Topic: What is the differences between tomato "paste", "puree" and "passata"?

[Malc.]

I managed to quiz the chef about the puree he has stored in an ice cream tub. It starts out from a tin of White Tower as has been identified. But from that point, they do the following.:

Firstly, they add a good quantity of oil to a pan and fry off sliced garlic until starting to brown. They then add the tomato paste and and stir through the oil. It wasn't made clear how long for i'm afraid. Afterwhich they then add water to bulk it out and dilute the paste to a puree.

This will explain why I saw a deep rich red oil gathering on the sides and why the puree seemed more like a sauce. When lifted with a teaspoon you could clearly identify as a puree rather than a sauce as it had that typically grainy appearance within.

I am to return for more demo's and this will be part of the many questions I ask.

I am now aware that the tomato puree is another pre-processed part of many others that combine to make the BIR menu.

My conversations with the chef have been a real eye opener. It is clear to me, or at least in his kitchen, that each type of dish should appear to be different from another. He does not substitute quality for quantity or ease of application.

In the fridge sat many pre-processed parts. Pre-cooked Chicken, Potato, Mushrooms, etc. and a host of other components all treated in more than one way. Interestingly, most of the vegetables were pre-cooked using Panch Puran, particularly the potatoes.

[JerryM]

Axe,

i really gel with the idea of the sliced garlic tomato paste - i just love the taste the fried  sliced garlic brings.

must admit i'm surprised that they add this flavour effectively to all dishes.

[Malc.]

Jerry, its all new to me i'm afraid. Until arriving here, I had no idea what might go on behind 'that' door.

They only use the tomato puree in dishes that require it of course, not all dishes. 

[JerryM]

I had no idea what might go on behind 'that' door.

i've only had slight success with my local TA but even that amazed me as to how much goes into it.

for info my local TA only use puree out of the tin. they do use the fried garlic slithers quite a lot though mainly adding on top cold to the finished dish.

their base has no tomato in either.

[bobpilot99]

Maybe not a major breakthrough  but at last I have found a tomato puree that looks right taste right it also has the right consistency for the job ( AYAM BRAND Tomato Puree) 

[Secret Santa]

I have found a tomato puree that looks right taste right it also has the right consistency for the job

How are you judging that bob? Within reason I don't think that the brand of tomato puree makes all that much difference to the final dish.

[solarsplace]

Hi

Coming from a point where the curries I had been making were consistently coming out as expected, one day something changed! The dishes had now taken on an unexpected flavor and aroma, they had turned overnight remarkably peculiar and very disappointing!

What had changed? nothing as far as I know? - I must be burning the spices - what else could be causing this aroma? not fully burnt but maybe heading toward a singe perhaps?

Then proceeds to consistently cook disappointing curries for a while.... while trying to work out WTF has happened?

Turned out to be a different make of tomato puree - not sure where it came from, nothing particularly special about it ' Trattoria Verdi' double concentrate tomato puree. Anyway, its blooming nasty when used in curry!

Since then, been trying different brands of tomato pure to see what is what...

My favorite so far comes from the local co-op, their own brand double concentrate puree imparts a lovely flavor, Sanos normal and So-organic and Tescos own seem OK, but IMO they steer the flavor away from BIR and head somewhere toward a bolognese!

Like others have suggested, I too was of the opinion that all tomato puree was pretty much the same and would have little influence on the final dish!. However I am convinced that this is not the case and that the puree has a rather significant effect.

Will endeavor to get hold of some White Tower tomato puree and see how that turns out!

Just thought I would make this post just to share a personal observation and perhaps others may like to experiment with this as it is easy just to try!

[Secret Santa]

Hi solarsplace

I had a similar problem a while back where every base I made turned out bitter. After some discussion here I put this down to the brand of canned tomatoes I had been using, although I'm still not sure.

As far as the puree goes though, I still reckon that most of them do the job with no real difference to the final result, well, at least in my experience anyway.

[Razor]

Hi Solarspace,

Trattoria Verdi'

Is this the brand name or the description?

Verdi being Italian for green, would suggest some kind of greenery in it, such as spinach or maybe basil? IF, it is the description that is.

I don't think that spinach would be a problem (sag) but basil would be a bit odd in Indian cuisine.

Ray

[Malc.]

It's one of Tesco's 'discount brands', I think it's a case of you get what you pay for.