One of the most widely used food ingredients used in food preparation is tomato paste, which many people prepare and others prepare tomato paste at home. But the important thing about using tomato paste is how to store it. One of the most important problems of storing and consuming tomato paste is mold, which can introduce toxic substances into the paste and make it unusable. On the other hand, in many cases, the purpose of using tomato paste is to color the food, but sometimes the paste may not give a good color to the food and after cooking, you will have pale or colorless food.
The best way to store and consume tomato paste
As mentioned, tomato paste mold is one of the serious problems of people who cook. Because the mold has spread the contamination to the entire paste and contrary to imagination, not only the tomato paste, but the whole container is contaminated and it should not be used anymore. In general, it is better to use cans of ready-made pastes based on your consumption. But if you insist on making your own tomato paste at home, it is better to pay attention to the following points.
- First, when cooking the paste, let the water evaporate completely. In this case, in addition to reducing the possibility of the paste becoming moldy, when you use tomato paste, you will have a more colorful paste, because when the excess water evaporates, the paste will reach a suitable concentration and you can easily use it to have a colorful food.
- Another way to prevent tomato paste from getting moldy is to add a small amount of oil to the paste while cooking it. Of course, don't forget that the amount of oil should not be so much that it makes the tomato paste greasy.
- If you make the tomato paste yourself, add salt to it while cooking. Salt can slow down the moldy process of the paste and prevent it from spoiling. Of course, when using tomato paste, remember how much salt you have added to it, in order to prevent it from becoming salty when adding salt to the food. Use more gently, the shelf life of the paste will also increase. For this reason, the hotter you cook the paste, the more likely it is to mold.
- To make the food more colorful, it is better, when using tomato paste, first fry it with a very small amount of oil. . After it changes color a little, add it to your food. Of course, keep in mind that roasting the paste continuously prevents it from burning and changing its taste.
Key points when using tomato paste
- It is better to use a clean spoon to consume tomato paste. A wet, greasy spoon and the spoon you used to mix food can cause the paste to mold faster. For this reason, be sure to use a clean spoon to remove the paste from its container.
- The best place to store the paste is in cool places such as refrigerators and freezers. If you have prepared a large amount of tomato paste and you cannot store it all in the refrigerator or freezer, it is better to store some in the refrigerator according to your consumption and store the rest in a cool environment. Put your used paste in the upper shelves of the refrigerator, which are colder and prevent the paste from becoming moldy.
- Another point that you should pay attention to when using tomato paste is the container in which the paste is stored. You keep it. You must store tomato paste in closed containers to prevent contamination from entering it. Storing the paste in a container with a lid prevents its taste and color from changing, so even if you use ready-made tomato paste, it is better to transfer the rest of the paste into a container with a lid after opening the lid.
- The best containers for keeping tomato paste are glass containers, which significantly increase the shelf life of the paste. If a glass container is not available, you can store tomato paste in plastic cans. Do not forget that metal containers cause oxidation. For this reason, avoid storing the paste in a metal container as much as possible.
- Another point that you should pay attention to is placing the paste in small containers. In this case, you can pour them into different containers according to the consumption of tomato paste and prevent them from becoming moldy and poisoned.