Three weeks ago, I bought my annual batch of tomatoes to preserve. 100 pounds worth. I canned them whole, I canned them crushed, I slow roasted and froze them and I made 17 pints of corn and tomato salsa (keep your eyes peeled for a comprehensive tomato preservation post coming soon). And still, there were tomatoes.
So I tackled a project that had always intrigued me. I made tomato paste. I chopped, simmered, milled, simmered, pureed, reduced and canned 12 quarter pint jars of tomato paste.
I followed the recipe on the National Center for Home Food Preservation website nearly to the letter. The only omission I made was to skip the garlic clove.
I started with approximately 16 pounds of chopped tomatoes at 3 pm on a Saturday afternoon. After an hour of simmering with three cubed red peppers, a bay leaf and a generous pinch of salt, I ran them through my food mill (a brand new purchase, made by Kutchenprofi. The little legs snapped off the minute I started to use it, making it necessary to hold the mill in the air while pressing the tomatoes through. It was frustrating).
Once the tomatoes were milled, they went back into the pot and spent the next six hours cooking down. It was after midnight by the time they were ready for the jars. If I ever make tomato paste again, I will start much earlier than 3 pm. (As an aside, I don’t think my little apartment stove was designed for this kind of use. With two canning projects going that night, it was utterly overwhelmed.)
Even after six hours of cooking, I think my tomato paste might have been able to reduce further. However, I was out of patience and ready for bed so it went into the jars. The NCHFP recommends using half pints to can tomato paste, but I opted for quarter pints because I rarely use more than a tablespoon or two when cooking. However, as is best practice, I did not reduce the processing time for my smaller jars. They still spent the full 45 minutes in the canner.
Canning can be a lot of work. I am aware of this and happily do that work when I take on a new project, knowing that nearly all of the time, my end result will be so much better and more satisfying than anything I could buy at the store. However, after tasting my tomato paste, I was disappointed. My paste, which was made from perfectly delightful plum tomatoes, tasted bitter and flat. For the first time in my canning life, I had to confront the truth that the store bought version was better than what I had made.
What’s more, while my tomatoes were fairly inexpensive (I paid $40 for 100 pounds this year), this batch of 3 pints of tomato paste still cost approximately $7 in raw materials and 10 hours of time (that doesn’t include the cost of the jars that the paste is currently occupying). I’m not sure if the investment works out this time around.
I am not suggesting that you guys shouldn’t make tomato paste. I’m sure the fact that my preparations went later than expected and that my food mill started falling to pieces didn’t help me to feel happy and rosy about this recipe. But I think next year, I’ll stick to tomato preservation projects that offer more return on investment (like crushed tomatoes) in less time. This one just didn’t float my boat.
I’ve been making tomato paste for years, for the sole reason that nothing I can buy tastes as good. I suspect it’s the tomatoes and the long, slow, cooking that make it so good. I use an heirloom paste tomato from the small organic farm I work at. The exact variety is unknown, we call it “Antique Paste” and grow it from saved seed each year. This tomato is similar to the Polish Paste variety but the flavor is a bit more complex and balanced. I chunk them up, cook for awhile (with nothing added), put through a food mill, and back on the stove to simmer for a looooooong time. I think the kicker is to cook it until it’s not only thick, but until the paste darkens a bit and starts to caramelize. It should be thick enough to drop 1/2 cup-fulls on a sheet of foil without any liquid run-off (I used to freeze it this way).
I’ve just started canning so tomato paste was going to be one of my first projects, what are the chances the canning process itself changes the taste?
Re-reading my post, I want to clarify that it’s not really caramelization I go for, it’s more building a layer of fond on the bottom of the pot and stirring it into the paste… over and over again. That process, combined with great paste tomatoes (I prefer horn shaped Amish or Polish type heirlooms over Roma’s), can give you a really special paste. Yesterday’s batch started with 6-7 quarts of chunked tomatoes and finished with 2 cups of paste going into the freezer. I haven’t decided yet whether it’s worth the extra work to can, or just stick with freezing…. but no question for me about making the paste.
I’m so sorry your experience went so poorly! I have to disagree though, and say that I loooooove homemade tomato paste. I also think it’s really easy to do in the oven.
http://overgrownwaltz.wordpress.com/2010/09/12/tomatoes-galore/
I will admit that I’ve never done enough to can- I’ve only ever yielded about a pint with probably 5 pounds of tomatoes per batch. But seriously, this is one of those things that I can’t get through the winter without. All of my favorite “winter” soups include a couple tablespoons of tomato paste, and this little jar will last 4-5 months in the fridge if I’m diligent about covering it will olive oil and not leaving little specks of food in the jar. Please, I urge you to try again… maybe just with fewer than 17 pounds of tomatoes. 🙂
I love your site, I am and avid canner in the suburbs of Philly and feel your pain canning in an apt! I made tomato paste last year and cooked it down on stove top, then roasted it in the oven to get it very thick. Mine was delicious.
I really enjoy Food In Jars I have you listed under Favorite Blogs on my website and would love to have you stop by. I have been canning and preserving since I was a child; the tradition was passed down from my mother and grandmother. I think it is a food artform that is on the upswing. Keep up the great work.
The reason why your paste was bitter is that the recipe leaves the pips/seeds & skin in too long. Most Italian mamas will tell you this. Also your food mill probably ground the seeds to further release the bitterness. There are 2 possible solutions:-
1) de-seed & peel the tomatoes before cooking. Or…
2) in a deep pot & in small batches, fry the tomatoes fiercely for 10minutes & pass them through a sieve. You will need the olive oil to be at least 5mm deep at the bottom of your pan & really hot (without smoking.) then put in your toms ( I always use a splatter guard. The toms will start to break down at 8-10 mins, then you can put them through a sieve. You can use a food mill, but be really careful not to push through or crush the seeds. I actually bought a special machine in Italy that carefully separates out the seeds & skin.
Then reduce slowly on a stove. I would also add sugar & salt to improve the flavour.
I hope it goes well next time. I loved your photos and story.
Great post. It’s great to know your thoughts. I’m sure you know this, and I can’t tell if you removed the seeds or not, but supposedly the seeds cause bitterness, but then supposedly not if they are cooked long enough–and you certainly cooked them long enough to get rid of any seed-bitterness. Also annoying about your food mill. Those things drive me nuts!
Sorry the tomato paste didn’t turn out. Have you tried ketchup? Similar process with more spicing and I find it’s fabulous, much better than storebought. One trick I learned, though, was to cut the receipe in half – I now use 12 lbs tomatoes at a time, rather than 24 lbs. When I tried a full batch with 24 lbs, the cooking time was so long that the product turned dark and somewhat bitter. I wonder if you could get better tomato paste results by cutting your recipe in half and cooking much less – my half-batch ketchup now stays bright and sweet. Good luck!
mine was also bitter- I haven’t processed it yet, so I’m going to add a smidge of sugar and lemon juice and see if that doesn’t help. I found a post on doris and jilly (http://dorisandjillycook.com/2009/09/02/canning-roasted-tomatoes/) about putting up roasted tomatoes. I did 6 pints last night (2 turkey roasting pans) and still have a few dozen tomatoes to do something with. Soup and freeze, I think.
ok, so I finally processed them- but I added some non-olive oil roasted tomatoes, some lemon juice (about 1/4 cup), 2T sugar and 2 t salt. It really made a difference. I put up 10 quarter pints and still have a ton left, so it’s going to become bbq sauce. Good reading here, Marisa! The comments and your post.
My Italian mother and her five siblings were compulsorily involved in processing ridiculously huge quantities of tomatoes to keep the family going through the winter (The raw product was u-picked from a local farmer. Their parents went to work and the CCC to pull through the depression. Thrift runs deep). They made mostly whole tomatoes, but some were diced or stewed, as they were combined later into essential pasta sauce. The only other essential ingredients in the “secret family recipe” are paste and three types of meat to flavor the pot, usually a beef and two pork products. When I asked if they made the paste too (which seemed logical) my mom always responded with an emphatic “no” that it was not worth the effort, time, money. But it was clear she had never tried it. So I always wondered.
I’m sorry you proved that point 🙁 I wish you much happier canning soon! And a sturdier food mill.
Bummer about your food mill! The one I use is a hand-me-down from my mom (who inherited from her grandmother I think), and it is very sturdy. I guess they just don’t make them like they used to!
@Daedre- I **really** do NOT recommend attempting the dehydrator tomato paste. I speak from experience here. Each tray might yeild a tablespoon or 2 of paste, and if you don’t have it exactly right, time- & temperature-wise, good luck getting the tomato cement off of the trays! Plus it leaves that lovely stain that tomato leaves on all plastic… yeah, I definitely don’t recommend it, LOL.
I stumbled across a great way to make tomato paste… low fuss, low muss, and generally easy-peasy! 🙂 Use a non-stick roasting pan in the oven! I have a huge non-stick roasting pan (my Thanksgiving turkey roaster will fit a 25+ lb bird with room to spare) and the garden has been going absolutely bonkers with tomatoes. I decided that I was going to try doing my tomato sauce in the oven, since I had more than would fit in my 21-quart graniteware pot and I wanted to be able to cook something for dinner on the stove-top (which had, at that point, been used exclusively for canning for 4 days straight).
I halved, cooked and milled on day 1. Then I put it in the oven at 250F overnight. When I checked it the next morning, it was reduced down to paste that has this amazingly intense tomato flavor. Since this was just a happy accident, I chose to freeze it instead of canning it, but I did make a note in my canning notebook that when I decide to actually attempt tomato paste, doing it in the oven makes it so much easier!
I can tell you also that using metallic pots can give an undesirable flavor to tomato products- it’s very wise to use a ‘coated’ pot (enameled, graniteware, non-stick or whatever), particularly for stuff that requires a longer cooking time. The longer the cooking time, the more one risks the tomato acid reacting with the metal.
And my Grammy would tell you to make sure you use more than 1 kind of tomato (and seriously, that woman’s word was gospel truth when it came to canning!). As near as I can figure, the different varieties being all mixed together give it a depth of flavor that you just can’t achieve when you’re using only 1 type- each variety brings its own distinct flavor characteristics to the party.
Anyway, hope this info is useful to anyone who is not scared off by the daunting prospect of paste making! 🙂
i made tomato paste a week or so ago following Saveur’s recipe (http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Homemade-Tomato-Paste) which involves cooking and roasting. i didn’t can it and i’m just keeping it in a pint jar in the fridge. i think that mine is really, really good – better than the store bought version hands down when it comes to taste. but you’re right – the time and energy and cost break down – i don’t know if it’s something i’ll start doing on a regular basis.
I’m sorry you weren’t happy with your finished product after so much work. Homemade tomato paste IS time consuming and expensive compared to .36 cents a can at the grocery store.
HOWEVER, for two years in a row now I have been delighted with my homemade tomat0 paste – it’s like gold! The concentrated, deep, rich tomato flavor is exquisite. Since it is my own product in glass jars, I know exactly what is in it and don’t need to be concerned about BPH leaching from a high acid product in cans. Every winter as I cook Turkey Chili or some wonderful Italian concoction the paste makes me smile.
SO worth it. If you’ve thought of trying this, don’t be discouraged. Just be prepared for an entire day of work. :o) Put on an apron, a book on tape or CD and go to town.
i often think of trying to make tomato paste at home. i trust your experience marisa – canning may not be the right technique for this product. that’s what so great about preserving, there are so many methods and not all are right for everything.
thanks for a great post!
just took the big leap into canning [and am hooked!]
so happy to find your blog, and hope to take a class next summer since i’m close enough here in the lehigh valley.
i did make tomato past last year, and i also give my vote to roasting the tomatoes.
it didn’t make a lot, but the flavor was outrageous, and i saved it to use in special dishes. what i found to be handy was freezing the paste in an ice cube tray, then popping out the cubes to wrap individually before throwing them in a freezer bag. each cube is roughly a tablespoon [i believe, at least on my tray], so it was super easy to use later. 🙂
and though i’m sorry to hear about your less than satisfactory results, a newbie like me appreciates the honesty and authenticity!
thanks for all your hard work!
This was my experience with homemade ketchup 30 years ago. It tasted good, but was soo not worth the effort!
I’ve read about making tomato paste in a food dehydrator (assuming you have plenty of those fruit leather inserts).
I was just thinking last night as I was making my second and third batches of tomato jam (thank you SO much for that recipe, I don’t know how I ever lived without tomato jam) that I should try tomato paste to go along with the 80 quarts of crushed tomatoes and sauce that we put up this year. Glad to know that I shouldn’t waste my time with that project. Thanks as always for the excellent advice. And by the way, I LOVE your turquoise stove.
Last week I made a paste by peeling and seeding plum tomatoes, pureeing them and baking the puree in the oven at 300 for four hours. I found that turning the mixture and spreading it back out over the sheet every hour gave the end product a great depth of flavor, neither bitter nor burned. It was wonderful! I did not go the extra step and hot bath them, as I would prefer to cut a chunk out from the jar in the freezer when needed. I was okay with the minimal return only because I prepared myself, avoiding too much disappointment in the end. It is such a let down when what you envision and the time you spend do not pay off!
I started making tomato paste two weeks ago. At one point in the process it was a delicious marinara, so I canned it.
Good to know! I have heard similar echoing’s about making tomato paste on other blogs too and I have decided, this is one thing I will skip!
As Paul Bertolli says, “Cooking by hand is trouble. But experience has show that the trouble will become your enduring pleasure. A way to spend hours cooking something you can buy in the store? I am so there. Conserva, essentially tomato paste, tomato reduced to its purest, richest form. Bertolli has you reduce the tomato in the oven over hours, roasting rather than simmering which perhaps imbues the tomato with a rich roasted flavor you don’t get on the stovetop or in the crock pot. Believe me, it is more than a days project and you end up with about a tenth of what you started but like Kaela said you end up with “liquid gold” that is exactly what I called my four or so tablespoons. I agree those who suggest a little sugar to temper the bitter. I am sorry you were disappointed, nothing worse after a big project that takes hours!
I made tomato paste last year, oven roasted. Yes it took all day for it to thicken, but it turned out lovely. I think I followed a recipe from Mrs. Wheelbarrow. I also froze it in small containers rather than processing it.
Thanks for the sharing this post. I too had been considering making tomato paste and after your post, thought better of it. I LOVE canning, but it IS time intensive and at the end a canning day my feet and back always ache. Last year I made pints and pints of pickled green beans only to have them so sour you could barely eat them and I still have jars and jars of them on the shelf. All that work and time to not be able to enjoy them~ such a disappointment!! But the love of canning and trying new recipes will keep us pressing on!! Can’t wait for your full tomato canning post!
So sorry the paste didn’t turn out right. So happy to see an honest canner showing not only her successes but her flops. Love your blog!
If you attempt it again, add some sugar to bring out the flavor of the tomato and add some lemon juice to compensate for the acidity.
I hear you on the watching and waiting–I can a lot of thick tomato puree every year. Every year I remind myself that I should only do it in small batches (20 quarts of tomatoes take a hell of a lot longer to reduce down than 5 quarts), and every year I forget!
And thanks for the tip on the food mill. I have an old Foley one and it rusts every time I wash it, and so I think I want to buy a new one. I’ll stay away from that one with the busted legs!
Nothing is more frustrating than not being satisfied with the end product after so much time and effort. I am back to canning after some years of being too busy and my first batch of bread and butter pickles turned out too spicy (cut back on the tumeric and cloves in 2nd batch) and I sliced them too thin using a fancy mandolin (back to just using a good knife like my mom always did). I was making them when we had the earthquake, out on my deck on a propane burner (that was something!!). As for tomato paste, its more of a thickener so it may still work out ok for your recipes. Thanks for posting this…it’s nice to know I’m not the only one with disappointing yields. You’ve inspired me to get back into my “kitchen therapy”.
Sorry it didn’t work out. We had pizza sauce like that one year.
Question: Instead of staying up to process in the middle of the night, could you have popped it into a crock pot to simmer or “keep warm”? I made chili sauce this year for the first time and put everything in the crock pot to cook. I turned it on a 11pm on low knowing I wouldn’t get to it until 7am at the earliest. When I did get to it, I put it into a pot on the stove to cook down which only took an additional 30 minutes. Not that it would’ve changed the bitterness in the taste but it might have eased a bit of the bitterness from all the effort?
Oh dear, how tiresome to have spent so much time on a disappointing project. It’s nice to hear that even the experts have moments of tedium. My dad once gave a tip for tomato paste, since, as you mentioned, you only ever use a Tbs or so at a time. Whether he’s made homemade paste or storebought, he makes tiny one Tbs cellophane twists of the remnants to tuck into the freezer. They’re so little, they take up no room at all. And they’ve saved my bacon on more than one Thanksgiving with the mushroom gravy (I never remember to buy paste).!
Hi Marisa – what a pity this recipe didn’t come up to scratch. Given that you are so experienced in canning, I’m loathe to tell you something you already know! But – seeds make for bitter tomato product and sugar should always be added to tomatoes. It’s just something magic that seems to work in bringing out the best in tomatoes. Don’t give up! Give it another try next year, when your angst and disappointment are just a distant memory.
That sounds terribly disappointing. Might be worth experimenting with a small quantity of tomatoes in the slow cooker… next year. When you’ve healed 😉
Ah Marisa! What a bummer! I hate it when projects that are long don’t end up seeming worth it. Grr!
I’ve wondered about making paste too but always shy away from anything that seems tedious. I imagine that it will still perk up some winter recipes though? I never think tomato paste tastes all that great by itself anyhow right?
I want some of Kaela’s “liquid gold.” =)
I love this post, Marisa. You may end with the conclusion that home-canned tomato paste isn’t worth the effort, but all along the way you provided great information about working with tomatoes. And it delights me that so many of the comments are from folks who are relieved that now they don’t have to do it themselves, either; it sounds like you saved some time for a great many readers! I don’t use tomato paste often enough to consider making it myself, but I am ramping up my other tomato canning projects, so I look forward to your tomato roundup.
Great post maybe once they have set for a while they will be better…..you spent a long time working so go back in a few weeks and taste it again it may be better..and you know tomato paste is not the nicest taste until it is mixed with the sauce after all it is for thickening not so much for taste…good post thank you
Oh Marisa, so sorry that after all the time and effort this one wasn’t worth it. Funny how some of the home-canned things (most) turn out absolutely fantastic, but sometimes you try one that’s just a “meh.” I did garlic paste last year with our homegrown garlic, and it was super disappointing. My latest tomato success is the tomato juice I’ve been making and freezing in quart jars. Not a lot of hands-on time, and the results are vunderbar. Keep up the great posts; you are so helpful to the rest of us.
I’m so glad you posted this. I’ve been flirting with the idea for some time now and have never given it the time and energy. It’s nice to get the feedback. Thanks again.
Yeah, it’s hard to beat the convenience and taste of the commercially prepared pastes. Sorry it didn’t work out better.
I was so excited to see this post, as I’ve wanted to make this. Having said that, I’m so glad that you posted this, and that I don’t have to waste my time. Thank you so much for all the information you share!
What makes tomato recipes bitter? Almost everything I make with tomatoes comes out bitter. I assumed it was the skins, but maybe not…
I absolutely agree!!! we did some tomato sauce, because hubby wanted to. It is too putsy I hated doing it!!! we have 9 pints, that’s enough….we will be canning the rest of the tomatoes!!!!
I’m debating dehydrating some tomatoes until they are crisp this year and grinding them into powder to use as tomato paste. It all really depends on how many more tomatoes I get out of my garden.
I used a tomato strainer to do sauce on the weekend and then dehydrated the remaining skins and seeds. I put the dry skins and seeds through the food processor to powderize them and I’ll use that as ‘paste’ throughout the year.
When I do my tomato paste I add a bit of sugar, I know it may not be the thing to do, but I think it brings out the flavour. I also reduce the paste in my crockpot on low with the lid ajar. I don’t bottle, I freeze, so I am not so concerned with the keeping quality.
Enjoy following your adventures in the kitchen. Gives me ideas for my coming season -being as I am, on the other side of the world.
Cheers Loretta
That’s the cure (sugat) I’ve always heard for bitter tomato products, but I find that sometimes even the commercial ones with lots of sugar and salt tend to be a bit bitter.
Sorry, Marisa, that it didn’t go well – that’s an exceptionally large amount of work on that one to be disappointing. Thank you for recording it, too. This right here is what I love about the internet that you can’t get from other media.
I am looking forward to the corn and tomato salsa post, too.
Using the slow cooker is a fabulous idea!
Oh, don’t you just hate that? It’s strange: I made tomato paste in my first year of canning, 2008, when we had a banner tomato year in the Northeast. Maybe it was just my fledging appreciation of eating locally, but I still remember that tomato paste: I called it “liquid gold.” Then we had tomato blight (2009). Then last year, I made tomato paste again: this time, I was crazy busy, so I drained the tomato juice away in a jelly bag and cooked the resulting pulp to make tomato paste. Only about 30 minutes of cooking, but it definitely did not have the same amazing flavor. I haven’t made it this year (I still have half a dozen 1/4 pints, so that’ll hold me for a bit) but I think I’ll be searching for the elusive “liquid gold” for a while yet.
And – my recipe was from the Ball Book and did require acidification. But we all know tha tthe Ball is super-conservative: good to know that NCFHP doesn’t require it.
Often thought of making paste but switched to making Ketchup instead . It also is awhile to cook down ;now use slow cooker it is truly easier then. Doesn’t store bought have a lot of sugar and salt in it? So yours is a base tomato paste that would enjoy a full body red wine and some chummy roasted garlic company when it goes to the ball (recipe of your choice goes here).
I love that you posted this. I attempted the same recipe yesterday with even worse results. I spent what seemed like a million years creating what turned out to be bland paste. And to boot, the yeild was much less than expected. Today I made a bunch of salsa which proved to be a much better use of my never-ending bushel of tomatoes.
Sorry it didn’t turn out as well as you wanted. I’ve found that even the disappointing projects are rewarding just because they were homemade.
Where did you find 100 pounds of tomatoes to buy for such a great price??? I can’t imagine how exciting that would be to have so much to preserve! I’m happy when I have ten pounds from my garden!
I’m going to ‘ditto’ what others have already said. It’s almost a relief to know there’s something I don’t need to worry about making…thanks for the post!
I’ve tried this before and it always ends up with a strong bitter tomato paste. I’ve often wondered if cooking them down in a non metal utensil would make a change in taste. In the end, you know just what went into the jar.
Wow – thanks for the honesty in your post – when I first saw this, I was really excited, but you know, it’s kind of nice to know there are some things you don’t need to can/process on your own? Love it!
I SO appreciate the fact that you share the ones that don’t go well, not just the ones that look and taste fantastic. I’d been wondering about tomato paste and this tells me I’m better off putting the effort into my homemade ketchup, which my family loved, if I’m going to spend all day chopping things and reducing and smooshing and waiting.
Love your blog. Great photos too.
barb
to make our paste, we simply blend the tomatoes with skins and seeds still intact to make a puree, we then simmer it down until it is the thickness of paste we want using a heavy bottomed kettle. By leaving the skins on it is a much more nurtitious product. We do this method for all our tom sauce canning.