Making Tomato Paste

Written by: Samira Halimzai

There are few cold rooms in Afghanistan. Farmers and gardeners cannot keep their products for a long time. Because the products cannot be spoiled or wasted, they sell them at their cost.

These products are not produced in winter. If found it is expensive; and if we don't have work or money, due to the high cost of the products, we are not able to buy them. One of the agricultural products is tomatoes.

A number of people make a past out of it. Some pastes are damaged and no one buys it and makes a loss.

 Mirullah of Kapisa says: we collected fifteen packets of tomatoes from the lands and we made tomato paste form it but got rotten and it was not used.

But how can you build a good paste from tomatoes?

A woman says: first wash the tomatoes. Cut it into four pieces. Then put them in the empty oil pans.

Put it in the sun for three days. To soften if left in the sun for more than three days. Tomatoes are getting better.

After three days, we put the tomatoes in a big pot and fork it to mx well. Pull it out of the wire mesh. Leave the skin and seeds. We then put it in the bag and hang it that the water will go away.

Then blow the fire on it to mature. Let the water dry up. Add salt.

Put it in another big pot to get cold. We place them in ranks. Put a little solid oil on it. Close the head tightly. That paste will not spoil. Put it in a cool place. In winter, we use the past.

And we are not forced to sell the in cheap prince in summer and this makes profit for us.

In Kabul, Mrs. Liluma is educated and skilled in making pastes: she confirms some of the people's words and adds:

If two glasses of lemon water and a little oil are put in 7 Kgs of tomatoes. The glass bottle should be left for fifteen or twenty minutes and its germs will be killed. Put the hot paste in the jar and no vacuum should remain there. Boil the bottle for ten minutes.

The top of the bottle fits well. There is no air. Paste doesn't screw up either. That paste is ready. It is kept for a long time. We can make profit too.