Tomato purée

Made of cooked tomatoes, is available canned in most food stores and is used to add flavor and body to sauces. To make fresh tomato purée, peel and seed tomatoes, then purée in a blender or in a food processor fitted with the metal blade.

Tomatoes that have been cooked for a short amount of time and then strained, producing a thick sauce which is used to add flavor, color and body to a sauce. Fresh tomatoes can be puréed by peeling and removing the seeds and then puréeing the peeled tomatoes in a food processor and then adding salt and citric acid. Commercial tomato purée is available in cans or tubes from most grocery stores however, caution should be used when adding this to a food because adding too much may overpower the flavor or cause the taste to become too acidic. After opening tomato purée, it can be kept refrigerated for several days if it was canned, while tube purée will last for approximately a month. The difference between tomato paste, tomato purée and tomato sauce is texture and depth of flavor. The thicker the consistency the deeper the flavor. Tomato paste is the thickest, then purée is next in consistency and tomato sauce is the thinnest.