Tomato Paste

Old Fashioned Method  

Fascinating

Tomato Paste

Tomato paste is traditionally made in parts of Sicily, southern Italy and Malta.  Reduced tomato sauce is spread out  on wooden boards that are set outdoors under the hot August sun to dry the paste until it is thick enough. When it’s ready it is scraped up and held together in a richly colored, dark ball. Today, this artisan product is harder to find than the industrial version (which is much thinner). Commercial production uses tomatoes with thick pericarp walls and lower overall moisture; these are very different from tomatoes typically found in a everyday supermarket.

This particular video was shot by Elizebeth Menchilli in Sicily. To make tomato paste in Sicily they use two ingredients: tomatoes and the sun. See how estratto di pomodoro is made at the Anna Tasca Lanza Cooking School at Tenuta Regaleali in Sicily. By Elizabeth Minchilli, author of Eating My Way Through Italy and Eating Rome.

Elizabeth Minchilli, author of

Eating My Way Through Italy and Eating Rome.

http://www.elizabethminchilliinrome.com

Tomato paste is a thick paste made by cooking tomatoes for several hours to reduce the water content, straining out the seeds and skins, and cooking the liquid again to reduce the base to a thick, rich concentrate. By contrast, tomato purée is a liquid with a consistency between crushed tomatoes and tomato paste that is made from tomatoes that have been briefly boiled and strained.

Enjoy this wonderfully informative video shot on location in Sicily. 

For more information go to 

Elizabeth Minchilli, author of

Eating My Way Through Italy and Eating Rome.

http://www.elizabethminchilliinrome.com

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