Tomato paste is made by cooking tomatoes for several hours until enough of the water is boiled off to reduce the tomatoes to a thick red concentrate. The cooked tomato concentrate is them strained and packaged for sale. Tomato paste is most commonly found packaged in 6-oz. cans. When purchasing tomato paste, look at the label to make sure that the only ingredient is tomatoes. We use tomato paste in a wide variety of dishes such as soups, stews, and sauces. Tomato paste is also the least expensive way to add a tomato flavor to a recipe. Tomato paste is also a great source of lycopene