paste is placed in jars. Store in a refrigerator or freezer in small portions. Turkish culinary experts call the dish "domates salcha". The product is used for dressing soups, borscht, making sauces and gravy with meat.
It is advisable to cover the workpiece with gauze to hide it from insects, dust, and pets.
Elegant blank with spices
Spicy food lovers use a popular recipe for tomato paste for the winter with additives.
You will need a set of products:
- tomatoes (4 kg);
- sour apples (1 kg);
- onions (0.5 kg);
- salt to taste;
- black peppercorns (20 pcs.);
- laurel;
- ground red pepper;
- chopped cinnamon;
- cloves (5 pcs.).
Cooking tomato paste at home starts with washing the tomatoes and apples. Then onions are peeled from the skin. The ingredients are cut into pieces. Pass through a meat grinder. The mass is collected in a saucepan. Mix well. Simmer on the fire for 1 hour.
When the liquid thickens a little, add spices, granulated sugar and salt to taste. Stir again and cook over low heat for about 3 hours. Every 10 minutes, the paste is stirred with a wooden spatula. The finished product is placed in glass jars. Sealed with metal lids. They are taken for storage in a basement or closet, where the temperature is maintained no higher than 15 ° C.Use the pasta to dress borscht, soups and gravies.
Aluminum cookware is not suitable for making tomato paste. Its surface oxidizes and degrades the taste of the product.
After getting acquainted with the popular recipes for delicious tomato paste, we note that it is often prepared without vinegar. Despite this, the workpiece is wonderfully stored in a cool room. A different approach to business saves time and effort. Various additives, as well as spices, give the paste a unique aroma and taste. The right tomato varieties help you get the perfect product for a healthy diet.