How long does it take to make Homemade Tomato Paste?
First cook the tomatoes 10–40 minutes until they soften, pass them through a food mill or sieve to get rid of the skins and seeds, and reduce the purée on the stovetop for about an hour, to half its volume.
4 hr 37 minTotal
3 hr 17 minActive time
1 hr 20 minSetting
Step by Step
| # | What to do | How long |
|---|
| 1 | Wash the tomatoes, remove the cores and quarter each tomato | 3 min |
| 2 | Put the tomatoes, the salt and half of the olive oil in a wide pot, cover and cook over medium heat about 20 minutes | 20 min |
| 3 | Pass the tomatoes and their liquid through a food mill or sieve and return the purée to the pot: the skins and seeds stay behind | 1 min |
| 4 | Cook uncovered about an hour at a lively simmer, stirring now and then | 1 hr |
| 5 | Preheat the oven to 110°C (230°F) | 12 min |
| 6 | Grease a wide baking dish with the rest of the olive oil and pour in the purée in a thin layer. Dry in the oven about 3 hours, stirring and scraping the edges every 30 minutes | 3 hr 1 min |
| 7 | Let cool, transfer to a jar and cover with the olive oil. Keep in the fridge for up to 3 weeks, or freeze in an ice cube tray | — |
How to Tell It's Done
- until the tomatoes soften and release their liquid
- until the purée reduces by half
- until the paste is thick, sticky and brick red
Tips
- Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
Common Mistakes
- The paste burns easily as it dries: stir and scrape the bottom and edges, and once it is thick, don't walk away.
More Ways
- About 2 kg of tomatoes yield roughly a cup of paste: 90–150 g of paste per kg of tomatoes. Meaty Roma tomatoes give more, juicy tomatoes less.
- Finish the drying in a low oven, 95–120°C (205–250°F), for 3 to 5 hours, stirring every 20–30 minutes. On the stovetop alone, simmer gently for about another hour, stirring every 10 minutes, since the paste burns easily.
- The paste is ready when it is thick and sticky, brick red, and no liquid collects at its edges.
- Store in a jar, covered with a thin layer of olive oil: in the fridge for three weeks to a month, and in the freezer, in an ice cube tray, for up to 3 months.
The full recipe: Homemade Tomato Paste →
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