Sauce and paste maters ?

[lexxluthor]

I noticed that a lot of times they are intertwined in the same category while others are separated. Do most people who make sauce also make pastes with the same kind of tomato? I plan on growing ten sauce tomatoes but have never made paste. I was wondering how to make a paste and if anyone uses it other than a sauce base.

Thanks for the input.

[pmcgrady]

Making tomato paste takes forever to cook down to right thickness, last batch I made took about 10 hours and reduced a huge pot of tomatoes to about 4 small jars of paste, it was good but not sure if it was worth all the trouble. I use same tomatoes to make sauce/marinara/paste. If I was charging by the hour to make paste it would have cost $50/jar lol!

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by pmcgrady

Making tomato paste takes forever to cook down to right thickness, last batch I made took about 10 hours and reduced a huge pot of tomatoes to about 4 small jars of paste, it was good but not sure if it was worth all the trouble.

You hit the nail on the head that is why the dried up waterless things are called past tomatoes.
On top of that where they come from they spread the sauce out on boards and dry it in the sun.
The stuff you see in the cans is the industrialized version of this method.

Worth

[lexxluthor]

Thanks for the input and I don't think I have the patience to make paste but more than willing to try 10 different maters for sauces.

[Father'sDaughter]

I use "dried up waterless things" to make tomato purée. The thicker the product when you start out, the less it has to be cooked down before you can it.

[OzoneNY]

10 hours to make paste? I would give up too.

What you make paste from is important. For a gravy (sauce) or paste I use San Marzano or Roma style tomatos. Genovese tomatos make a good sauce but dont make a good paste. Anyay, I will tell you how my uncle Nino makes paste.
Using a SM style paste tomato, start by milling the tomatos to make a puree. Put the puree in the freezer (I use ziplock bags) and after they are good and frozen solid, thaw it. I thaw it in a fine mesh strainer thats lined with 3 or 4 layer of cheese cloth and sitting on top of a bowl. After some time, you will see the separated water drain out leaving behind tomato pulp that looks like red ricotta cheese in the strainer/cloth. Remove the tomato "pulp' from the cheese cloth and cook on the stove over low heat for 30-45 minutes. THAT will give you a paste that is rich and does not taste overcooked. Put it in ice cube trays and then pop them out into a zip lock bag for long term storage or mason jars if you do canning.

Initial freezing somehow change the puree in such a way that much of the water can be drained out just by this simple method with the help of gravity. I have tried this with several tomato type and San Marzano, Roma type paste tomatos are the only one that work for me. Probably any paste tomato really.
I dont know what tomato my uncle grows but I recall it is basically a Roma looking tomato that he's been cultivating for decades. Im going back this fall for a visit and hopefully bring back some seeds. Maybe some villans can ID his tomato.

[Captain Neon]

I have grown a Roma for my wife to make sauce for years. We will be trying Super Sauce this year. I want to try San Marzano, but my wife makes the decision on the paste variety. She tells me that I can displace one of my Brandywines in the garden if I want to grow a San Marzano.

[Gardeneer]

If I need tomato paste, I'll just buy a can of Heinz for a buck or so.
For sauce (spaghetti consistency) I make a dozen or so jars every year from whatever variety that I have during the peak season. Peel the skin, squeeze the seed gel/juice out and make sauce.

Gardeneer

[zeuspaul]

I use any tomato that I have in surplus. First puree with your choice of tomato machines to remove skins and seeds. Then place in a large stainless steel pan (I use a chaffing dish water pan) and bake over night in an oven at the lowest setting (185F).

[gssgarden]

10 hrs??!!?? Good grief! Sauce Takes me 3-4 hrs!

Greg

[ChiliPeppa]

The oven method sounds like a winner. Has anyone tried a slow cooker?

[PhilaGardener]

I reduce mine in a crock pot with the lid off.

[kath]

Originally Posted by PhilaGardener

I reduce mine in a crock pot with the lid off.

It might be time for me to invest in a larger one. I tried using one of those electric turkey 'ovens' but the hot spots gave the sauce a burnt taste.

[kath]

Originally Posted by PhilaGardener

I reduce mine in a crock pot with the lid off.

It might be time for me to invest in a larger one. I tried using one of those electric turkey 'ovens' but the hot spots gave the sauce a burnt taste before it even reduced to paste.

[crazyoldgooseman]

Lex,

What are your varieties you are trying for sauce this year?

I normally grow San Marzano Redorta ( my current favorite) and Roma but Romas are so blah taste wise I want to try some different ones.

This year I plan on trying

Olpalka
Amish paste
Zapotec
Santa Maria

I think that's it but I cant check my stash right now because I'd probably wake up my wife.