Tomato paste

[duchovny]

A lot of recipes call for a few teaspoons of tomato paste. What does one do with the leftover paste?

[Wienie]

If you're willing to spend a little more, you can buy tomato paste in a tube. You just squeeze out what you need and refrigerate the rest. It will last for months. I will also take leftover canned paste and freeze it in 2 T. increments in a ice cube tray. If you find you only need 1 T. it's easily cut in half, once frozen.
W

[RunnerKim]

I also freeze mine - hearing about that (on this bb I think) has made feel so much better - I hated to waste so much!

Kim

[MrsReber]

I'm sorry, but being an X-files fan, I just have to comment on the name duchovny. Any relation? Or could it be David himself looking for some household hints?? (must be those wacky pregnancy hormones kicking in, I couldn't help myself!!)

Anyway, I also recommned freezing the tomato paste in small quantities. I have never seen it in a tube in the store.

[Susann]

Mrs. Reber-You beat me to it!!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Carrie W]

Freezing does work quite well (again, another helpful suggestion from this board!). I usually freeze the leftover paste in 1 tablespoon blops in a freezer bag. Most recipes I use call for some multiple of a tablespoon, so it's easy to defrost just what I need.

[Gail]

While the idea of freezing tomato paste is great, I know myself well enough to know that more than likely the frozen tomato paste will be lost in the nether regions of my freezer where it will ultimately succumb to freezer burn long before I remember to fish it out.
Thus, I tend to buy tubes-- which while not being the cheapest product on the market, I suspect in my case it's actually the lesser of evils.

In the event there are any other poor forgetful creatures in our midst who can't locate tomato paste in a tube, the second page of our discussion on convenience products back in July gives some suggestions where you can find it. Check out: www.cookinglight.com/bbs/Forum1/HTML/000361-2.html (http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/Forum1/HTML/000361-2.html)

[jd]

Here's a note that I clipped from Martha or some other domestic guru:

Tomato-paste saver - Most recipes call for only a small portion of tomato paste - you use a tablespoon or two, and the rest invariably goes to waste. To save the remainder: Carefully open both ends of the can with a can opener. Remove one metal end and discard it. Leave the other in place. Wrap the entire can in plastic wrap, and freeze overnight. The next day, use the metal end to push the frozen paste out the open end. Discard can, tightly rewrap unused portion, and store in freezer up to three months, slicing off just as much as you need each time you cook.

[Beth]

Am I the only one who has visions of that frozen but rapidly thawing in my hands roll of tomato paste rolling off the cutting board or shooting across the kitchen floor? Would it be enough to keep the cat from under my feet?

[mlou]

Do the words spaghetti sauce mean anything? HaHa, It's just another excuse to make pasta for me!

[valeriek]

Beth,

I'm with you. If I tried to cut into that frozen tube of paste, it would go bouncing across my kitchen (the cat would then have a new toy).

Carrie, when you freeze the one tablespoon blobs, do you put them all in the same freezer bag? Do they get stuck together? I had never thought of freezing the leftovers and am intrigued by the idea. Do you thaw first or just throw the frozen tablespoon into the pot?

[MrsReber]

Must be something with that name? Seems all the Susans think alike :0 (great minds, you know)

That is a very neat idea to freeze the paste, but, really, sounds like it'd be hard to cut off a slice.

[Vanessa]

I had leftover tomato paste and just put it in a small freezer bag. Next time I just break down a piece. I do the same with pestos etc. But I agree with Gail sometimes I find long lost items in the back of my freezer.
I saw tomato paste along with other pastes in the "gourmet" section of the supermarket...guess I will get some http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif and give it a try.

[CrystalB]

The only tomato paste in a tube that I've been able to find is sun-dried tomato paste. Can I use that in place of regular tomato paste? Has anyone tried it? Thanks for any feedback you may have!!

[lorilei]

Crystal - I've used the sundried tomato paste in place of regular. It has a richer, sweeter flavor -- which I've actually found to be a GOOD thing in most recipes!

[Susann]

MrsReber-Ok, ok, I blame my mother! You see, my name is actually pronounced Suzanne. My mom (a teacher) did not want me to get my 's' and 'z' confused, so she decided Susann was the way to go! (She failed to think that I would be spending the rest of my life explaining my name http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif )

But since I am (kind of)a Susan, I will of course agree with you-great minds DO think alike! By the way, how far along are you, if you don't mind me asking?

(Sorry-another post of mine that has nothing to do with food!!)

[BarbaraL]

I measure leftover tomato paste in 1 tablespoon aliquots, put on a cookie sheet and freeze. When frozen, I pop them off (warning-- if not careful, this step might create a cat toy) and put them in a ziplock bag or Tupperware container and put in the freezer. Not having made alot of recipes that require a small amount of paste, I've wound up throwing it out sometimes, but I'm trying not to waste!

[Margie]

There's an old fashioned way that I learned in Italy when I lived there as a child. If you are going to use the rest of the paste in the next week or so, you can keep it in the refrigerator. All you have to do is level out the surface with a spoon and pour in enough olive oil to cover about a quater of an inch. Although we didn't know what plastic wrap was back then, I now cover the can with plastic wrap. When you want to use the rest of the paste, you can pour off the oil or use it in the dish you are making.

The only drawback I see in this method is that the cats will be deprived of their potential toys.

[SueK]

Originally posted by MrsReber:
I'm sorry, but being an X-files fan, I just have to comment on the name duchovny. Any relation? Or could it be David himself looking for some household hints?? (must be those wacky pregnancy hormones kicking in, I couldn't help myself!!)

Anyway, I also recommned freezing the tomato paste in small quantities. I have never seen it in a tube in the store.

Mrs. Reber - OT from this subject, but congrats from yet another Sue on this board! That is great news! Due date???

[MrsReber]

I hate to stray from this topic, but they told me today May 25th. We'll see about that! There's alot of us Sues and Susans out here. Interesting....

[SueK]

Originally posted by MrsReber:
I hate to stray from this topic, but they told me today May 25th. We'll see about that! There's alot of us Sues and Susans out here. Interesting....

Wow--too weird! May 25th is my birthday! Good date! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[RunnerKim]

I do keep mine all in the same freezer bag and sometimes I do have to break a blob off but it's simple to do (snaps easily). I did a quick freeze on a small cookie sheet of 1T blobs and once they were hard put them all in a small ziploc. I keep it on the door of my freezer and it works fairly well for me.

Kim

[valeriek]

I must not be paying attention and so I'm probably the last on this board to say...CONGRATULATONS MRS. REBER!!!! That is so exciting! Tomato Paste, baby due dates...you never know what your are going to find out!!

[Missi]

Congrats to you, Mrs. Reber!!!!!!

I was freeze my extra tomato paste by putting it in an old ice cube tray. Each cube is about a tablespoon and after it's frozen, I just pop out the cubes into a freezer bag. I also freeze my pesto this way as well.

[Beth Y]

Just keep in Mrs. R, that they told me my baby was due on July 14 and her birthday was July 27.

[venus]

Congratulations Mrs. R! I had no idea!

P.S. May 25th is my husbands BDay. Geminis have more fun.

[Beth]

An idea for trying to keep those frozen critters from stowing away in the far recesses of the freezer: use one of the door shelves for those little bags of goodies, evenif you have to get a basket or something to keep them falling through.

[BarbaraL]

Congratulations, Mrs. Reber, from your neighbor in northern NJ! Not to disagree with Beth Y, but my daugher's due date was April 29 and her birthday is April 19. Enjoy every minute -- they grow up fast (my daughter's 13 -- seems like yesterday)!

[Susann]

And one more congratulations from another Susan-like name. That is soooo exciting!

[Susan]

Mrs. Reber~

Congrats from yet another Susan! Best wishes for your pregnancy! Any cravings???

~~Susan~~

[MrsReber]

Occasional cravings, but nothing major. I still need some soft vanilla ice cream, but that's nothing new for me! There is food I don't want to look at, though. They told me I can eat 2500 calories a day! Whoooo Hooo!! If I keep eating healthy, I can eat a ton of food! We didn't exactly want a May baby. We have way too many birthdays already that month: two neices, my brother in law, my mother in law, my sister in law, my mother's fiance, two friends' daughters, and, of course, Mother's Day. Ahhh!!!

[MrsReber]

Thanks for all the congratulations! I feel bad that this all falls under the tomato paste post, though! And we never did find out if David Duchovny was stalking our BB!

I hear the first baby is usually late, so I am hoping for June. Besides, it'd be nice to have off from work in the warm weather!!! We'll see how this one goes- we both want at least two.

[Susann]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by MrsReber:
[B]Thanks for all the congratulations! I feel bad that this all falls under the tomato paste post, though!

Some things are just way more important than tomato paste http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[karen w]

Mrs Reber,
First of all, a hearty congratulations!!! My first son is a May baby-May 8. None of my kids(2 boys and a girl) were late. They were all born within a day or 2 of due date. More importantly, May IS a good month-if you think in terms of what precious gem you might get from the hubby. May is Emerald(not bad). June is Alexandrite(14,000 a carat-Whooaa!). The more affordable one for June is pearl. I know this because my husband bought me a necklace after the first, and we had a charm custom made for each child when they were born. My second son was due July 4. He was sweating bullets praying that I would not be early with him, and insist on alexandrite!! He got lucky. My second was born July 1!!(ruby)
With the third, we tried for April(diamond). We got alexandrite (August) instead. Just goes to show you can't time these things!!! The necklace may have precious gems on them, but the true precious gems are my 3 kids. Cherish every moment Mrs. R. They grow up so fast.

By the way, sorry I never mentioned anything about tomato paste!!
Karen

[Marcie]

MrsR, It would be bad karma for me not to send congratulations your way, since I got so many congratulations here when I was pregnant last year. Baby Leo's birthdate? May 23rd! Guess we both know how we spent our Labor Day weekends...!

I love this bulletin board. Food talk, sure, but baby showers, birthdays, anniversaries, surgeries.... What a great thing we've got going here.

PS - Nurse that baby! You'll get to eat even MORE calories (like 3000!), plus it'll really help burn off the baby fat! Leo isn't 5 months yet and I'm back to pre-pregnancy weight.

[lindrusso]

Originally posted by MrsReber:
Thanks for all the congratulations! I feel bad that this all falls under the tomato paste post, though! And we never did find out if David Duchovny was stalking our BB!

I hear the first baby is usually late, so I am hoping for June. Besides, it'd be nice to have off from work in the warm weather!!! We'll see how this one goes- we both want at least two.

You know - I just HAD to check out this post and see why tomato paste was exciting enough to warrant 34 postings???!!!! Just can't skip anything around here or you might miss something!!

There may be hope yet Mrs. R - both of my boys were 2-3 weeks early for their due dates!

And just so no one thinks I'm rude, I did offer congrats on the Healthy Living board http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif .

[MrsReber]

Now, this is not fair to those people who are excited by tomato paste!!

Karen, I love it! I never thought about gems. Someone needs to tell my husband about this! I am debating breast feeding. I am in enough pain already in that area! But I do hear that it helps you to lose fat afterwards.

We really are excited about it all. It's something that I could just never imagine. You have to experience it yourself to know all the emotions that go with it- and I'm only ending my second month! My husband is being wonderful. He keeps telling me that being a mom is more work than being a dad. He even cooked dinner and cleaned up the other night since I was so tired! Hmmm, we may have to have more kids!

[karen w]

Mrs. Reber,
Again, sorry I have nothing for you about tomato paste, but I just thought I'd give you a little encouragement about breast feeding. I did it for all 3 of mine. As a matter of fact, I just stopped nursing my youngest about 2 weeks ago. Just in time too. She's getting 6 new teeth this week. OUCH!!! She is almost 15 months now, and I'm not sure who took weaning harder-me or her. Anyway, it's a wonderful experience and great for both you and the baby. However, it is not easy,especially in the beginning, so if you find you want to stop, DON'T feel guilty. And yes as an added bonus I ate like a PIG!! This was at times a nuisance for me. I'm one of those disgusting people who has always tried to gain weight, so I had to make sure I always had a snack with me whenever I went out. Anyway, if you are going to give it a go, give it a good 6 weeks for your milk to become established and to become comfortable with the whole routine. It gets alot easier after that.
GOOD LUCK. If we can help in anyway, you know where to find us!!
Karen