# Discuss flavor differences of tomato sauce vs paste



## viper (Mar 6, 2011)

There seems to be a lot of controversy over the use of paste in a sauce and if the flavors are really about the same.  For the sake of discussion, lets just consider a canned sauce vs a paste that has been hydrated to the same viscosity of a sauce.  I am more concerned of any flavor differences, good or bad of each. 

Some people think a paste can just be hydrated and become a sauce, some people say they are totally different flavors.  In research of how each is made, there are certain differences there and a paste is cooked down considerably to dehydrate and create the paste. 

For the sake of this discussion, we should probably also include the puree version which I understand to be a more pure version of a "sauce" that is just lightly cooked tomatoes, blended to create a thick sauce viscosity. 

Just not sure on this one


----------



## pops6927 (Mar 6, 2011)

From OChef:

http://www.ochef.com/559.htm

Tomato Puree, Paste & Sauce Defined








  Could you please tell me what the difference is between tomato puree, tomato paste, and tomato sauce?














  Tomato paste, or tomato concentrate, consists of tomatoes that have been cooked for several hours, strained and reduced to a thick, rich concentrate. It is generally fairly sweet.

Tomato puree consists of tomatoes that have been cooked briefly and strained, resulting in a thick liquid.

Tomato sauce is a somewhat thinner tomato puree, and may include seasonings and other flavorings so that it is ready to be used in other dishes or as a base for other sauces.


----------



## venture (Mar 6, 2011)

Listen to Pops.  Next time you buy a can of tomato juice, check the label.  It will say "reconstituted".Most products sold now come from concentrates.  Concentrates are made from fruit which might be less than perfect visually, but otherwise very good. 

Also, concentrates are lighter and cheaper to ship.  If you really look at it, many of the products you like and use are made from concentrates. 

Otherwise, grow your own garden.  Then you really get the good stuff!

Good luck and good smoking!


----------



## chefrob (Mar 6, 2011)

for me, paste will add a deepness in flavor. purees and sauces will have a brighter profile.......i use them both inconjunction to come up with a balance of what i'm looking for.


----------



## SmokinAl (Mar 7, 2011)

We use the paste when the dish seems to need a little more tomato flavor.


----------



## sqwib (Mar 9, 2011)

I will use pastes to tweak jarred sauces, if they are too sweet and thin.

I use it in recipes in place of sauce such as a fatties.

I also use Pastes for Beef Stew and Beef vegetable soups.

The difference I have noticed, is the paste is a bit more tart and does have a richer flavor.

I use Contadina


----------



## alelover (Mar 9, 2011)

"I use Contadina"

Is there any other kind?


----------



## venture (Mar 9, 2011)

I am not always hooked on brand names unless I find they have a specific recipe which differentiates them.

My company assigned me to work closely with one of the largest canners of fruits and vegetables.  They had acres of warehouses where cans called "brights" were stored without labels.  Many major vendors came in and bought them by grade, shipped them to their facility and put their own labels on them.  There was one major company which I know did not do this.  You wouldn't believe the variety of major labels that ended up on cans out of the same warehouse.


----------



## bpopovitz (Mar 9, 2011)

Venture said:


> I am not always hooked on brand names unless I find they have a specific recipe which differentiates them.
> 
> My company assigned me to work closely with one of the largest canners of fruits and vegetables.  They had acres of warehouses where cans called "brights" were stored without labels.  Many major vendors came in and bought them by grade, shipped them to their facility and put their own labels on them.  There was one major company which I know did not do this.  You wouldn't believe the variety of major labels that ended up on cans out of the same warehouse.


Had just that experience.  Went to the "Red Gold" scratch and dent sale at the plant and ordered paste, italian diced, dices and sauce.  Most of them were without labels, some had the Red Gold Labels some had other "store brand" labels.  All the same stuff...Even the date codes on the cans were the same.


----------



## pops6927 (Mar 11, 2011)

Absolutely, these are commodities, just like dollars and dineros, wheat, grain, pork bellies or sewing machines.

Sewing machines are a good example.  At least at one time there were 4 producers of sewing machines.  One was Singer.  The other three were in Japan; three factories that all produced identical machines with identical interchangeable parts but weren't considered a monopoly because they had 3 different names, lol.  And they produced all other sewing machines other than Singer.  (My uncle used to be a factory industrial maintenance man repairing thousands of machines for sewing factories and told me that, lol!).


----------



## chef jimmyj (May 15, 2011)

Greetings all,

Here is an analogy I have used with my students...

Tomato Paste is to Tomato Sauce  as  Beef Stock is to Beef Broth...

The first is an INGREDIENT that is ALWAYS used in a recipe...

The latter is READY TO EAT it has been seasoned, usually with SALT and other ingredients...

They are interchangeable but leave any additional salt in the recipe out until the end.

Otherwise after reduction, if any, you may end up really salty...

Hope this helps...JJ


----------

