Double concentrated tomato paste
Double concentrated tomato paste is a thick tomato ingredient used to add colour and concentrated flavour to sauces and condiments.
A concentrated tomato ingredient
Tomato paste is a thick concentrate made from tomato pulp or juice after water is removed. Its deep colour and savoury, sweet and acidic flavour make a small amount useful in sauces, stews and condiments. Double concentrated paste is sold as a particularly thick product, but the label and ingredient list are the best guide to the specific brand.
The US Department of Agriculture describes tomato paste as having at least 24 percent natural tomato soluble solids and distinguishes several concentration ranges. Its grading terms are specific to that standard; do not assume that a marketing phrase means precisely the same concentration under every country’s rules.
Using the paste
Paste can be stirred into a liquid or cooked with other ingredients to distribute and develop its flavour. It is more concentrated than ordinary tomato purée, so a spoonful does not behave like the same volume of fresh tomato. Products can differ in added salt and other ingredients, and nutrition labels can differ in sugar content. Check the actual package if the amount affects a recipe calculation.
The supplied condiment material uses paste as the base of a concentrate path and notes an example with 16 g sugars per 100 g. That is an example, not a value that can be assigned to all brands. Once opened, follow the manufacturer’s storage instructions and use clean utensils.
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Preservation is a separate process
Commercially sealed paste and an opened container have different storage conditions. Thick texture or tomato acidity alone does not establish that a homemade mixture can be stored safely at room temperature. The National Center for Home Food Preservation provides a specific tested home-canning method for tomato paste, including acid mixed through the product before the final reduction.
That method applies to its stated ingredients, proportions, jar size and processing instructions. A flavoured condiment or fermented mixture made with paste should use its own appropriate tested method rather than borrowing one step or time from the tomato-paste procedure.
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Sources
US Department of AgricultureContext
United States Standards for Grades of Canned Tomato Pasteproduct definition
concentration
Cited in: A concentrated tomato ingredient; Using the paste
Codex AlimentariusContext
Standard for Processed Tomato Concentratesdefinition
concentrated tomato products
Cited in: A concentrated tomato ingredient
National Center for Home Food PreservationContext
Tomato Pastetested home canning method
acid distribution
Cited in: Preservation is a separate process