664555 Tue Nov 03 20:41:56 -0800 2009 21 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 5154008 Tomato paste is one of the least called-for things in my pantry, but once in a while, I get a recipe that needs it. And I know it comes in tubes; believe me, when I finally use up the two or three 6 oz. cans I have, I will buy the tubes. In the meantime, I made my mom's marinara sauce which calls for 2 T tomato paste, so I have the remainder in my fridge where it will make its way slowly to the back only to be found, all dried up and black, whenever I clean the fridge next. Granted it's not the most expensive thing to end up throwing away, but if anyone has any suggestions as to how to use it up (without having to make more marinara sauce), I'd be grateful. Tue Nov 03 20:41:56 -0800 2009 322300 Michelly 1 5154036 Chicken stock, vegetables, pasta, white beans and tomato paste...... Minestrone or Pasta Fagioli Tue Nov 03 20:57:59 -0800 2009 5154008 123497 fourunder 2 5154656 Ditto, leftover tomato paste in my house almost always calls for a hearty soup later in the week! Wed Nov 04 07:10:09 -0800 2009 5154036 429926 CreativeFoodie42 1 5154067 Put it in the freezer - it keeps fine at a lower temp. Tue Nov 03 21:28:01 -0800 2009 5154008 14341 OCEllen 2 5157834 Absolutely. Wrap tablespoon size balls in plastic wrap and store them in the door. Don't make them too big or they take too long to defrost in a 'quick-fry' dish. Edit: I just read Vetta's post below - Looks like I duplicated his/her post. (I wish English had a suitable personal non-gender-specific singular personal pronoun.) Thu Nov 05 07:38:26 -0800 2009 5154067 154622 Paulustrious 1 5154312 Like OCEllen says, only make sure to freeze in one- or two-tablespoon measures. I drop dollops by the tablespoon onto wax paper, freeze, and when solid put into ziploc freezer bags. Wed Nov 04 04:12:28 -0800 2009 5154008 139725 janniecooks 2 5154331 or you can freeze them in ice cube trays first. If they are plastic tray please spray with Pam first or the tray will turn red. This trick also works great if you freeze sauce in "tupperware." If you spray the plastic container with Pam before placing red sauce in them you should not have that red color effect when defrosted. Wed Nov 04 04:24:30 -0800 2009 5154312 11290 jfood 3 5154813 Try putting tomato-stained plastic containers in direct sunlight for a day or so. That is supposed to restore them. I have also read that putting wads of newspaper inside a covered plastic container will remove any residual odors that have permeated the plastic. Wed Nov 04 08:02:30 -0800 2009 5154331 159317 greygarious 3 5154824 What a great tip to prevent red sauce from discoloring plastic. Thanks! Wed Nov 04 08:04:23 -0800 2009 5154331 139725 janniecooks 2 5156898 I drop tablespoons right onto plastic wrap that's spread out on my counter, wrap it up snugly, and then freeze that. I put them in the freezer door so they are hard to lose. Wed Nov 04 18:45:43 -0800 2009 5154312 64882 Vetter 1 5154534 No need to buy the much more expensive tubes. As OCEllen said - freeze it. Either use an ice cube tray as others have mentioned, or portion them out into small Tupperware (I use their Midget containers - 2 Tbsp. each) and freeze them that way. They defrost quickly in the microwave or on the counter in 2 Tbsp. increments. Wed Nov 04 06:27:20 -0800 2009 5154008 10532 LindaWhit 1 5154556 I put my unused tomato paste in a zip-lock sandwich bag, squish all of the air our of the bag, spread the tomato paste into an even layer throughout the closed bag, then divide it into four sections by running my finger across the bag top to bottom, side to side. I then fold along these marks and pop the bag into the freezer. Depending on how much tomato paste you had left, this makes controllable portions with minimum mess or cleanup when you've used it all. One easy step. Wed Nov 04 06:36:07 -0800 2009 5154008 112096 Caroline1 2 5159600 Yea!!!!!!!!!!!!! No more tomato paste turning black in the can in my fridge! How simple............. duh! Thu Nov 05 17:18:22 -0800 2009 5154556 11405 Midlife 3 5159641 Then why did it take me forty years to figure it out? Oh! Wait a minute! Forty years ago there were no zip-lock bags! '-) Thu Nov 05 17:39:54 -0800 2009 5159600 112096 Caroline1 2 5159719 That's a great idea! I've frozen it in dollops on a tray (works great but you have to make room in the freezer to sit the tray...) and tried icecube trays (it's hard to get the tomato paste out again) and small tupperware containers (work great but they tend to fall out of the freezer and smash.) Empty yoghurt containers are also a good size for tomato paste. I stack them in the door of the fridge so I don't lose them. Thu Nov 05 18:22:13 -0800 2009 5154556 67657 Kajikit 2 5159994 That's a pretty cool trick, Caroline1. And nice to see you back, btw. Thu Nov 05 20:56:37 -0800 2009 5154556 64215 cimui 1 5156832 I never thought of freezing the stuff! Thanks, everyone! Wed Nov 04 18:20:26 -0800 2009 5154008 322300 Michelly 1 5158676 I dig it outta can onto waxed paper and shape into a log. Into freezer till hard then cut into pieces (maybe a TBSP) and then into zip freezer bag or air-tight container. Thu Nov 05 11:55:01 -0800 2009 5154008 1121717 thatchairlady 2 5158730 That seems like a lot of extra fuss, when you can just flatten it all to fill a freezer bag, then simply break off as much as you need, as noted upthread. Thu Nov 05 12:11:58 -0800 2009 5158676 159317 greygarious 1 5159742 I usually eat it with a spoon. It's rich and bright and sweet and tart and fabulous tasting and has gobs of lycopene. But that's just me. Thu Nov 05 18:33:46 -0800 2009 5154008 105625 EWSflash 2 5159982 Not just you, EWS. After using the normal 2 TBS for the recipe, I grab a sheet of plastic wrap and freeze a glop for the next time. Then I make juice. I have a saved plastic lid fron a baking powder can that rests in a special place, and add water to the can, then cover the 6 ounce can with finger pressure and shake and agitate, and decant to a glass. Rinse and repeat. Add seasonings (think bloody mary mix) and rinse repeat again in the can until the can is clean and the glass has tomato juice reconstituted at a 3 0r 4 to 1 ratio. Rinse the plastic lid and return to special place, recycle the contadina can, and drink the flavorful lycopenes. Advantage is that you can lower the sodium content: canned tomato juice is extremely high in salt. Thu Nov 05 20:47:38 -0800 2009 5159742 17562 FoodFuser 1 5160009 If you don't want to freeze it or toss it into soup, how about bloody Marys? Plenty of recipes call for using tomato paste. Thu Nov 05 21:07:05 -0800 2009 5154008 64215 cimui