OFF THE SHELF
When you need a little dab, try a tube

By Wanda A. Adams
Food Editor

Italian-made flavoring concentrates can keep a long time in your refrigerator once you've opened them. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

Concentrated pastes, made in Italy, solve these minor kitchen problems with the minimum of hassle and offer clean, true flavors that mimic those of fresh products.

The Amore brand is readily available here, but gourmet shops stock others. The products have almost unlimited shelf lives and keep for a long time if tightly capped and refrigerated after opening.

They sell for about $4.50 each, so it isn't economical to use them when you need a lot.

Garlic paste is available in 3.15-ounce tubes. Others in the product line are in tubes of around 2 ounces each. One teaspoon of garlic paste equals a clove of garlic.

Classic basil pesto, composed of garlic, oils, basil, pine nuts, salt and sugar, works well for a quick single serving of pasta, or for adding a pesto drizzle as a garnish.

Anchovy paste is ideal when you don't want to open an entire can of anchovies — add a generous squeeze to marinara sauce for a more complex flavor; blend with butter for a quick appetizer spread.

The tomato and sun-dried tomato pastes are convenient, but a small can of tomato paste stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator does the job for much less money.