Tomato paste is a must-have ingredient in the kitchen. It adds a strong flavor when stirred into soups and sauce, and provides a special sweetness to dishes when it’s caramelized. But to get to that point, you first have to wrestle it out of the can. For reasons that aren’t fully obvious, many tomato pastes come in cans, which are usually both too big for making a single dish and annoying to get all of the paste out at once. But TikTok, as it so often does, has a better way of doing things.
The Best Way to Get Tomato Paste Out of a Can, According to TikTokThe handy trick in the video is so simple and so easy, it’s incredible that I’ve been just spooning out paste for so long. Here’s what to do: Cut through the top and bottom lids of the can with a can opener, but leave them in place. Remove the top lid, and then push the bottom lid through the can with a wooden spoon handle. The bottom piece will scrape down the sides of the can and deposit a perfect cylinder of paste into your waiting bowl. It’s really that easy!
How to Save Leftover Tomato PasteOnce the tomato paste is out of the can, you can use it to make sauce, meatloaf, stew, and so much more. But no matter what you make, chances are you’ll probably have some left over. There are a couple of ways to save your tomato paste for later: You can freeze small dollops of the paste, or (according to TikTok, again) you can freeze a sheet of it in a zip-top bag and break off chunks of it when you’re cooking.
And if you’re trying to figure out what the best tomato paste to buy is, well, we have you covered there too (and yes, our winner comes in a can).
Naomi Tomky
Contributor
Seattle-based writer Naomi Tomky uses her unrelenting enthusiasm for eating everything to propel herself around the world as an award-winning food and travel writer.
