Amore Double Concentrated Tomato Paste (4.5 oz. tube)
Item Purchased: Amore Double Concentrated Tomato Paste (4.5 oz. tube)
Location Purchased: L’Appetito / 30 E. Huron St. / Chicago, IL
Price: $3.99 + tax
Purchased on: 01/15/08
Review: I have to admit, it was magazine hype that sold me on this product. I am an avid reader of Cook’s Illustrated, who have talked this product up more than several times.
The initial appeal is, of course, the fact that it comes in a resealable tube. There’s nothing more wasteful in the world of worse than needing a tablespoon of tomato paste for a sauce or stock and having to open a whole 8 oz. can. Beyond that money and tomato resource saving convenience, this tomato paste lives up to the other aspects of the hype as well. Though it is a super sweet concentrate of what we know as tomato flavor, somehow it also preserves just enough of the natural acidity of tomatoes to blend well with whatever other ingredients you might throw into your ragu or other sauce.
Flavor and extended lifespan makes the extra chunk of change you’ll drop for this tomato paste well worth it.
Rating: 4.5 / 5
February 25th, 2008 at 2:04 am
Something else Cook’s Illustrated will tell you…
Go ahead and get that puny can of tomato paste that you only end up using a tablespoon of.
The rest, take a sheet pan, slap a layer of parchment of wax paper on it. Dollop out tablespoon-sized lumps of the leftover tomato paste, throw the whole thing in the freezer. Once they’re pretty solid, harvest ‘em up, and throw the little tomato-paste-cicles into a plastic bag and back to the freezer.
(although I’ve heard about doing a similar trick with extra egg-whites (for when you’ve got a recipe that calls for more yolks than whole eggs) and a spare ice-cube tray. Just be sure to relocate them to another container (such as a plastic bag to minimize the air they’re exposed to) Your mileage may vary.)
February 27th, 2008 at 9:52 am
Mmm, Cook’s Illustrious. I mean Illustrated.
After years of getting sample copies, I finally broke down and decided to ante the bucks for a subscription. (no one ever took the hint to give me one!) It was the fancy kitchen shears offer that did it. Although I’ve never used kitchen shears. Hmm. Wait a minute…(chin stroking…)
I love that Transiit said “harvest ‘em up” SNORT. SNICKER. Let’s cook sometime!