A Delicious Barbeque Sauce from Tomato Powder (September 2025)

Monica Gross, UC Master Food Preserver Online Program Volunteer

Image Credit: Monica Gross, 2025. 

Can you imagine an activity that allows you to experience all of your five senses? Cooking and preparing food are just such activities! Allow me to walk you through an experience that involved seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting.  

Using tomato powder to make a delicious barbeque sauce delighted all of my senses. The process involved reconstituting dehydrated tomato powder and adding a variety of ingredients to transform it into a tasty sauce that can be used for any barbeque entrée or side dish.  I added all of the ingredients, except the cornstarch, to a saucepan and mixed them together with a whisk. Initially I saw that that sauce was thin and orangish colored (Fig. 1). Upon completion, the color changed to a darker, deeper reddish color (Fig. 2). The consistency also changed as it cooked. I used my sense of touch to feel that it was thickening. I could “feel” it changing as I stirred with the whisk (Fig. 3). I brought the sauce to a boil, then simmered about 20 minutes. I listened carefully and could hear the gentle “pop-pop” of the simmer alongside the louder drone of the range hood. When the sauce was almost complete, a pleasing aroma filled the air as I smelled its delightful scent. Of course, the ultimate test of the recipe was the tasting of the final product. Licking the spoon after the sauce was placed in its storage container was the highlight of the cooking experience. The satisfying conclusion was that the sauce is delicious and will make my family happy during dinner tomorrow night!