Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Mom-to-Mom Tip: Tomato Paste

I always have leftover tomato paste when I need it for a recipe. On TV food shows I've seen it come in tubes, which makes it easy for "leftover" storage; however, in my grocery stores they only sell it in the cans. Even if I buy the smallest can, I still only need 1-2 tablespoons at a time. If I put the rest in tupperware in my fridge, I usually forget about it the next time I need some tomato paste. It just seems like so much waste! So... here's my great tip! Drop the leftover tomato paste by tablespoons in between two pieces of wax paper and put in the freezer (make sure it's flat). Once it freezes, you can put the "drops" into a freezer bag together. When you need tomato paste for a recipe, just take out how many tablespoons you need and drop it in the pot!

6 comments:

Roxy said...

I TOTALLY know what you mean... only needing 1- 2 Tbsp per recipe...and I always forget about the rest....THANKS for the tip!

scrpldy said...

thanks for the tip, i have been looking for the paste in a aqueeze tube like they show on TV w/no luck!!

Nico said...

GREAT TIP! I just threw away moldy tomato paste in a tupperware today. That always happens to me, too...

Nico said...

Oh and by the way, I am pretty sure I saw tomato paste in a tube at Bloomingfoods, but I like the freezing idea better. It's got to go bad in the tube, too, right?

Kyle & Cheryl said...

might also work to put it in an ice cube tray to freeze by the tablespoon...

Jenny said...

What a great idea! I always have leftover paste that ends up going to waste too.