.I'm looking for a recipe for tomato paste. I'd like to plant tomatoes for making paste this year and would welcome any suggestions re. the best varieties. Also I'd appreciate any help re. the process of making paste, ie; what do you do to get it to thicken?....Regina.
On Sat, 15 Jan 2000 16:45:17 GMT, abren...@sonic.net (Anthony Brennan) wrote:
>.I'm looking for a recipe for tomato paste. I'd like to plant tomatoes for >making paste this year and would welcome any suggestions re. the best >varieties. Also I'd appreciate any help re. the process of making paste, >ie; what do you do to get it to thicken?....Regina.
I've been using Viva Italia for a few years now and like it fine.
This year, though, I'm going to try two new ones for me: San Marzano and Incas.
In the past, I've done Roma, but I think it is a mediocre paste tomato. I was able to get ahold of seed for Mama Mia 10 years ago, and I liked the variety, but I've never been able to find a source for them again.
In article <3882962f.7468...@netnews.worldnet.att.net>,
1stst...@worldnet.att.net wrote: > On Sat, 15 Jan 2000 16:45:17 GMT, abren...@sonic.net > (Anthony Brennan)wrote:
snip]
> In the past, I've done Roma, but I think it is a mediocre paste > tomato. I was able to get ahold of seed for Mama Mia 10 years ago, > and I liked the variety, but I've never been able to find a source > for them again.
I grow about 10 different kinds of paste tomatoes and really like Super Italian Paste. totally tomatoes has a similar one if not the same called south American Banana. Also Amish Paste, Grandma Mary, super Marzano, giant Italian Paste, Saulsalito, and Principe Bourgese, which mostly gets dried.
I make paste by making juice, raw, by running them through a juicer attachment on my Kitchen Aid, similar to a Squeezo Straino, nuke the pulp for a minute or 3, sent it through the juicer again, then carefully pour the juice into a piece of nylon curtain material lining a colander, and let it sit for a few hours and freeze the paste. When thawed in the microwave you can pour some more of the water off again if you want it even thicker. No cooking. susan
Michael Romagnoli wrote: > On Sat, 15 Jan 2000 16:45:17 GMT, abren...@sonic.net (Anthony Brennan) > wrote:
> >.I'm looking for a recipe for tomato paste. I'd like to plant tomatoes for > >making paste this year and would welcome any suggestions re. the best > >varieties. Also I'd appreciate any help re. the process of making paste, > >ie; what do you do to get it to thicken?....Regina.
> I've been using Viva Italia for a few years now and like it fine.
> This year, though, I'm going to try two new ones for me: San Marzano > and Incas.
> In the past, I've done Roma, but I think it is a mediocre paste > tomato. I was able to get ahold of seed for Mama Mia 10 years ago, > and I liked the variety, but I've never been able to find a source for > them again.
I love Roma's for sauce but don't make paste. I just wash, bag and freeze them. When it's time to make chili, spaghetti sauce of soups, I just blanch 'em while still frozen, to pull the skin off. Then through them in a pot and warm them up and crush them when warm and add them to the recipe. They keep frozen like that for a year or so.
> On Sat, 15 Jan 2000 16:45:17 GMT, abren...@sonic.net (Anthony Brennan) > wrote:
> >.I'm looking for a recipe for tomato paste. I'd like to plant tomatoes for > >making paste this year and would welcome any suggestions re. the best > >varieties. Also I'd appreciate any help re. the process of making paste, > >ie; what do you do to get it to thicken?....Regina.
> I've been using Viva Italia for a few years now and like it fine.
> This year, though, I'm going to try two new ones for me: San Marzano > and Incas.
> In the past, I've done Roma, but I think it is a mediocre paste > tomato. I was able to get ahold of seed for Mama Mia 10 years ago, > and I liked the variety, but I've never been able to find a source for > them again.
> I've heard that an heirloom variety is good - Amish Paste - The Diggers > Club, Victoria, Australia sell the seeds. www.diggers.com.au . > aylwengar...@ozemail.com.au
> > >.I'm looking for a recipe for tomato paste. I'd like to plant tomatoes > for > > >making paste this year and would welcome any suggestions re. the best > > >varieties. Also I'd appreciate any help re. the process of making paste, > > >ie; what do you do to get it to thicken?....Regina.
> > I've been using Viva Italia for a few years now and like it fine.
> > This year, though, I'm going to try two new ones for me: San Marzano > > and Incas.
> > In the past, I've done Roma, but I think it is a mediocre paste > > tomato. I was able to get ahold of seed for Mama Mia 10 years ago, > > and I liked the variety, but I've never been able to find a source for > > them again.
> > -Mike
From 'Putting Food By": Peel, chop, trim tomatoes. Measure, add 3/4 tsp. salt per pint of tomatoes. (This sounds a touch excessive to me. I'd go lighter on the salt my first batch.) Simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Put through sieve. Return to stove and simmer over very low heat, stirring occasionally, until paste holds shape on spoon, about 2 hours. Pack hot into jars. Leave 1/2 inch headroom. Process in boiling water bath 35 minutes. Doesn't say what size jars. I's use pints or 8 oz.
-- Pat Brothers The Powell House Wake Forest, NC USDA Zone 7b
I've heard that an heirloom variety is good - Amish Paste - The Diggers Club, Victoria, Australia sell the seeds. www.diggers.com.au . aylwengar...@ozemail.com.au
Michael Romagnoli <1stst...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
> On Sat, 15 Jan 2000 16:45:17 GMT, abren...@sonic.net (Anthony Brennan) > wrote:
> >.I'm looking for a recipe for tomato paste. I'd like to plant tomatoes for > >making paste this year and would welcome any suggestions re. the best > >varieties. Also I'd appreciate any help re. the process of making paste, > >ie; what do you do to get it to thicken?....Regina.
> I've been using Viva Italia for a few years now and like it fine.
> This year, though, I'm going to try two new ones for me: San Marzano > and Incas.
> In the past, I've done Roma, but I think it is a mediocre paste > tomato. I was able to get ahold of seed for Mama Mia 10 years ago, > and I liked the variety, but I've never been able to find a source for > them again.
>> In the past, I've done Roma, but I think it is a mediocre paste >> tomato. I was able to get ahold of seed for Mama Mia 10 years ago, >> and I liked the variety, but I've never been able to find a source >> for them again.
Oh, hey, thanks! My father had me hunting them for him for 3 years when I did grow them back then (grew a bunch for him as well as myself). I'll be looking these up! :-)
I grew San Marzano, an indeterminate large good tasting paste type and Roprecho, a smaller earlier determinate paste tomato in the intermountain west (US) last season and both were great.
I'm not sure that you want to make tomato paste like the kind in tubes and small cans, it's time consuming and relatively difficult for the home canner. It also is more difficult for the home canner to preserve the flavor that commercial canners can with vacuum boilers. It does, however put an enormous amount of tomatoes into a small amount of space.
Anyway, I would recommend making puree - And using a Vitorrio Tomato Strainer. Beg or borrow one and you'll be glad you did. All you have to do is put the tomatoes into the hopper and out comes the puree, minus the seeds and peels of the tomatoes. Best then is to freeze it. I also canned it (it's suggested to pressure can, but I added vinegar and processed in a boiling water bath). You can do anything with paste and the frozen still has that fresh tomato taste.
To make a paste, you simply boil puree (tomato pulp without seeds or skins) until it is very thick and reduced. It is very easy to burn as it gets thick, so you must keep it on a low flame in a thick kettle (non-reactive = stainless, enamel), and stir often with a wooden spoon. An aluminum bottomed stainless pot is great. It should reduce to 1/3 to 1/4 of its original volume or more depending on the original water content (paste tomatoes are naturally drier). It takes hours. Then you can freeze or can following standard canning practices.
I've also heard that you can dehydrate a paste, but have never tried it. You cook down puree till halved in volume then spread it 1/2 inch thick on dehydrator platters, and process in a similar manner as fruit leather. It says to score the drying paste to allow better drying penetration. It then says you can roll the paste into balls and keep then in jars, but I'm skeptical about this and would probably put it in the freezer. This is worth trying as it would probably result in better flavor retention.
I would also recommend simply drying tomatoes as well. Paste varieties work very well. You simply slice and put in a dehydrator until dry. The can be rehydrated and added to everything that fresh tomatoes can be used in. They can also be used dry on pizza, crumbled into salads, etc. Very easy and wonderfully flavorful. You can sun-dry but it is difficult in humid areas and hard to keep out insects.
> To make a paste, you simply boil puree (tomato pulp without seeds or > skins) until it is very thick and reduced. It is very easy to burn as > it gets thick, so you must keep it on a low flame in a thick kettle > (non-reactive = stainless, enamel), and stir often with a wooden spoon. > An aluminum bottomed stainless pot is great. It should reduce to 1/3 to > 1/4 of its original volume or more depending on the original water > content (paste tomatoes are naturally drier). It takes hours. Then you > can freeze or can following standard canning practices.
Couldn't a large crock pot be useful here, as in making fruit butters?
Ivan Weiss PHILOSOPHY, n. A route of many roads Vashon WA leading from nowhere to nothing. -- Ambrose Bierce: "The Devil's Dictionary"
This works pretty good - Freeze the whole tomato, skin and all, until it's frozen solid. Remove from the freezer, prick the skins with a fork, etc. Then place in a colander and allow to thaw. Because of a cell rupture, most of the clear liquid will come off. (You can save this for soups, etc.). Then run thru' a "Squeezo" type extractor and you have paste.
> .I'm looking for a recipe for tomato paste. I'd like to plant tomatoes for > making paste this year and would welcome any suggestions re. the best > varieties. Also I'd appreciate any help re. the process of making paste, > ie; what do you do to get it to thicken?....Regina.
> I've heard that an heirloom variety is good - Amish Paste - The Diggers > Club, Victoria, Australia sell the seeds. www.diggers.com.au . > aylwengar...@ozemail.com.au
> > >.I'm looking for a recipe for tomato paste. I'd like to plant tomatoes > for > > >making paste this year and would welcome any suggestions re. the best > > >varieties. Also I'd appreciate any help re. the process of making paste, > > >ie; what do you do to get it to thicken?....Regina.
> > I've been using Viva Italia for a few years now and like it fine.
> > This year, though, I'm going to try two new ones for me: San Marzano > > and Incas.
> > In the past, I've done Roma, but I think it is a mediocre paste > > tomato. I was able to get ahold of seed for Mama Mia 10 years ago, > > and I liked the variety, but I've never been able to find a source for > > them again.
