Can Double Concentrated Tomato Paste Reduce Cooking Time in Stews and Soups?

In the modern kitchen that pursues both efficiency and quality, food scientists and professional chefs recently conducted a joint study on Double Concentrated Tomato Paste and found that it showed significant time optimization potential in slow-cooked dishes such as soups and stews.

The scientific logic behind the concentration process
Ordinary tomato paste is made by evaporating 60% of the water in fresh tomatoes, while double concentrated products further remove 80% of the water on this basis, and the final tomato solid content can reach 36%-40% (European Food Safety Authority EFSA standard). This process not only concentrates flavor substances such as lycopene and glutamic acid, but also enhances the complex aroma through the Maillard reaction.

Controlled experiment reveals efficiency differences
The experiment set up three groups of beef stew with the same recipe:
Fresh tomatoes (94% water content)
Ordinary tomato paste (25%-30% water content)
Double concentrated tomato paste (12%-15% water content)
Infrared thermal imaging showed that the double concentrated group reached the cytoplasmic outflow peak of the control group at 90 minutes, and the browning reaction rate increased by 22%. In the blind test, 87% of the subjects believed that its flavor levels were presented earlier, and the balance point between acidity and sweetness was reached 30 minutes in advance.

Practical verification in professional kitchens
Traditional Burgundy beef stew takes 4 hours to converge the flavor. After using double concentrated tomato paste, the core cooking stage can be compressed to 2.5 hours through deep caramelization treatment in the early stage and precise pH control, and the finished product collagen conversion rate is increased by 19%. The "gradient concentration method" developed by its team - the first stir-frying of the paste to a deep amber color to release the nutty aroma, and the second addition to enhance the freshness of fruit acid - is triggering a trend of imitation in the high-end catering industry.

Economic advantages of home cooking
The USDA's 2023 calculation shows that the use of double-concentrated products can reduce the gas consumption of standard stews by 18%. Converted to a home scenario, stewing three times a week can save about $56 in energy costs per year. Nutritionists also emphasized that the concentration process did not destroy the cis-isomer structure of lycopene, and its bioavailability remained at a high level of 82mg/100g (75mg for ordinary paste).

Usage recommendations and precautions
Replacement ratio: 1 tablespoon of double-concentrated paste ≈ 2 tablespoons of ordinary paste + 50ml water
Carbonization control: It is recommended to stir-fry over medium heat for no more than 90 seconds to prevent carbonization from producing bitterness
Acidity balance: 0.5% by weight of honey or carrot puree can be used to buffer the pH value