In some regions of Sicily, southern Italy, and Malta, the traditional method for producing tomato paste involves spreading a tomato sauce that has been greatly reduced on wooden boards that are then exposed to the scorching heat of the August sun in order to dry the paste. Once the paste has reached the desired consistency, it is scraped off the boards and formed into a dense, dark ball. Even the industrialized form of tomato paste had its beginnings in the region of Parma. It was in the 1950s that the Mutti firm of Montechiarugolo began marketing tomato paste in tubes, which is considered to be the beginning of its success.