What is the difference between Tomato Puree and Tomato Paste?

Tomato puree comes with a thicker consistency as compared to the tomato paste. The sauce is also more flavorful as compared to the usual tomato paste because you are using the actual tomato to provide the flavor that you want. There are some places wherein the tomato puree is added to a lot of other ingredients to enhance the flavor of the tomato further.

Tomato paste is a bit drier as compared to the tomato puree and it also has a somewhat “meaty” taste that some people would love especially when placed in certain dishes. What you will use will depend on the given recipe. You can use purees for creating salad and salsa. Some would use the tomato paste for various casserole dishes.

If you are trying to make your spaghetti sauce or some other tomato recipe, you may not know whether to use tomato puree or tomato paste. However, there are significant differences between the two. In tomato paste, it has the consistency of paste-like the name states. It is made by cooking tomatoes and then crushing them. The seeds have been removed.

Nothing else has been added to it. Tomato puree, vegetables may be cooked a little, and then the water is strained from them. It is liquid in consistency and is thinner than tomato paste. The time that the tomatoes are cooked has an important part about whether it is going to be made into tomato paste or tomato puree.