After a whirlwind week of sauce-making and canning, I have myself a sizable heap of tomato skins.
Related Reading: How To Easily Peel A Whole Load Of Tomato Skins
Normally, I’d just toss them in the compost pile. But this year I’ve decided to do something different. Something that will stretch their usefulness even further than recycling their nutrients into rich humus. Something that will be nutritious, save a little money, and have far superior quality and taste than anything you could purchase at the store.
Because when life hands you a bowl of tomato skins, you can make tomato paste.
What is tomato paste, exactly?
Tomato paste is, essentially, a heavily-concentrated tomato sauce. Usually it’s made by cooking whole tomatoes on the stovetop, separating the skins and seeds with a food mill or sieve, and then spreading the puree out on a deep cooking pan. The tomato pulp is baked in the oven until all the water is evaporated and the sauce has a thick, paste-like consistency.
Tomato paste is such a versatile base ingredient that you’ll see it pop up in a wide swathe of recipes – from stews, chilies, soups, and so, so many sauces – pasta sauce, pizza sauce, ketchup, curry, gravy, salsa, stocks, marinades, and more.
Since it’s concentrated, you only need relatively small amounts of tomato paste to impart deep and rich umami flavor to the dish. You can add tomato paste to thicken up anything that already has some tomatoes in it.
Classic tomato paste is made without the skins. But, as is the case for so many fruits and veggies, there’s a lot of nutritional value in tomato peels. Tomato skins are high in carotenoids, especially the antioxidants b-carotene and lycopene, which become more bioavailable when they are heated during the cooking process. Tomato paste enriched with just 6% peels boosts the body’s absorption of lycopene by 75% and b-carotene by 41%, according to a small study out of France.
So it’s incredibly worthwhile to incorporate cooked tomato peels into your diet wherever you can. Using up your tomato skins after canning is an easy way to do it.
How to Turn Tomato Skins into Tomato Paste
Step 1: Dehydrate the Peels
If you have a dehydrator, tomato peels should dry in about 8 to 10 hours at around 140°F. Be sure to double-check your dehydrator manual for the correct settings. (Our editor, Tracey, swears by this dehydrator.)
If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can use the oven. Place skins on a baking sheet and set your oven on its lowest possible temperature setting. Drying at 145°F to 150°F will take roughly 8 hours. Flip the peels over at the halfway mark.
For faster results, place a wire rack on top of the baking sheet for better heat distribution. At 145°F, tomato skins will be fully dry in approximately 3 hours.
Tomato skins have a tendency to stick to metal racks or plastic dehydrator trays. Before you lay them out, lightly grease the surface.
Drying will happen quicker when you unfurl the peels so they lie mostly flat and don’t touch each other.
The peels are completely dry when they are brittle, stiff, and crunchy. They should not be burnt or scorched.
Step 2: Grind into Tomato Powder
Place your dried tomato skins into a blender or food processor, tearing up larger pieces first. Crush and pulse until you have a fine consistency.
The final product is more flakey than powdery. But it’ll all meld together once it becomes tomato paste.
Transfer the tomato powder to a container. Add a pinch of salt and seal. Store in a cool, dark place and it’ll keep for several years. (You can also make tomato powder with whole tomatoes.)
Step 3: Reconstitute into Tomato Paste with Water
When you’re ready to make tomato paste, the general rule is to start by mixing 1 part tomato powder with 1 to 2 parts water.
To make 6 ounces – or the equivalent of a small can – combine 6 tablespoons of tomato power with ¾ cup of water.
Use hot water when mixing the paste. Add it slowly, a little at a time, and mash it up with a spoon until you reach the desired thickness and texture.
Scoop it out and into your recipe right away. Or save it for later. You can portion tomato paste out in ice cube trays, freeze, and plunk them all into a freezer bag. Then you’ll have individual doses of tomato paste cubes you can drop into your next meal on the fly.
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