Tomato paste
Tomato paste is a pantry staple made from concentrated tomatoes that adds intense, tomatoes flavor to all sorts of dishes without adding extra moisture. Tomato paste is made from whole tomatoes that are cooked, strained to remove seeds and skins, and then cooked again to evaporate moisture. The result is a thick, smooth, deep-red paste with a sweet, highly concentrated flavor.
Tomato paste can be pure, with no ingredients other than tomatoes, or may contain small amounts of salt, sugar, herbs and spices and sometimes citric acid as a preservative. Tomato paste brings a number of things to a dish: a burst of the meaty, savory flavor known as umami, concentrated sweetness, mild acidity and thickening quality. It’s often added to reinforce and add depth to the taste of tomato-based dishes like marinara or tomato soup. It’s also added to braises and stews for depth of flavor without being recognizably tomato-y.
Tomato paste is typically added at the beginning of cooking, often briefly sautéed in olive oil. You may have seen recipe instructions to add paste to your pan and cook, stirring, until it “turns brick-red”; this process caramelizes the natural sugars in paste, deepening its flavor, so don’t skip it.
There are important qualitative parameters to identify good tomato paste, which are mentioned below. These factors include:
- Soluble solids
- Viscosity
- Consistency
- pH
- Acidity
- Color
These quality parameters are prominent in tomato paste in determining consumer acceptability and are an essential part of quality standards. Apamehgroup knowledgeable team will be available to answer any questions you may have and provide you with detailed information about tomato paste. Tomato paste is one of the most widely used seasonings in factories producing food products, restaurants and home foods. The annual consumption of this very popular seasoning in the world is approximately 40 million tons. Therefore, according to the increase in global demand, the export of tomato paste has always been increasing.
BRIX in Tomato Paste
For the export of tomato paste, there is a specific criterion called “BRIX”. Brix shows the concentration of ingredients in tomato paste compared to water. The higher the Brix number, the thicker the tomato paste and the better its quality.
To produce thicker and better quality tomato paste, more tomatoes should be consumed. Interestingly, the storage conditions of tomato paste in metal or glass cans depend on the Brix number for it. For example, if the package is a glass or can, the standard Brix number is between 16 and 27. If the tomato paste is transported in bulk and in barrels, the Brix number should vary between 38 and 40.
The concentration or brix of tomato paste is the main factor that determines the price of the product. In this context, you should choose the concentration of the paste according to the price and the target community in the country. In Iran, paste with different BRIX is produced in different factories. According to the request of foreign customers, paste with Brix 10 to 38 is produced and exported for them.
Hot break vs. cold break tomato paste
Tomato paste is one of the most significant products that can be generated from fresh tomatoes, and it is an essential component of the diet of humans. To choose the appropriate tomato paste, you need to be familiar with both the hot break and the cold break varieties. Cold break and hot break are two of the most conventional thermal processing methods that are used during the manufacturing of tomato paste. A cold break is carried out at a temperature lower than 70 degrees Celsius, and a hot break is carried out at a temperature that ranges from 85 to 102 degrees. Pectin-related enzymes are only partly rendered inactive by the cold break, which results in a paste with a low degree of viscosity. As a result of the reduced processing temperature, cold break paste, on the other hand, has a pleasing color and taste. Both PME and PG may be rendered fully inactive by the hot break, which results in the production of a tomato paste with a high viscosity. The hot break may result in the production of a paste with a high viscosity, but it also results in the loss of taste, the development of a brown color, and the deterioration of nutritional value. Easy spicy tomato sauce While hot break paste is ideal for producing pizza sauce and ketchup with a high viscosity, cold break paste is better suitable for further preparing tomato juice that has been diluted and vegetable cocktails with a more natural color and a taste that is truer to the flavor of fresh tomatoes. While the CB Tomato Paste is often used for triple concentration paste with a Brix range of 36-38, the HB tomato Paste is typically put to use for condiments such as ketchup and other sauces that call for a Brix range of 28-30.
We can supply our tomato paste based on customer brix and types of production in following forms:
- Canned 800 gr and 400 gr
- Glass jar 750 gr and 1.5 kg
- Aseptic tomato paste drum (235-245 kg)
