tomato paste is one of those basic pantry staples that i love to put up. as much as i love creating interesting, and sometimes wacky, jams & preserves, it gives me a great sense of satisfaction when cooking to reach into the pantry and pull out basics that i preserved myself: canned tomatoes, applesauce, dried basil, ground chile pepper. and tomato paste, of course. i first made tomato paste two years ago, when we were flush with tomatoes in the northeast, and it was eye-opening in several ways; first, that it took forever to make; second, that it took a lot of tomatoes; third, that it tasted like liquid gold. 