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Lance M
 
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Default Tomato juice vs. sauce vs. puree, vs. paste, etc

What's the difference between tomato juice, tomato sauce, tomato puree,
tomato paste, etc?
Is it simply the amount of water, or is there a difference with the
spices?
I'm getting tired of the store bought kind with all its sodium and extra
unnecessary ingredients. I'm starting to want to make my own and freeze.
Can anyone give me some guidelines and recipes for doing so?

Thank you very much!

Lance

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PENMART01
 
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Default Tomato juice vs. sauce vs. puree, vs. paste, etc

> Lance M
>
>What's the difference between tomato juice, tomato sauce, tomato puree,
>tomato paste, etc?
>Is it simply the amount of water, or is there a difference with the
>spices?
>I'm getting tired of the store bought kind with all its sodium and extra
>unnecessary ingredients. I'm starting to want to make my own and freeze.
>Can anyone give me some guidelines and recipes for doing so?


US Law mandates the minimum percentage of water for each of those above listed
products... other than natural preservatives (ie. salt, citric acid) all are a
pure tomato product unless otherwise indicated (some canned tomatoes may
contain a few basil leaves), except for tomato sauce which since it is a sauce
contains spices and seasonings.

Hey, instead of bitching feel free to produce your own... begin by plowing up a
plot of land.




---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
Sheldon
````````````
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

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Peter Aitken
 
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Default Tomato juice vs. sauce vs. puree, vs. paste, etc

"Lance M" > wrote in message
...
> What's the difference between tomato juice, tomato sauce, tomato puree,
> tomato paste, etc?
> Is it simply the amount of water, or is there a difference with the
> spices?
> I'm getting tired of the store bought kind with all its sodium and extra
> unnecessary ingredients. I'm starting to want to make my own and freeze.
> Can anyone give me some guidelines and recipes for doing so?
>
> Thank you very much!
>
> Lance
>


The way I understand it is that tomato sauce has spices and/or other
flavorings in it, while juice, puree, and paste differ in consistency but
contain only tomatoes (maybe some salt). But if you are making your own,
call it what you want.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.


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Julia Altshuler
 
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Default Tomato juice vs. sauce vs. puree, vs. paste, etc

Lance M wrote:
> What's the difference between tomato juice, tomato sauce, tomato puree,
> tomato paste, etc?
> Is it simply the amount of water, or is there a difference with the
> spices?
> I'm getting tired of the store bought kind with all its sodium and extra
> unnecessary ingredients. I'm starting to want to make my own and freeze.
> Can anyone give me some guidelines and recipes for doing so?



I have only minimal experience with making my own tomato sauce from
scratch meaning that I tried it twice, didn't like it, didn't think my
results were better than what I can buy in a can and gave up. For
what's it is worth, here are my tips:


The trick is to figure out a way to evaporate off enough water from the
tomatoes to make a nice thick sauce. A watery marinara is easy enough.
Something the consistency even of V-8 or Campell's tomato juice will
take hours of slow simmering and stirring. To get it a little thicker
as found in Hunt's tomato sauce, you have to take hours plus stirring so
the bottom of the pan doesn't scorch. I never even got to that stage.
You'll also want some method of straining out the seeds.


I decided it was better to put my efforts into finding a brand I liked,
paying the extra money and driving out to the store that sells it. I
recommend Muir Glen organic tomato products. They have a salt-free
sauce that really nothing except tomatoes. If you can't find a source
for that, Hunt's tomato paste is nothing but tomatoes. Pope brand is a
little tarter in flavor and is also, if memory serves, nothing but tomatoes.


--Lia

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ScratchMonkey
 
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Default Tomato juice vs. sauce vs. puree, vs. paste, etc

Julia Altshuler > wrote in news:j9aic.19916
$GR.2772721@attbi_s01:

> The trick is to figure out a way to evaporate off enough water from the
> tomatoes to make a nice thick sauce.


Heat is the typical solution, but has anyone tried freeze drying or vacuum?
No risk of scorching that way.


  #6 (permalink)   Report Post  
Doug Freyburger
 
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Default Tomato juice vs. sauce vs. puree, vs. paste, etc

Lance M wrote:
>
> What's the difference between tomato juice, tomato sauce, tomato puree,
> tomato paste, etc?


Tomato juice - tomatoes put through a juice to remove the fiber
Tomato sauce - tomato juice cooked to reduce the amount of water
Tomato paste - tomato sauce reduced further with sugar added
Tomato puree - tomatoes run through a processor, keeping the fiber
normally cooked but not a requirement
Stewed tomatoes - break 'em up a bit and cook 'em a bit
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Rodney Myrvaagnes
 
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Default Tomato juice vs. sauce vs. puree, vs. paste, etc

On Thu, 22 Apr 2004 20:15:58 -0500, Lance M >
wrote:

>What's the difference between tomato juice, tomato sauce, tomato puree,
>tomato paste, etc?
>Is it simply the amount of water, or is there a difference with the
>spices?
>I'm getting tired of the store bought kind with all its sodium and extra
>unnecessary ingredients. I'm starting to want to make my own and freeze.
>Can anyone give me some guidelines and recipes for doing so?
>
>Thank you very much!
>

My standby is called Tomato Puree (pasata di pomodoro con basilico)
imported by La Valle. It cosists of tomatoes, 0.3% salt, and one or
two basil leaves in a 24-oz jar.

I would prefer it had no salt or basil, but they are not enough to
interfere.

I try to use local produce to the extent possible, but a few
conveniences like this . . . I plead guilty. In the winter, I use
peeled San Marzano tomatoes from the same importer.



Rodney Myrvaagnes Opinionated old geezer

Brutal dictators are routinely reelected by 90+%
margins. Only in a truly advanced democracy can
one win an election by a negative 600,000 votes.
  #8 (permalink)   Report Post  
Rodney Myrvaagnes
 
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Default Tomato juice vs. sauce vs. puree, vs. paste, etc

On Fri, 23 Apr 2004 14:57:19 GMT, Julia Altshuler
> wrote:

>
>
>I have only minimal experience with making my own tomato sauce from
>scratch meaning that I tried it twice, didn't like it, didn't think my
>results were better than what I can buy in a can and gave up. For
>what's it is worth, here are my tips:
>


Later in the summer I can get San Marzano -type tomatoes from local
farmers. Blanching, peeling, and seeding gives me a start on a nice
non-watery quick sauce. I blanch them in the water the pasta goes into
later.

Sometimes I mix in some canned tomatoes or puree. But in neither case
does it need hours to cook down.

Indeed, if the tomatoes are good enough, they can be diced and tossed
raw with the hot pasta, along with some garlic, basil leaves,
whatever.



Rodney Myrvaagnes Opinionated old geezer

Brutal dictators are routinely reelected by 90+%
margins. Only in a truly advanced democracy can
one win an election by a negative 600,000 votes.
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Dimitri
 
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Default Tomato juice vs. sauce vs. puree, vs. paste, etc


"Lance M" > wrote in message
...
> What's the difference between tomato juice, tomato sauce, tomato puree,
> tomato paste, etc?
> Is it simply the amount of water, or is there a difference with the
> spices?
> I'm getting tired of the store bought kind with all its sodium and extra
> unnecessary ingredients. I'm starting to want to make my own and freeze.
> Can anyone give me some guidelines and recipes for doing so?
>
> Thank you very much!
>
> Lance



All 4 have different critera based oupon the USDA Guidelens as relating to
the amount of solids, color, etc.

If you want to look each one up then go to:

http://www.usda.gov/

Do a search for each product.

As example:
http://www.ams.usda.gov/standards/cntatop.pdf

Tomato Paste.

Sample:

NATURAL TOMATO SOLUBLE SOLIDS
Extra heavy concentration. 39.3 percent or more.
Heavy concentration. 32 percent or more, but less than 39.3 percent.
Medium concentration. 28 percent or more, but less than 32 percent.
Light concentration. 24 percent or more, but less than 28 percent.

§52.5043 Texture.
(a) General. Texture is the degree of fineness or coarseness of the product.
Texture is classified when the product is diluted with water to between 8
percent and 9 percent, inclusive, of natural tomato soluble solids.
(b) Kind of texture.
(1) Fine texture means smooth, uniform finish.
(2) Coarse texture means a coarse, slightly granular finish.

§52.5044 Grades.

(a) U.S. Grade A or U.S. Fancy is the quality of tomato paste that:
(1) has a good flavor and odor,
(2) has a good color,
(3) is practically free from defects, and
(4) scores not less than 90 points when scored in accordance with the
scoring system outlined in this subpart.
(b) U.S. Grade C or U.S. Standard is the quality of tomato paste that:
(1) has at least a fairly good flavor and odor,
(2) has at least a fairly good color,
(3) is at least fairly free from defects, and
(4) scores not less than 80 points when scores in accordance with the
scoring system outlined in this subpart.
(c) Substandard is the grade of tomato paste that fails to meet the
requirements
of U. S. Grade C.

§52.5045 Recommended fill of container.
It is recommended that containers of tomato paste be filled as full as
practicable without
impairment of quality.

§52.5046 Determining the grade of a sample unit.
(a) General. The grade of a sample unit of tomato paste is determined by
considering the factor of flavor and odor which is not scored, the ratings
for
the factors of color and defects which are scored, the total score, and the
limiting rules which apply.



Dimitri




  #11 (permalink)   Report Post  
Julia Altshuler
 
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Default Tomato juice vs. sauce vs. puree, vs. paste, etc

Thanks. I hadn't considered that the type of tomatoes I was using was
making such a difference. Each year we buy 12 different tomato
varieties at the nursery. We get the plants when they're about 6" high,
take them home and grow them here. We don't start from seed. That way
we hedge our bets against a variety not growing well, and we get quite a
long season with some ripening early and some ripening late. There's an
aesthetic advantage too with the tomatoes in yellow, orange, pink and
red, large small, different shapes. My experiments with making sauce
were based on taking the surplus and seeing what I could do to preserve.
I'm never sorry for the experiment since it is fun, and I learn
something, but sometimes I don't want to eat the results. This year
I'll ask at the nursery for the San Marzano type you describe and see
what happens.


--Lia


Rodney Myrvaagnes wrote:

> Later in the summer I can get San Marzano -type tomatoes from local
> farmers. Blanching, peeling, and seeding gives me a start on a nice
> non-watery quick sauce. I blanch them in the water the pasta goes into
> later.
>
> Sometimes I mix in some canned tomatoes or puree. But in neither case
> does it need hours to cook down.
>
> Indeed, if the tomatoes are good enough, they can be diced and tossed
> raw with the hot pasta, along with some garlic, basil leaves,
> whatever.


  #12 (permalink)   Report Post  
ScratchMonkey
 
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Default Tomato juice vs. sauce vs. puree, vs. paste, etc

"Dimitri" > wrote in news:EEeic.213$bS.207
@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com:

> http://www.ams.usda.gov/standards/cntatop.pdf


I love how "objective" the criteria are. Not.
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