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I use tomato paste for sauces, bolognese, chili, stews/roasts, pizza sauce, and finishing sauces. Some weeks are very tomato-y cooking weeks and others not so much. I have a great tomato paste kitchen hack that helps not waste any of the paste.
A small jar of tomato paste is not that expensive. However, I hate throwing away something so flavorful that eventually, we will want and not have it in the pantry. Yes, you can buy a tube of tomato paste instead-but in my opinion, it is expensive for what you get and it does spoil after being opened in the refrigerator.
Efficiently Extracting Tomato Paste
First, let’s tackle the kitchen hack getting the tomato paste out of the jar without wasting much of the golden umami elixir. You can use a can opener to open BOTH sides of the tomato paste can. When you open both sides of the can you can use one side to push the paste out the top of the can — like a push-up popsicle! Once you push the paste out of the can you slice the amount you need. Slicing is less messy than trying to scoop and get the paste off a spoon. And the sides of the can are almost scraped clean as the lid pushes the paste up and out of the can.
Freezing for Future Flavorful Delights
Next, let’s deal with what to do with excess tomato paste. In the past, I would put the excess paste in a small jar in the fridge with hopes that eventually I would want it—which rarely ever happened. The paste inevitably would grow mold and then we were left cleaning said mess. Light bulb moment – why not freeze the paste? When you freeze the paste, you can have it when you want it. The paste does not have to go to waste and you do not need to remember to buy new cans for that certain recipe you want to cook mid-week randomly. So after using the kitchen hack to force the paste out of the can, push the rest into a plastic or reusable freezer bag (again less mess!). Label your bag, then squeeze the paste flat. You can break or cut a piece off to your liking when you need it. It melts super fast, so no need to defrost.
No More Tomato Paste Waste
The larger the jar of paste the more value and you can have paste for months at your ready!
What do you think? Does frozen tomato paste sound helpful to you?
Tomato Paste Kitchen Hacks: How To Remove Paste From a Can and Store it in the Freezer
Below is a quick method to open a can of tomato paste, extract it, and save it for future use.
Total Time Needed :
3
Minutes
Required Tools:
Things Needed?
Steps to use and store tomato paste:
Open both sides of the can of tomato paste with a can opener
Push one side of the opened can lid into the can so that the paste comes out the other side; slice off what you need
Slide any extra paste into a freezer bag and label it with a pen. Flatten and compress the contents and store it in the freezer. Break or cut a piece off when you want to use it (no need to defrost)
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