Tomato paste is used in many dishes worldwide, most delicious dishes have tomato paste as a key ingredient to enhance the overall flavor of the dish. How can you freeze tomato paste to use it whenever you are making a dish that needs tomato paste as an ingredient? This is a question that arises in every home cook’s mind. You need to know how can you freeze tomato paste to lengthen its shelf life so that you can use it in the dishes that you are cooking.
In a normal tomato paste can, you can get about 170 grams of tomato paste. Normally, a dish requires about 1-3 tablespoons of tomato paste. What do you do with the rest of the tomato paste? You have to freeze it. You can freeze tomato paste in the freezer of your refrigerator. It is much more convenient to use once it is frozen for future use and you can take exactly as many tablespoons as you want and freeze it back. It saves you money and time in the long run and nothing goes to waste. It is sustainable and environmentally friendly as well.
These are the essential steps that you need to follow when you are freezing tomato paste for future use.
Contents
Step 1: Transfer the tomato paste to a freezer bag
You can use a cookie scoop or a spoon to take out the tomato paste from the can. Place the tomato paste on the baking tray and freeze it until it hardens. Make sure that the scoops of tomato paste are hard and then transfer it to an airtight freezer bag.
Step 2: Freeze
Freeze the tomato paste scoops that are in the freezer bag by putting them in the freezer of your refrigerator.
Can You Freeze Tomato Paste In Ice Cube Trays?
You can use the cookie scoop as mentioned above or you can use an ice cube tray to measure your tomato paste and store it. It is easier to use an ice cube tray because you can pop on ice cube-sized tomato paste and add it to your dish. Ice cube trays are available in every household so you do not have to buy extra trays for freezing. You can freeze your tomato paste in an ice cube tray. You need to remove the tomato paste from the ice cube tray after it is set and transfer it to a freezer bag and squeeze the excess air out of the bag.
Can You Freeze Tomato Paste After Opening?
Most people often wonder about how can you freeze tomato paste after you have opened the can or jar. It is fairly easy to answer this question as the tomato paste does not expire or go bad right after you have opened it. You can store the tomato paste by freezing it and elongating its shelf life for months.
Can You Freeze Leftover Tomato Paste?
When you are cooking for fewer people, you can often have leftover tomato paste. It is not fair to throw the tomato paste as it’ll be wasteful. You usually need 1-3 tbsps of tomato paste per dish so the rest of the tomato paste can be frozen to use later. There will be a good quantity of tomato paste that can be leftover if you open a new can of tomato paste. You can freeze the leftover tomato paste by following the steps mentioned above.
Can You Freeze Unused Tomato Paste?
If you have extra cans of tomato paste that you have not opened yet, you can store them at room temperature in your pantry. If you have opened a tomato paste can and you have leftover unused tomato paste in the can then you can follow the steps above to preserve it.
Can You Freeze Leftover Canned Tomato Paste?
You can freeze leftover canned tomato paste easily by transferring the tomato paste to an ice cube tray and freezing it until it is hard. Then you need to remove the ice cube-sized tomato paste and store it in the freezer bag and put it in your freezer. This is the easiest way to freeze leftover canned tomato paste as well as homemade tomato paste.
How to freeze tomato paste?
In order to freeze tomato paste, first, using a spoon scoop out the tomato paste from the can. Now having done that put the tomato paste and freeze it until it turns hard. After you ensure that it has turned hard and could be taken out as a solid block, now transfer the tomato paste to the freezer bag. The freezer bag must be airtight absolutely. Now put the freezer bag into the freezer.
Can tomato paste be frozen?
Yes, tomato paste can absolutely be frozen and be used for a long time as you may feel the need.
Is it ok to freeze tomato paste?
Yes, it is absolutely ok to freeze tomato paste and can be kept fresh for up to two to three months without having any issues. Remember to put the date of freezing the tomato paste.
FAQs
1. How long can you freeze tomato paste?
If you follow the steps mentioned at the beginning of this blog, then you can freeze tomato paste for 2 to 3 months. If you freeze portions of tomato paste as mentioned, it will be easier for you to use tomato paste without measuring it as it has been measured and frozen according to one tablespoon. It saves your time and energy as you do not have to wash the spoon or measure it yourself when you are cooking.
2. Can you freeze tomato paste in a glass jar?
You can freeze the tomato paste in a glass jar but you need to make sure that the jar is sealed with an airtight lid.
3. Can you freeze a tube of tomato paste?
Tomato paste tubes are ideal for one-time use of tomato paste and dishes that require less tomato paste. You can freeze a tube of tomato paste easily by freezing it in the freezer or the refrigerator.
