TOP 10 recipes for making tomato paste from tomatoes at home

Tomato paste is often used during the winter, adding to vegetable soups, preparing sauces for meat dishes. You can purchase the product in the store. But housewives know how to make tomato paste from tomatoes at home so that all the vitamins are preserved.

Features of preparing tomato paste

Tomato paste should contain nothing but tomatoes.Prepare the product so that it has a thick consistency. Therefore, when cooking pasta, it is necessary to leave as little liquid in it as possible. In addition to salt, you can add sugar and ground pepper to the puree. Other components depend on the recipe and the tastes of the housewife.

You can prepare a thick sauce by grinding tomatoes through a sieve. Then hang the resulting paste in a cotton bag to drain excess juice. Another way is to boil the tomato mass to the desired consistency.

When prepared correctly, the paste will help maintain normal heart muscle function and strengthen bones and teeth. The concentration of lycopene in pasta is higher than in tomatoes. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare this useful product for the winter.

Preparing vegetables and containers

To prepare tomato paste, take medium-sized tomatoes. It is better that they are not spoiled. Fruits that are too soft will fall apart and may give the pasta an unpalatable taste. But unripe tomatoes are not suitable either, as it will be difficult for them to boil.

It is better to take liter jars for pasta. They are washed well. The container should be steamed or scalded in the oven. To tighten, use iron lids, which must be kept in boiling water for several minutes.

Cooking recipes

Italians were the first to prepare tomato paste. They seasoned it with olive oil and garlic. Now they offer different recipes in which various devices and household appliances are used to prepare the sauce.

Classic way for winter

The usual recipe, which has become a classic, uses only tomatoes and salt to prepare the pasta. It is better to take those fruits that have a rich red color and fleshy pulp.

You can cook pasta quickly by doing:

• cutting fruits into 4-8 parts;
• cook in an enamel pan until softened for half an hour;
• rubbing through a fine metal sieve;
• simmer over low heat for 4-5 hours until thick.

While the juice is on the stove, stir it constantly so that it does not burn. The hot product is spooned into jars and sealed.

A quick way without sterilization

To reduce cooking time and make the sauce in a less labor-intensive way, the chopped fruits are placed in a blender and ground until smooth.

Now you need to sprinkle with salt and mix thoroughly. For 5 kilograms of tomatoes you need to take 2 tablespoons of salt. Now pour the puree into a fine sieve or cheesecloth folded in four. Salt will push the liquid out of the tomato juice faster. Within half an hour the product will thicken. It will need to be brought to a boil and boiled for 5 minutes. The result is a ready-to-eat tasty mass, which is put into jars and closed.

Without vinegar

To prevent the pasta from spoiling in winter, many housewives add a little vinegar to the jars. But you can save the workpiece without acid.

To get 1.5 liters of sauce, you need to take 9-10 kilograms of tomatoes. They are cut into pieces and placed in a pan. After boiling, cook for another 30 minutes, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon.

It is better to pass the finished mass through a juicer so that solid particles do not get into the workpiece. Boil the resulting juice in a saucepan until thick. After 30 minutes over low heat, the weight of the tomatoes will decrease by half. Halfway through cooking, add salt to taste, stirring until it dissolves. All that remains is to transfer the hot product into scalded jars and roll up with iron lids.

Using a blender

The sauce is prepared quickly if you grind the tomato pieces in a blender. But you will have to carry out the operation several times, draining excess fluid. When all the fruits have been ground, transfer the mass into a saucepan and simmer over low heat until thickened. It should decrease in volume by 4 times.

In a slow cooker

For busy housewives, a recipe using a slow cooker is suitable. You can’t take a lot of tomatoes in this case, because the container in the pan is small. 1-2 kilograms of fruits are cut and placed in a slow cooker. Set the “Quenching” mode and time to 1 hour on the display. Now you need to rub a lot of tomatoes through a sieve to remove seeds and skin.

The resulting paste must be cooked again for 25 minutes in a slow cooker. But the mode will be set to a different one - “Baking”. When the product thickens, stir it in the pan constantly. The hot paste is placed in jars and covered with lids. It is better to sterilize the workpiece in a water bath for 15 minutes.

Through a meat grinder

To grind tomatoes, use a meat grinder. The pieces are passed through it, then rubbed through a sieve, removing the seeds. Boil for a long time over low heat. At the end they are put into jars. The product is rolled up immediately. You can add salt to the pasta or leave the paste to consist only of tomatoes.

In the oven

For this recipe, first boil the tomato pieces in a saucepan. The next stage consists of rubbing the mass through a sieve, otherwise pieces of peel and seeds will remain in it. Pour salt into it, taking 4 tablespoons per 4 kilograms of fruit. Pour 100 grams of olive oil.

All components should be in a deep baking tray where they are mixed. Place a container with pureed tomatoes in the oven and heat to 200-220 degrees.You need to close the cabinet and keep the mixture boiling for 2-3 hours with constant stirring. Then they put it in jars and roll it up.

Through a juicer

Using a juicer to make tomato paste can save you effort and time. Here it is possible to prepare a large amount of sauce, since they take 9-10 kilograms of ripe fruits.

Before loading into the juicer, sliced ​​​​tomatoes are cooked for 30 minutes after boiling in a saucepan. After passing through the device for preparing juice, pour it again into the pan, placing it on low heat. The mass will gradually boil down while stirring for 1.5-2 hours.

In the middle of cooking, add salt - 2 tablespoons. At the end of the procedure, pour the hot mixture into jars.

Without sterilization

You can prepare tomato paste for the winter without sterilization. But for this you need to take ripe fruits that are not damaged or rotten. They should be cut into pieces and boiled for a while.

When they become soft, rub the mass through a sieve to remove seeds and skin. At the end, hang the puree in a bag of gauze or thin cotton fabric over a basin, leaving for 5-6 hours. When all the liquid is gone, you can put it in jars and put it in a cold place.

Tomato sauce will taste better if you season it with mustard and ground pepper. To do this, after rubbing the puree through a sieve, pour it into a saucepan containing heated vinegar (200 ml), mixed with allspice and hot peppercorns, and bay leaves. Cook everything together until the pasta has reduced in size by half.

After this, salt, sugar and mustard powder are added. The dish needs to boil and cook for 5 minutes. The preparation is placed in jars and added to soups in winter.

Spicy paste with hot pepper

For those who love hot sauces, a recipe made from:

• 6 kilograms of tomatoes;
• 200 grams of hot pepper pods;
• 300 grams of garlic;
• salt - 1.5 tablespoons.

Vegetables need to be ground in a food processor or passed through a meat grinder. All that remains is to rub through a sieve and place the resulting spicy puree into the pan. Keep it on the fire until the paste becomes thick. Store it in glass containers under iron lids.

Storage rules

Like all preparations for the winter, you need to store tomato paste in a cold place. The temperature in the basement should be between 2-4 degrees Celsius. The humidity in the room should not be more than 85-90%, otherwise the lids will begin to rust and mold will appear on top.

It is safer to put an unsterilized product in the refrigerator.

Best before date

The most useful product for the winter will be the one that is prepared recently. The paste cannot be stored for several years. It acquires more acid over time and becomes tasteless. If mold appears on top inside the jar, then consuming such paste is harmful to health.