Product knowledge
What Does Double Concentrate Mean for Tomato Paste?
Double concentrate means the tomatoes have been reduced down to roughly 28–30° Brix, a measure of soluble solids that's effectively a proxy for how much water has been cooked out. A single-concentrate tomato product, closer to a purée, sits much lower on that scale, while a double concentrate paste has had roughly twice the water removed — thicker, more intensely flavoured, and meant to be diluted or dosed carefully rather than used at full strength the way a purée is.
Brix, in plain terms
Brix (°Bx) measures the percentage of soluble solids — mostly natural sugars and other dissolved compounds — in a liquid or paste, tested with a refractometer. For tomato products, a higher Brix reading roughly tracks how much of the tomato's original water content has been evaporated off during processing, which is why it's used across the trade as shorthand for concentration level even though it isn't a direct measure of tomato solids alone. It's a lab measurement, not something a kitchen needs to test itself, but it's the number behind the "single," "double" and "triple" concentrate names on a spec sheet.
The single/double/triple concentrate ladder
A single-concentrate tomato product — closer to a purée or passata — sits at the low end of the Brix scale and is essentially ready to use as-is, needing little further reduction. Double concentrate, around 28–30° Brix, is roughly twice as concentrated and needs to be thinned with water or stock for many applications rather than used straight. Triple concentrate goes further still, into the high-30s° Brix and beyond, giving a kitchen the most flavour and colour per gram but requiring the most careful dilution to avoid an overly thick, pasty result. Both Zer Tomato Paste and Lio Tomato Paste are formulated as double concentrate, which is the standard, most widely used strength across Levantine and Mediterranean cooking. Buyers occasionally see "treble concentrate" used as another name for triple concentrate on European-style spec sheets — same ladder, different regional wording — which is worth knowing when comparing a spec sheet from one origin against a supplier quoting in different terms.
What double concentrate means for dosing in a kitchen
Because double concentrate carries roughly twice the solids of a single-concentrate product, a recipe written around one won't dose correctly with the other without adjustment — using double concentrate at a single-concentrate quantity will oversaturate a sauce with tomato flavour and colour, and thin it too far the other way round. Kitchens standardizing on double concentrate benefit from smaller storage volumes for the same finished-sauce output, since more of what's being stored is concentrated flavour rather than water that gets added back in during cooking anyway. Our portioning tomato paste from large tins and tomato paste in glass jars answers cover the actual formats we carry and how kitchens plan around them.
Related questions
Can double concentrate replace single-concentrate tomato purée in a recipe?
Yes, with dilution — since it carries roughly twice the solids, thin it with water or stock and adjust to taste rather than substituting it at a 1:1 ratio.
Is double concentrate the same as triple concentrate?
No — triple concentrate is reduced further, to a higher Brix reading, and needs even more dilution than double concentrate to reach the same finished consistency.
Does a higher Brix number mean better quality?
Not on its own — Brix measures concentration, not overall quality. A well-made double concentrate and a well-made triple concentrate are both legitimate, quality products built for different dosing needs.
How can a kitchen tell which concentrate strength it's currently using?
Check the product's spec sheet or label for a stated Brix range, or ask the supplier directly — texture and colour alone aren't a reliable way to distinguish double from triple concentrate.