Here's how I use it and it will probably help you get past the "powder" part.

Find a homemade ketchup recipe you like that includes tomato paste or tomato sauce (or both). THEN, make the paste/sauce with water and tomato powder and add the other ingredients and follow the recipe. Same goes for bbq sauce, which commonly has a tomato paste or tomato sauce base. Make the tomato powder into paste or sauce first.

I usually follow a 3:1 ratio for tomato paste -
3 parts water to 1 part tomato powder

4:1 ratio for tomato sauce-
4 parts water to 1 part tomato powder
OR - for 1/2 c. tomato sauce mix 1/8 c. (2 T.) tomato powder + 1/2 c. water.

To make tomato juice: Mix as thick as you like (adding tomato powder to the water a little at a time). Add a dash of Fruit Fresh and a little salt - or Tabasco and/or Worcestershire Sauce

Thank you Grainlady you gave me some really great information. I would never have thought about bbq sauce. With this info It won't take me long to use it up and will wish I had more. Patty

I found tomato powder amazing stuff. I do home food storage and this one food item (which has an indefinite shelf-life - just keep it in the dry environment of your refrigerator after you open it) helped eliminate a lot of tomato related food items normally found in storage - such as canned tomatoes, pizza sauce, spaghetti/pasta sauce, tomato paste and tomato sauce, etc.). Canned tomato products aren't great "keepers" due to the high acid. I only store tomato powder and homegrown dehydrated and frozen tomatoes.

When one food source can take the place of many, it's a big winner :-). It works great with a few simple pantry items and spices. I used it to make chili the other day.

I vacuum-seal the tomato powder in small canning jars (usually pints, but smaller if you don't use it quickly) when I open the can, and store them in the basement in the food storage room. I keep the one in use in the refrigerator with a screw-top lid on it. It tends to clump because it doesn't have any anti-caking ingredients in it, and I'll stick a few moisture absorbers (out of supplements we take) in the top of the jar to help keep it from clumping quite as much.

-Grainlady

I find that tomato powder has a better flavor than tomato paste, and I use it frequently as a thickener. I am guessing now that I could make clamato juice by adding tomato powder to clam juice. A Bloody Caesar is one of my favorite drinks, and I first had it in Vancouver during one of my best trips there.

For some reason tomato powder works a lot better than chili powder, even though I use dried chilies when making chili or BBQ sauce (I don't use tomatoes in BBQ sauce). I remove the skins from the dried chilies after I soak them, and I guess that might be what makes the difference. I wonder if tomato powder is made from peeled tomatoes. Even if it isn't, there would be a much smaller proportion of tomato skin than there is in chilies.

Lars

How timely! I just bought some

Thanks for the suggestions.

Peppi took me to The Spice House in Chicago. I purchased a pound of tomato powder because of GrainLady's suggestion. I should remember to use it; it's hard as a rock and I have to use an ice pick to break it up. Do you think it's okay? I do keep silica gel packets in the FoodSaver canister.

Might I suggest using a box grater to reduce the tomato "brick" to powder once again, instead of an ice pick.

The Spice House is where I first got my tomato powder, and generally where I suggest people get a small amount to give it a try before investing in the #10 cans.

I was going through a new cookbook I ordered from Honeyville Farms - The Gourmet Food Storage Handbook - by Stephanie Petersen (aka Chef Tess Bakeresse). The recipes utilize the freeze-dried and powdered food storage products sold at Honeyville Grain. There are lots of recipes that include tomato powder.

-Country-Style Hamburger Stew
-Taco Soup
-Beefy Taco Rice
-Bean and Rice Fajita Casserole
-Yankee Pot Roast Beef and Gravy Over Garlic Mashed Potatoes
-Classic Chili

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Chef Tess Bakeresse

I have bought the powder in a 50# box..when I open the package, I store all in 1 gal glass jars. Does not get hard like it would in plastic containers and I do not refrigerate..just keep in the cupboard. Never a problem and Have had it for a long time. Great item for many uses.