Tomato Sauce vs Tomato Paste
Tomato is loved by people all over the world because of its versatility and its ability to turn even the dullest of food items into interesting and exciting recipes. Tomato is used in many forms, and it can be eaten raw as salad and also used as puree or tomato paste during preparation or cooking. Finally, tomato is available in the form of tomato sauce to be added as seasoning to all sorts of snacks making them yummy to eat. There are many similarities in looks and usage of tomato paste and tomato sauce. However, there are differences also that will be highlighted in this article. Obviously you cannot pour tomato paste over your hamburger in place of tomato sauce, isn’t it?
Tomato Sauce
Tomato sauce is one food item that is used as a seasoning for other food items and also serves as a base when making other types of sauces. Its preparation is similar to those of tomato purees that cook tomatoes briefly and then strain them to get a thick paste of tomatoes. However, during the making of tomato sauce, many types of flavors and herbs and spices are added to make the sauce ready to be eaten with other dishes.
Tomato Paste
Tomatoes need to be first cooked for a long time, to reduce moisture; then it is strained to remove seeds and skin, and further cooked to get thick and rich paste. This is called tomato paste and is a versatile ingredient that can be added to all sorts of recipes to add the wonderful aroma and flavor of tomatoes. One can store tomato paste by keeping it in a refrigerator. For longer storage, place your tomato paste in a plastic bag and keep it inside the freezer, if making fresh tomato paste seems difficult.
What is the difference between Tomato Sauce and Tomato Paste?
• Tomato paste is thicker than tomato sauce
• Tomato paste is without seasonings while there are lots of flavors and herbs in tomato sauce to make it ready to be used with other dishes
• Tomato paste is cooked for a long time while tomato sauce is cooked quickly
• Tomato paste is used in the preparation of many recipes for flavor and aroma while tomato sauce is used as a condiment, to eat other dishes
• Fresh tomato paste can be made easily in a kitchen while tomato sauce is mostly used from bottles sold in markets
• One cannot substitute tomato sauce in place of tomato paste without compromising with the taste of the dish as there are many types of flavorings and seasonings in tomato sauce