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A food paste is a semi-liquid
colloidal A colloid is a mixture in which one substance consisting of microscopically dispersed insoluble particles is suspended throughout another substance. Some definitions specify that the particles must be dispersed in a liquid, while others extend ...
suspension,
emulsion An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible (unmixable or unblendable) owing to liquid-liquid phase separation. Emulsions are part of a more general class of two-phase systems of matter called colloids. Althoug ...
, or aggregation used in food preparation or eaten directly as a
spread Spread may refer to: Places * Spread, West Virginia Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Spread'' (film), a 2009 film. * ''$pread'', a quarterly magazine by and for sex workers * "Spread", a song by OutKast from their 2003 album ''Speakerboxxx/T ...
. Pastes are often highly spicy or aromatic, are often prepared well in advance of actual usage, and are often made into a preserve for future use. Common pastes are some
fruit preserves Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread. There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the method ...
,
curry A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included. There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in tradit ...
pastes, and nut pastes.
Purée A purée (or mash) is cooked food, usually vegetables, fruits or legumes, that has been ground, pressed, blended or sieved to the consistency of a creamy paste or liquid. Purées of specific foods are often known by specific names, e.g., apples ...
s are food pastes made from already cooked ingredients. Some food pastes are considered to be
condiment A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to impart a specific Flavoring, flavor, to enhance the flavor, or to complement the dish. A table condiment or table sauce is more specifically a condiment that is serv ...
s and are used directly, while others are made into
sauce In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French word t ...
s, which are more liquidy than paste.
Ketchup Ketchup or catsup is a table condiment with a sweet and tangy flavor. The unmodified term ("ketchup") now typically refers to tomato ketchup, although early recipes used egg whites, mushrooms, oysters, grapes, mussels, or walnuts, among other ...
and prepared mustard are pastes that are used both directly as condiments and as ingredients in sauces. Many food pastes are an intermediary stage in the preparation of food. Perhaps the most notable of such intermediary food pastes is
dough Dough is a thick, malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops. Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes yeast or other leavening ag ...
. A paste made of fat and flour and often stock or milk is an important intermediary for the basis for a sauce or a binder for stuffing, whether called a '' beurre manié'', a
roux Roux () is a mixture of flour and fat cooked together and used to thicken sauces. Roux is typically made from equal parts of flour and fat by weight. The flour is added to the melted fat or oil on the stove top, blended until smooth, and cooke ...
or panada. Sago paste is an intermediary stage in the production of sago meal and sago flour from sago palms. Food for babies and adults who have lost their teeth is often prepared as food pastes. Baby food is often very bland, while older adults often desire increased spiciness in their food pastes.


Preparation

Blenders A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender container with a rotating me ...
, grinders, mortars and pestles, metates, and even chewing are used to reduce unprocessed food to a meal, powder, or when significant water is present in the original food, directly into a paste. If required, water, oil and other liquids are added to dry ingredients to make the paste. Often the resultant paste is fermented or cooked to increase its longevity. Often pastes are steamed, baked or enclosed in
pastry Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" suggests ma ...
or bread dough to make them ready for consumption.


Preservation

Traditionally, salt, sugar, vinegar, citric acid and beneficial fermentation were all used to preserve food pastes. In modern times
canning Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although u ...
is used to preserve pastes in jars, bottles, tins and more recently in plastic bags and tubes.


Examples


Aromatic and spicy

While many of the pastes listed below may be made particularly spicy or aromatic or not, some pastes are specifically intended to deliver intense flavor rather than bulk. *
Achiote paste ''Recado rojo'' or achiote paste is a popular blend of spices. It is now strongly associated with Mexican and Belizean cuisines, especially of Yucatán and Oaxaca. The spice mixture usually includes annatto, oregano, cumin, clove, cinnamon, black p ...
is a chili paste with a number of other spices including
annatto Annatto ( or ) is an orange-red condiment and food coloring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree (''Bixa orellana''), native to tropical America. It is often used to impart a yellow or orange color to foods, but sometimes also for its flav ...
. *
Curry paste Indian curry pastes in a UK supermarket Curry paste usually refers to a paste used as a cooking ingredient in the preparation of a curry. There are different varieties of curry paste depending from the region and also within the same cuisine: *In ...
*
Pesto Pesto () is a sauce that traditionally consists of crushed garlic, European pine nuts, coarse salt, basil leaves, and hard cheese such as Parmigiano-Reggiano (also known as Parmesan cheese) or Pecorino Sardo (cheese made from sheep's milk), a ...


Cheese and milk

Cheeses always start out as food pastes, but most of them become harder during the fermentation and curing processes. *
Clotted cream Clotted cream ( kw, dehen molys, sometimes called scalded, clouted, Devonshire or Cornish cream) is a thick cream made by heating full-cream cow's milk using steam or a water bath and then leaving it in shallow pans to cool slowly. During this t ...
, as used in British cuisine, is made by heating cream to scalding temperatures to make it thicker. *
Mascarpone Mascarpone (, , ) is a soft Italian acid-set cream cheese. It is recognized in Italy as a ("traditional agri-food product"). Outside Italy, mascarpone is sometimes mispronounced as "marscapone", even by food professionals. Production process ...
is a soft cream cheese made from cow's milk used in Italian cuisine.


Fish and meat

*
Fish paste Fish paste is fish which has been chemically broken down by a fermentation process until it reaches the consistency of a soft creamy purée or paste. Alternatively it refers to cooked fish which has been physically broken down by pounding, grin ...
is prepared from fish parts through fermentation. ** Anchovy paste -- used as a condiment or ingredient in recipes. *
Meat paste Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as ch ...
or
Potted meat food product A potted meat food product is a food food preservation, preserved by canning and consisting of various seasoned cooked meats, often puréed, minced, or ground, which is heat-processed and sealed into small cans. This is different from potted me ...
usually produces a homogeneous texture and flavor suitable for a spread. *
Pâté ''Pâté'' ( , , ) is a paste, pie or loaf filled with a forcemeat. Common forcemeats include ground meat from pork, poultry, fish or beef; fat, vegetables, herbs, spices and either wine or brandy (often cognac or armagnac). It is often served ...
is finely chopped, finely ground or pureed highly seasoned meat, whether fish, beef, pork, liver, or other organs. *
Shrimp paste Shrimp paste or prawn sauce is a fermented condiment commonly used in Southeast Asian and Southern Chinese cuisines. It is primarily made from finely crushed shrimp or krill mixed with salt, and then fermented for several weeks. They are eithe ...
is made from fermented ground shrimp, either from fresh shrimp or dried ones, with the addition of salt. Prepared shrimp paste often has oil, sugar, garlic, chili, and other spices added.


Grain

* Farina --often prepared as a hot cereal or porridge *
Pamonha Pamonha () is a traditional Brazilian food. It is a boiled paste made from sweet corn whisked in coconut milk, typically served wrapped in corn husks. See also * Bollos (Panamanian cuisine) *Chimaki, from Japan * Humita *List of Brazilian dishe ...
is a traditional Brazilian paste made from fresh corn and milk. *
Pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils, are som ...
is prepared from wheat food pastes often with the addition of egg. *
Polenta Polenta (, ) is a dish of boiled cornmeal that was historically made from other grains. The dish comes from Italy. It may be served as a hot porridge, or it may be allowed to cool and solidify into a loaf that can be baked, fried, or grilled. ...
* Mealy pop or Bogobe is prepared from ground grain usually maize or millet and often fermented before cooking.


Instant soup

* Erbswurst


Nut and seed

*
Almond butter Almond butter is a food paste made from grinding almonds into a nut butter. Almond butter may be "crunchy" or "smooth", and is generally "stir" (susceptible to oil separation) or "no-stir" (emulsified). Almond butter may be either raw or roasted, ...
*
Cashew butter Cashew butter is a food spread made from baked or roasted cashews. It is rich and creamy in flavour and when stored the oils and solids separate easily. Cashew butter is high in protein, unsaturated fats and Vitamin B. One tablespoon of unsalted ...
is used as a substitute for peanut butter, where peanut allergies are an issue. *
Marzipan Marzipan is a confectionery, confection consisting primarily of sugar, honey, and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into Confectionery, sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzi ...
, made from almonds, with the addition of sugar and sometimes egg whites, is used as a center-fill in
confections Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories ...
, or hardened to serve as a candy itself. *
Peanut butter Peanut butter is a food paste or spread made from ground, dry-roasted peanuts. It commonly contains additional ingredients that modify the taste or texture, such as salt, sweeteners, or emulsifiers. Peanut butter is consumed in many countri ...
*
Sunflower butter Sunflower butter, also known as sunflower seed butter, is a food paste made from sunflower seeds. Sunflower butter is commonly used as a substitute for peanut butter when allergies are a concern. History U.S. commercial versions of sunflower butt ...
*
Tahini Tahini () or tahina (, ) is a Middle Eastern condiment made from toasted ground hulled sesame. It is served by itself (as a dip) or as a major ingredient in hummus, baba ghanoush, and halva. Tahini is used in the cuisines of the Levant and E ...
is a paste made from ground,
sesame Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus ''Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cu ...
seeds prominent in
North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
n,
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
, Turkish and Middle Eastern cuisine. *
Walnut paste Satsivi ( ka, საცივი, ''sac'ivi'', ; also known as chicken in walnut sauce) is a Georgian dish made from poultry such as turkey or chicken put into walnut sauce. The term ''satsivi'' is also used as a generic name for a variety of poul ...
(საცივი) is a
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
n specialty, and is used unsweetened as a bread dip, or sweetened as a center-fill in a
baklava Baklava (, or ; ota, باقلوا ) is a layered pastry dessert made of filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with syrup or honey. It was one of the most popular sweet pastries of Ottoman cuisine. The pre- Ottoman origin of the ...
-like pastry.


Sugar

Sugar pastes are usually used for frosting and icings, or sweet centers in pastry. Sugars are often combined with cream, oils and egg whites as well as water to make pastes. *
Fondant Fondant is a mixture of sugar and water used as a confection, filling, or icing. Sometimes gelatin and glycerine are used as softeners or stabilizers. There are numerous varieties of fondant, with the most basic being poured fondant. Others in ...
is a basic sugar paste used as an intermediary in the production of candies and icings.


Vegetable and fruit

* Àmàlà is a Nigeria specialty paste, thick and brown, made from yams. *
Baba ghanoush Baba ghanoush (, ;"baba ghanouj"
(US) and
is an eggplant (aubergine) based paste. *
Date Date or dates may refer to: *Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') Social activity *Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner ** Group dating *Play date, a ...
paste is used as a center-fill in pastries. *
Fermented bean paste Fermented bean paste is a category of fermented foods typically made from ground soybeans, which are indigenous to the cuisines of East, South and Southeast Asia. In some cases, such as the production of ''miso'', other varieties of beans, such ...
is made from ground soyabeans and allowed to ferment. * Funge de bombo is a
manioc ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated a ...
paste used in northern Angola, and elsewhere in Africa. * Hilbet is a paste made in Ethiopia and Eritrea from legumes, mainly lentils or faba beans with garlic, ginger and spices. *
Hummus Hummus (, ; ar, حُمُّص, 'chickpeas'; full Arabic name: ''ḥummuṣ bi-ṭ-ṭaḥīna'' ar, حمص بالطحينة, 'chickpeas with tahini'), also spelled hommus or houmous, is a Middle Eastern dip, spread, or savory dish made fr ...
is made from chickpeas with the addition of
tahini Tahini () or tahina (, ) is a Middle Eastern condiment made from toasted ground hulled sesame. It is served by itself (as a dip) or as a major ingredient in hummus, baba ghanoush, and halva. Tahini is used in the cuisines of the Levant and E ...
,
olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...
, lemon juice, salt and garlic. *
Red bean paste Red bean paste () or red bean jam, also called adzuki bean paste or ''anko'' (a Japanese word), is a paste made of red beans (also called "adzuki beans"), used in East Asian cuisine. The paste is prepared by boiling the beans, then mashing or g ...
*
Ssamjang ''Ssamjang'' ( ko, 쌈장) is a thick, spicy paste used with food wrapped in a leaf in Korean cuisine. The sauce is made of fermented soy beans (''doenjang''), red chili paste (''gochujang''), sesame oil, onion, garlic, green onions, and optio ...
is a Korean, sesame and bean based paste used as a sauce on meat. *
Sweet bean paste Sweet bean paste is a food ingredient used throughout East Asian cuisine, primarily as a filling for sweet desserts and pastries. Production The beans are usually boiled without sugar, mashed, and diluted into a slurry. The slurry is then strai ...
is a typical Chinese filling for bao. *
Tomato paste Tomato paste is a thick paste made by cooking tomatoes for several hours to reduce the water content, straining out the seeds and skins, and cooking the liquid again to reduce the base to a thick, rich concentrate. It is used to impart an intens ...
is made from boiling tomatoes until they form a thick paste which is stored for later use in soups, sauces and stews. *
Qizha Qizha (Arabic قزحة ''qizḥaẗ'', pronounced ''ʼɛzḥa'' in Palestine) is a black seed paste used in Palestinian cuisine. Made from crushed nigella ''Nigella'' is a genus of 18 species of annual plants in the family Ranunculaceae, native ...
is a Palestinian paste made from crushed black fennel seeds.


Yeast extracts

Yeast extract Yeast extracts consist of the cell contents of yeast without the cell walls; they are used as food additives or flavorings, or as nutrients for bacterial culture media. They are often used to create savory flavors and umami taste sensations, a ...
s, usually as byproduct from brewing beer, are made into food pastes, usually dark-brown in colour. They are used to flavour soups and sausages, in the preparation of salad dressings, and directly as spreads. *
Cenovis Cenovis is a dark brown food paste from Switzerland consisting of yeast extract. It is similar to English Marmite, Brazilian Cenovit, and Australian Vegemite. It is rich in vitamin B1. It is used to flavour soups, sausages, and salads. The mos ...
, *
Marmite Marmite ( ) is a British savoury food spread based on yeast extract, invented by the German scientist Justus von Liebig. It is made from by-products of beer brewing ( lees) and is produced by the British company Unilever. Marmite is a vegan ...
and *
Vegemite Vegemite ( ) is a thick, dark brown Australian food spread made from leftover brewers' yeast extract with various vegetable and spice additives. It was developed by Cyril Callister in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1922. A spread for sandwiches, ...
.


See also

*
Chili pepper paste Chili sauce and chili paste are condiments prepared with chili peppers. Chili sauce may be hot, sweet or a combination thereof, and may differ from hot sauce in that many sweet or mild varieties exist, which is typically lacking in hot sauces ...
*
Condiment A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to impart a specific Flavoring, flavor, to enhance the flavor, or to complement the dish. A table condiment or table sauce is more specifically a condiment that is serv ...
*
List of food pastes This is a list of notable food pastes. A food paste is a semi-liquid colloidal suspension, emulsion, or aggregation used in food preparation or eaten directly as a spread. Pastes are often spicy or aromatic, prepared well in advance of actual us ...
*
List of foods This is a categorically-organized list of foods. Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is produced either by Plants or Animals, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vit ...
*
Sauce In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French word t ...


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paste, food Cooking techniques