Buy Tomato Paste 4.5Kg
A 4.5kg pack costs a fraction per kilo of a small tin — and asks a question a small tin never does. What tomato paste works out at per kilogram, and what to do with it once the tin is open.
TOMATO PASTE CHEFS FAVOURITE 4.5KG
$12.50
about $2.78 per kilogram
Sold by Easy Grocery
Price and availability update live from the listing. The description above is the seller's own wording, reproduced as written, and is not endorsed or verified by DoorToShop — read the product page for the pack details, the Brix figure and the best-before date.
The Per-Kilo Arithmetic
The pack price is not the number to compare. Tomato paste is normally bought in tins of a hundred-odd grams, so the useful figure is what the same weight costs either way — which means dividing the 4.5kg pack price by the pack weight and nothing more clever than that.
Worked out from the live listed price, and shown for comparison only — take your own reference price from wherever you would otherwise buy it. The figure that decides whether this is a good buy is not the price per kilo but whether you will get through it, which is the next section.
What Happens After You Open It
This is the part that decides whether a pack this size is a bargain or a waste. Most recipes want a tablespoon. Four and a half kilos is somewhere around three hundred of them, and none of it keeps in an open tin.
Do not keep it in the opened tin.
Decant the lot into clean, airtight containers as soon as you open it. Food is not meant to be stored in an opened can, and a 4.5kg tin is not something you can reseal in any case.
Split it before you refrigerate it.
Work out roughly how much you use in a week and put that much in the fridge in one sealed container. Everything else goes to the freezer straight away, rather than sitting in the fridge losing ground while you decide.
Freeze the rest in small portions.
An ice cube tray is the standard trick: a cube is roughly a tablespoon, which is the amount most recipes ask for. Freeze the tray, tip the cubes into a bag, label it with the date. Then you take out exactly what you need instead of chipping at a frozen block.
Keep the fridge portion covered and use a clean spoon.
A film of oil poured over the surface in the container slows the drying and darkening at the top. Dipping a used spoon back into the container is what shortens the life of the fridge portion more than anything else.
Follow the pack, and go by the date on the listing.
Storage directions and the best-before date printed on the pack override anything general said here. Check the date shown on the product page before you buy a quantity this size — with 4.5kg, how long you have to use it matters as much as the price.
The pack has the last word. Storage directions and the best-before date printed on the packaging override anything general written here. This is general food-handling practice, not instructions for a specific product.
Paste, Purée, Passata, Tinned
Four things that sit next to each other on a shelf and are not interchangeable. The difference is how far the tomatoes have been cooked down:
Tomato paste
The most concentrated of the four: tomatoes cooked down until most of the water has gone, and sold in small quantities because a spoonful goes a long way. Used as a background note rather than the body of a sauce.
Tomato purée
Cooked and sieved tomatoes, thinner than paste and much less concentrated. Confusingly, "purée" on a British or New Zealand label often means what an American label calls paste — check the texture in the picture rather than trusting the word.
Passata
Raw or lightly cooked tomatoes, sieved to remove skin and seeds, and not reduced. Pourable, fresh-tasting, and the base of a sauce rather than an addition to one.
Chopped or whole tinned tomatoes
Whole tomatoes packed in juice, with the texture left in. Where you want pieces in the finished dish rather than a smooth sauce.
Using It
- Fry the paste before you add liquid. A minute or two in the hot oil with the onions, until it darkens a shade, changes the flavour noticeably — raw paste stirred into a finished sauce tastes raw.
- Start smaller than you think. Paste is concentrated by definition, and it is easier to add another spoonful than to rescue a sauce that has gone flat and tinny.
- You can thin it towards passata. Roughly one part paste to three or four parts water gives you a usable substitute when you have run out — not the same thing, but it works.
- It goes into more than pasta sauce. Curries, soups, braises, marinades, pizza bases and stews all take a spoonful of paste, which is what makes a large pack realistic for a home kitchen rather than only a commercial one.
- Concentration is measured in Brix. The higher the figure, the more the tomatoes have been reduced and the thicker the paste. Where a listing states a Brix figure, that is what it refers to.
Where to Buy It
This pack is listed by Easy Grocery on DoorToShop, alongside the rest of their range — atta and rice in household and larger sizes, dals, whole and ground spices, ghee and oils. Our guide to the store covers what else they stock, and the wider Groceries category has other local stores you can add to the same order.
Check the price per kilo.
Divide the pack price by the pack weight, and compare that against what you would pay for the same weight in small tins.
Check you have the freezer space.
Most of a 4.5kg pack is going in the freezer in portions. Work out where before you order, not after it arrives.
Add to cart.
Order from Easy Grocery on DoorToShop. It is a multi-merchant marketplace, so you can add items from other local stores to the same order.
Check out.
Pay securely by card or net banking. There is no minimum order value.
Receive your order.
The store dispatches the next business day and courier delivery typically takes 1–3 business days. Track your order on the web or in the DoorToShop app.
Delivery is $5 as a base fee, with free delivery on orders above $69, and there is no minimum order value. Enter your postcode at checkout to confirm delivery coverage for your address, or read how DoorToShop works.
Frequently Asked Questions: Tomato Paste
What does a 4.5kg pack work out at per kilo?
At the current price of $12.50, $2.78 per kilogram — which is about $0.39 worth for the same weight as a standard 140g tin. Prices move, so divide the price on the product page by 4.5 if you want to check it yourself.
Is 4.5kg too much for a home kitchen?
Not necessarily, and it depends entirely on whether you portion and freeze it. Frozen in tablespoon-sized cubes it keeps for months and you use exactly what a recipe asks for. Left in the fridge as one large container it will not get through. The freezer space is the real question, not the quantity.
How do I store tomato paste once the pack is open?
Decant it out of the tin immediately — food should not be stored in an opened can. Put roughly a week's worth in a sealed container in the fridge, and freeze the rest in small portions. An ice cube tray gives you roughly one tablespoon per cube, which is the amount most recipes call for; freeze the tray, then bag and date the cubes. Always follow the storage directions on the pack itself.
How long does opened tomato paste keep in the fridge?
Go by the storage directions on the pack rather than a general figure, and keep it sealed, cold and free of spoons that have been elsewhere. Pouring a thin film of oil over the surface slows the darkening at the top. If you are not confident of getting through it, freeze it instead.
Can you freeze tomato paste?
Yes, and with a pack this size it is the sensible approach. Portion it into an ice cube tray, freeze, then transfer the cubes to a labelled bag with the date on it. They go straight into a hot pan from frozen.
What is the difference between tomato paste, purée and passata?
Concentration. Paste is tomatoes cooked right down, so a spoonful carries a lot of flavour. Purée is thinner and less reduced — though British and New Zealand labels often use "purée" for what Americans call paste, so check the picture. Passata is sieved, unreduced tomato: pourable, and the base of a sauce rather than an addition to one. Tinned chopped tomatoes keep their texture.
What does Brix mean on tomato paste?
It is a measure of soluble solids — in practice, how far the tomatoes have been reduced. A higher figure means a thicker, more concentrated paste. Where a listing gives a Brix figure, that is what it is describing.
Should I cook the paste before adding liquid?
It makes a difference. A minute or two frying in hot oil with the onions, until the paste darkens a shade, deepens the flavour. Stirred raw into a finished sauce it tends to taste raw.
Can I use paste instead of passata?
At a pinch. Roughly one part paste to three or four parts water gives you something usable. It is not the same as passata, which is unreduced and fresher, but it will get a dish finished.
How fast is delivery?
Orders are dispatched by the store the next business day and typically arrive within 1 to 3 business days by courier. Enter your postcode at checkout to confirm delivery coverage for your address.
How much does delivery cost?
The base delivery fee is $5 NZD, with free delivery on orders above $69 — the exact amount is confirmed at checkout. There is no minimum order value.
What if it arrives damaged?
Photograph it before opening anything further and contact the store the same day. Returns are handled by the store that sold the item, and nothing in a store's policy limits your rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993.