No, I don't think they do. I forget just which tomato product I was reading the label of (I ALWAYS read labels on food), but I noticed it contained corn starch as a thickener. To me thickening a tomato product with corn starch implies a quick alternative to boiling a product down. No wonder so many Americans are obese and it's become an epidemic.

They're quite different products, whether commercial or homemade.

Among commercial products there are also vast differences in ingredients depending upon the caliber of the brand.

A good brand of tomato paste (for example an organic Italian brand) will be in glass and will be nothing but paste tomatoes cooked down. Of all the products you list, tomato paste tends to be the most "natural" and least adulterated.

Tomato juice can also be quite natural, basically just strained tomatoes, but of course again it depends upon brand.

Tomato soup can be all over the board, depending upon the processor. So it may or may not be vegetarian (chicken stock or not), tomatoes may be roasted or not, it may or may not have dried or fresh spices or herbs, carrots or other vegetables, also dried or fresh, and some measure of thickeners and preservatives.

Ketchup is actually a kind of fruit butter, with sweeteners (maybe sugar, maybe corn syrup, maybe both) and spices.

I'm not clear what your purpose is in asking but as Calliope said, you have to read the label. Beyond the broadest outlines, you can't generalize.

Carol

I was wondering if one could make or buy tomato paste and create juice, ketchup, and soup from that base with little fuss. I've run out of frozen tomatoes and bought a lot of little cans of tomato paste cheap from the dollar store. According to the ingredient list, they are only "tomato concentrate" and citric acid.

It appears that ketchup would be the one that I'd want to fiddle with the most, since I add all kinds of goodies to tomato soup anyway.

When the tomatoes from my garden begin producing, it will be interesting to see the difference in taste -- I'm sure the garden-grown products will be much tastier than the store-bought.

I don't see any reason why paste couldn't be made into ketchup, though you may need to thin it a bit with water.

Have you made ketchup previously and have a favorite recipe? The reason I ask is that not all people (especially kids) make the transition from Heinz et al easily if they're not used to homemade ketchup.

Carol

Sure you can make ketchup from tomato paste. Just add the vinegar, sugar, and spices according to your recipe, and dilute with water at the end to your desired thickness. Making soup and sauce should work as well. The first three ingredients on most jars of commercial tomato sauce are tomato paste, water, and diced tomatoes.

TomNJ

TomNJ

Yes, you appear to be right about the first three ingredients of these items being common to tomato paste, and it's no doubt true of spaghetti sauce and BBQ sauce, etc.

I was able to find lists of ingredients from the internet and my refrigerator, which is a good beginning.

Campbell's Classic Tomato Soup ingredients: Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Wheat Flour, Salt, Vegetable Oil (Corn, Cottonseed, Canola and/or Soybean), Flavoring, Ascorbic Acid, and Citric Acid.

[Generic] Tomato Ketchup ingredients: tomato concentrate (water and tomato paste), high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, vinegar, salt, onion powder, spice, natural flavors

Campbell's from Concentrate Tomato Juice ingredients: Tomato Juice from Concentrate (Water, Tomato Concentrate), Salt, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)

I am thinking that I'll focus only on the ketchup at first. I'll need to make it as close to the taste of standard ketchup as possible so my young grandson will eat it. [I think he likes french fries only because they convey ketchup to his mouth! And he'll eat a large bowlful of salad with the same attitude as long as the dressing is Buttermilk!]

I'd like to omit all but small amounts of the corn syrup and salt to see what kind of results I'd get. I've no idea what "spice, and natural flavors" are included, but maybe I can check out other home-made ketchup recipes (that won't be canned but could be frozen) to see if I can create something tolerable.

Hi Anney,

There are many variations in ketchup recipes. The most common ingredients are tomato paste, vinegar, sugar, salt, and spices such as allspice, cinnamon, and cloves. Many recipes also include onions, garlic, and/or peppers. The spices will have a major effect on the taste, so go slow and sneak up on them.

You can find some ketchup recipes here:

http://ketchuprecipe.com

http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/cat/679

TomNJ

You don't have to use corn syrup at all if you choose not to. Sugar is the sole sweetener in many ketchup recipes.

Tom is right about the spices. Homemade ketchups often are darker (even brown) due to the long cooking and high ratio of sugar and spices. By starting with tomato paste you may avoid some of that. Also using whole rather than ground spices will help in the retention of the red color.

Since you're freezing rather than canning, you might do a search of copycat Heinz ketchup or similar recipes and see what you come up with.

Carol

Tom

Thanks, I will. One can of tomato paste makes a quart of tomato juice (pretty close to the original, too), so if I halve the water-dilution to make it ketchup-thick, about a pint, I should be able to test several recipes until I find or can create one that Nicky-Doodle will think is what he's had before.