If you are used to buying tomato puree from supermarkets then you will be in for a very pleasant surprise when using tomato paste ice cubes.

The taste of home made tomato paste will make a real difference to your recipes and cooked meals.

There are 2 key items to making tomato paste:

The type of tomato used
And lovely, warm sunshine (Or an oven…)

Tomato paste is the ideal ingredient for many recipes. As it’s a very easy way to add a tomato flavour to meals.

Which is why most authentic tomato paste tends to be made in the warm sunshine in Sicily, southern Italy and Malta.

Much nicer taste than supermarket bought tomato paste.

When you make your own tomato paste you will notice how much nicer it tastes then the ‘shop bought’ alternatives. And tomato paste ice cubes are a great way to store the flavour for a longer time.

In addition they are also very easy to use – simply use as many tomato paste ice cubes as you will need in your recipes.

How to make tomato paste ice cubes

You will need the following:

Ingredients

4.5 kg Roma Tomatoes or San Marzano Tomatoes
2 tsp Olive oil
1/2 tsp Sea salt

Equipment

Chef’s knife
1 or 2 Rimmed baking sheets
Large pan
Food mill
Sieve or strainer

Instructions

Step 1 – Prepare the tomatoes

Pick & wash the tomatoes
Cut the tomatoes in quarters and remove the seeds

Put the olive oil into a large pan over medium heat and then add the tomatoes.
Boil for about 30 minutes until the tomatoes soften and the skin begins to detach

Put the tomatoes through a food mill and sieve to take out the skins and remaining seeds.
Put the pulp back into the pan and add the salt.

Step 2 – Thicken the tomatoes

Preheat the oven to 200ºF – depending on how many tomatoes you used you might need to make sure you have enough space for 2 baking sheets
Place the tomato pulp onto 1 or 2 baking sheets – the sheets need to be completely covered and about 30 cm high. It is very important the pulp is the same height on the sheet, if not the thinnest part might burn.
Every 20 to 30 minutes check the sheets and gently stir the pulp. As the pulp shrinks you might need to combine 2 sheets or move the puree into the centre of the sheet. Making sure the pulp stays about 30 cm high.
After about 3 to 3.5 hours your tomato paste should be ready. Usually this is after it has reduced by about half – it will no longer be like a sauce but a lot more solid & sticky with a darker colour.

Step 3 – Cool and Freeze the tomatoes

Take out of the oven and let it cool to room temperature.

Then using a spoon fill an ice cube tray.
Put in the freezer and when frozen take out and
Put the tomato paste ice cubes in freezer bags.

Video

The video below shows how authentic tomato paste is make in Sicily.

But there is no reason you can’t duplicate the process at home using your own homegrown tomatoes and an oven.

If you want to make tomato paste ice cubes at home then the key is to focus on 2 items:

1. The type of tomato used

As you might have noticed we very much prefer either Roma Tomatoes or San Marzano Tomatoes. The reason is that they simply have so much more flavour then the tomatoes you can buy in shops.

Especially if you grow them at home (and use them freshly picked) they will add so much more flavour to your tomato paste.

2. Making tomato paste ice cubes

I prefer using ice cubes to store the tomato paste for 2 reasons

Firstly as it’s a lot easier than putting the paste into jars. And in addition storing them in ice cubes means you can have the great flavour at home all year around.

Secondly, because they tend to get better cooking results. Many home chefs tend to add tomato paste to late when cooking. If you add them earlier this adds more flavour to meals – for example the advantage of ice cubes is that you can add them to a pan when browning meat, releasing all the flavour.

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Tomato Paste Ice Cubes

Tomato paste is the ideal ingredient for many recipes.

As it’s a very easy way to add a tomato flavour to meals. This recipe will show you how to make tomato paste at home and then storing it in ice cubes.

More details of why it works below the recipe

Course ingredient

Cuisine Italian

Keyword tomato paste

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 3 30

Total Time 4 30

Servings g

Author Minze Vries

Cost £1

Equipment

Chef Knife
1 or 2 Rimmed baking sheets
Large pan
Rotary Food mill
Sieve or strainer

Ingredients

4.5 kg Roma Tomatoes or San Marzano Tomatoes
2 tsp Olive oil
1/2 tsp Sea salt

Instructions

Pick & wash the tomatoes
Cut the tomatoes in quarters and remove the seeds
Put the olive oil into a large pan over medium heat and then add the tomatoes. Boil for about 30 minutes until the tomatoes soften and the skin begins to detach
Put the tomatoes through a food mill and sieve to take out the skins and remaining seeds.
Put the pulp back into the pan and add the salt.
Preheat the oven to 200ºF – depending on how many tomatoes you used you might need to make sure you have enough space for 2 baking sheets
Place the tomato pulp onto 1 or 2 baking sheets – the sheets need to be completely covered and about 30 cm high. It is very important the pulp is the same height on the sheet, if not the thinnest part might burn.
Every 20 to 30 minutes check the sheets and gently stir the pulp. As the pulp shrinks you might need to combine 2 sheets or move the puree into the centre of the sheet. Making sure the pulp stays about 30 cm high.
After about 3 to 3.5 hours your tomato paste should be ready. Usually this is after it has reduced by about half – it will no longer be like a sauce but a lot more solid & sticky with a darker colour.
Take out of the oven and let it cool to room temperature

How to store tomato paste

Using jars in a fridge

Get a clear jar and then fill it with the tomato paste using a spoon.
Level the paste at top of the jar with the spoon and cover with olive oil.
Put on the lid and leave in the fridge. Should last about 1 year.

Making tomato paste ice cubes

Using a spoon fill an ice cube tray.
Put in the freezer and when frozen take out and
Put the tomato paste ice cubes in freezer bags.

Notes

Why tomato paste ice cubes?

The reason is that this storage option has 2 advantages:

Firstly

It is a lot easier to store and you can use as many blocks as you need.

Secondly

The advantage of using tomato paste ice cubes is that you can simply add them straight into a recipe for maximum flavour.

Many chefs do tend to add tomato paste to late when cooking.

You will get maximum flavour results by adding tomato paste at the beginning. The tomato paste ice cubes are ideal for this.

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More information

The ideal Roma or San Marzano tomatoes are not easy to find in shops. If you want to make tomato paste ice cubes then try to get ‘thick’ skinned tomatoes or why not grow your tomatoes at home.

How to grow tomatoes indoors