How to Determine Concentration of Tomato Pulp

Meaty tomatoes make a nice concentrated sauce.

Tomato season is a busy time for growers. Since tomatoes do not have a long shelf life, the grower needs to sell them fresh or process them for preserving. Tomato pulp is the basis for many sauces and reduces the amount of space needed for preserved tomatoes as in jars or freezer containers. To make tomato pulp, evaporate water from the solids until you reach the desired consistency or concentration. Does this Spark an idea?

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Pot
Scale

Instructions

- 1
  
  Take a weight measurement of the freshly ground tomato pulp at the beginning of your tomato preserving process. Use scale and don't forget to deduct the weight of the container from the total weight.
- 2
  
  Evaporate the pulp using heat or steam until the mixture looks like it is reaching the concentration you need. Stir often to prevent the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- 3
  
  Weigh the pulp again, now with a reduced amount of water on the same scale. Your new measurement will be less than the first since the weight of the water is reduced.
- 4
  
  Deduct the new weight from the original weight. The answer divided by the original weight (multiplied by 100) will give you the percentage of water lost or increased concentration of solids