Why do we use tomato purée when adding tomato as a flavouring agent to a dish, rather than in powdered form, like we do for paprika, onion, garlic etc. ?

Question

Why do we use tomato purée when adding tomato as a flavouring agent to a dish, rather than in powdered form, like we do for paprika, onion, garlic etc. ?

In: 335

Answer 1

Tomato doesn’t dry the same as herbs and onions/garlic does. Most of the flavor we want from tomatoes is in the juice, and while it can be dried, the flavor changes a lot. It’s also a lot less efficient, since once you dry a tomato out, there’s not a lot left (unlike herbs and garlic/onions)

Answer 2

Tomato doesn’t dry the same as herbs and onions/garlic does. Most of the flavor we want from tomatoes is in the juice, and while it can be dried, the flavor changes a lot. It’s also a lot less efficient, since once you dry a tomato out, there’s not a lot left (unlike herbs and garlic/onions)

Answer 3

Tomato doesn’t dry the same as herbs and onions/garlic does. Most of the flavor we want from tomatoes is in the juice, and while it can be dried, the flavor changes a lot. It’s also a lot less efficient, since once you dry a tomato out, there’s not a lot left (unlike herbs and garlic/onions)

Answer 4

The chefs will tell you to use only fresh for everything, not powdered, dried ingredients.
It actually makes a difference when you roast garlic in butter and add it to your sauce compared to the powdered garlic.

But like the other comments have said, you can’t really dry out and powder a tomato and still retain the flavor.

Answer 5

The chefs will tell you to use only fresh for everything, not powdered, dried ingredients.
It actually makes a difference when you roast garlic in butter and add it to your sauce compared to the powdered garlic.

But like the other comments have said, you can’t really dry out and powder a tomato and still retain the flavor.

Answer 6

The chefs will tell you to use only fresh for everything, not powdered, dried ingredients.
It actually makes a difference when you roast garlic in butter and add it to your sauce compared to the powdered garlic.

But like the other comments have said, you can’t really dry out and powder a tomato and still retain the flavor.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

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Answer 9

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Answer 10

One reason why tomatoes are used as a purée (or crushed, or peeled whole) is that it’s cheap and easy to can tomatoes. They already have an acidity that’s quite close to the ideal for preservation (tomatoes range between pH 4 to 5). As a result, if you need additives (like salt or an acid-regulating agent like citric acid) you don’t need much of it.

Paprika on the other hand has an acidity of 6-7 (only mildly acidic) and they’re not loaded on sugar either, so making paprika preserves requires some effort. It’s a lot easier to dehydrate paprika though, and you retain a lot more weight (20% vs just 5% for tomatoes).