Hey all,
I have a cookbook here where I found a recipe I want to make and meal plan for, but am a little confused about what to do with a specific ingredient.
The recipe is for a sauerkraut soup, and the recipe calls for a teaspoon of tomato puree. My confusion is that I am completely unfamiliar with tomato puree, and am finding it can be one of two different things, and the struggle is in sorting out which one of these two things is the one I’m looking for. Being in Canada, this isn’t a product I recall seeing at all on store shelves.
Apparently in the UK and Australia, tomato puree is similar to tomato paste, though slightly different. However, in the U.S., tomato puree appears to be a product that is thinner than tomato paste, but thicker than tomato sauce.
My confusion is that this cookbook was published by an American authour in the U.S… The measurements in the book are all imperial, calling for pints and pounds and the likes. However, things don’t appear to add up as it doesn’t make sense to me that someone would open a larger can like that simply for a teaspoon of ingredient. I’m unsure if things have changed over the years, but if it at all helps, this cookbook was published in 1982.
Thanks in advance!
In the US, the concentration of tomato paste and tomato puree is legally defined. 8%<puree<24%<paste. “Sauce” is not defined the same way, and commonly has other stuff added to it like salt, oregano, basil, or other herbs.
My guess is the recipe has to be paste, otherwise that’s barely anything.
It’s often under its Italian name, passata. I’m Canadian too and it’s usually sold in glass bottles on the same shelves as spaghetti sauce. It’s from Unico for the one I currently have in my fridge, but there’s a few brands.
how much of the soup is the puree being added to? if it’s a good amount (say enough for 2 people,) I would imagine they’re meaning something closer to paste than sauce.
even with paste, a single teaspoon isn’t going to do much for a decent sized bowl. in the US puree is somewhere between sauce and paste. The only real difference between all three is how much liquid has been reduced out of it. (I would suggest going with a paste, and. you can freeze the left over stuff if you’re not expecting to use it right away.)
I suspect that recipe is by someone whose not familiar with how homecooking usually works. (wanna bet they use dozens of pots and pans just for this soup? lols)
Quite the opposite actually, apparently the authour was classmates with Julia Child.
The yield is 4-6 servings. Wish I could do more to give an approximation, but I gave the full recipe to another comment if that at all helps.
reading the recipe, I’m imagining they’re meaning something thicker, like paste. (or the “double concentrate” stuff you find in tubes.).
the quick saute with the sauerkraut is going to kick up the flavor more than you would get if it was a more saucey variety. (you would just be cooking off the liquid,)
edit: I do feel like it might be safe to omit, it’s going to deepen some of the flavor in the soup, but I don’t think you’ll have much tomato flavor in it. (Like how putting a splash of lemon in chicken stew lightens it up a bit. you don’t taste the lemon, you can just feel like maybe something is missing,)
Thanks! Appreciate it.
My guess would be on the thick paste, otherwise you’d barely notice it. Can you post the relevant section where they use it?
Recipe is really short, so here’s pretty much the full thing:
Sauerkraut Soup Russian-Style
3 to 4 tablespoons butter (am substituting with margarine)
1 onion, sliced
2 small carrots, sliced
1 potato, peeled, sliced
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon tomato puree
3/4 pound sauerkraut
4 to 5 cups Basic Beef Stock (references other recipe in book, substituting with premade vegetable broth)
1 tablespoon chopped parsley (substituting with half the amount in dried parsley)
1 teaspoon chopped chervil (might omit or replace with half amount herbes de provence since store doesn’t sell)
Sour creamMelt butter; cook onion and carrots until golden. Add potato. Stir in flour; when smooth, add tomato puree and sauerkraut. Cook a few minutes; stir constantly. Add stock and herbs; bring to boil. Simmer about 40 minutes; season to taste. Serve hot with sour cream in each soup cup. Yield 4 to 6 servings.
For this recipe I would use tomato paste. But if I didn’t have any on hand or I didn’t have one that was open, I would just use a tablespoon or so of ketchup. The extra vinegar from the ketchup would not be out of place here.
Thanks, might explore that as an option.
Yeah, for that amount you’d use paste.
Thanks! Much appreciated.
You can buy the paste in tubes, much more useful and it lasts for weeks in the fridge after opening (package says a couple weeks, but I’ve gone over a month)
