Best cheap canned food?

[Badiane]

Don't forget to check out the Dollar Store - they often have name brand foods on for a dollar or 2 for 1 etc. I get Dole Pineapple and Green Giant veggies there all the time.

[ScoopKW]

I don't know if you have much of the way of Asian or Latin markets in Wisconsin.

But that's where I get the bulk of my tinned food. We also have International Market here in Las Vegas, and I guarantee everyone here would wish they had an International Market if they saw what's in one.

Things to buy in tins:

Italian DOP San Marzano tomatoes. DOP is key -- it means your San Marzanos are REALLY from the fields along the river Sarno. These are BETTER than fresh -- for cooking, at least. One of the few tinned canned foods I will say that about.

Sardines. I like them in olive oil. Preferably from Morocco. But sardines are great to have around. They're a superfood. They make great snacks. They make quicky spreads and pâtés. They're good on salads. The oil makes great salad dressing.

Heinz Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce -- the British variety, for making English Breakfast. Heinz is currently spelling it "Beanz."

Most other beans -- Goya is my tin of choice. But I get some good "no-name" brands out of Mexico -- refried, pinto. EDIT - I also like tins of great northern, chickpeas and baked beans. Beans from a tin are 80% as good as dried beans and 500% more convenient. (Although I think I've probably earned the ire of Rancho Gordo for saying it. FORGIVE ME!)

Tinned pineapple. Just as good as fresh for most cooking applications, particularly westernized Chinese sweet and sour, and roast pork.

Tinned chilis. 70% as good as fresh. 1000% more shelf stable.

As mentioned, tinned coconut milk. Mix this with some chilis, garlic and curry powder (preferably fresh ground) and you have a curry sauce.

Inari sushi wrappers -- season some leftover white rice, and you have inari sushi.

Most of my "wasabi" (not the kind ground on a shark skin) comes powdered from a tin. And I always have a tin of Coleman's mustard powder as well.

Tinned clams. I always stock four tins -- for making linguini with white clam sauce. With basil, garlic, olive oil, parm, butter, white wine and canned clams, I can make a great dinner that everybody loves in less than 15 minutes, including prep.

Canned salmon -- it's better for me than tuna, and I like the taste of salmon salad over tuna salad. I add capers and chopped green olives (and usually a little Old Bay) to my salmon salad.

BEER. Canned beer is better than bottled beer. (Heh, I know I sound like a broken record on this point, but hey, it's another way to sneak it into the general conversation.)

EDIT -- It sounded like I was buying Mexican baked beans prior to editing. While I think THAT would be something to try, I don't actually buy Mexican Boston Baked Beans.

EDIT -- Escargot, green peppercorns, chunk white chicken for quicky salads, "cream of" soups for ersatz sauces and cassaroles, Rotel brand tomato, chili, cilantro mix for quicky salsas... I could probably think of 100 more if I had time.

Edited July 5, 2011 by ScoopKW (log)

[Will]

If you have a Chinese / Vietnamese market nearby, check out the cans of mock meat / fish (seitan / wheat gluten) which are cheap, and pretty tasty. Some are designed to be more or less ready to eat, and others are designed to be cooked with. Usually in a blue can.

Straw mushrooms - I am not a canned mushroom fan, but I can tolerate canned straw mushrooms in small amounts.

[jrshaul]

Things to buy in tins:

Can you recommend a particular variety of tinned clams or canned salmon? I've had some *bad* luck with most sardines. I've found some fairly good smoked herring for ~$6/lb, though I can't figure out what to do with it.

Straw mushrooms - I am not a canned mushroom fan, but I can tolerate canned straw mushrooms in small amounts.

I *am* a mushroom fan, and will no doubt enjoy many.

[ScoopKW]

Can you recommend a particular variety of tinned clams or canned salmon? I've had some *bad* luck with most sardines. I've found some fairly good smoked herring for ~$6/lb, though I can't figure out what to do with it.

For salmon, I just look for tins stamped "Alaska." (And I prefer Sockeye to "pink" salmon.) I'm no expert in the fish canning business, but I suspect that the salmon is packaged, and then shipped from the cannery to StarKist, Chicken of the Sea, etc., who then slap a label on the tin.

Pretty much the same thing with clams -- I buy #10 cans, sourced as close to my house as possible. I'll take "USA" over foreign products, and if I'm lucky, I can narrow it down to the state.

Bad luck with sardines? I've had nothing but good luck with them.

If you're getting bad tins, I would immediately cast suspicion on the retail store. Probably goes without saying, but do you check the expiration date? Signs of damage? Denting? Perhaps you have a fish allergy you weren't aware of?

I buy Moroccan sardines at a place called International Marketplace here in Vegas. This store does such high turnover, I know that my tins are no more than a few weeks from the cannery.

Here's a bunch of reviews of International Marketplace. I'm very much surprised this place isn't world famous. Only Harrod's grocery department compares to this place, but they're also 10 times the price.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/international-marketplace-las-vegas-2

[BadRabbit]

Can you recommend a particular variety of tinned clams or canned salmon? I've had some *bad* luck with most sardines. I've found some fairly good smoked herring for ~$6/lb, though I can't figure out what to do with it.

For salmon, I just look for tins stamped "Alaska." (And I prefer Sockeye to "pink" salmon.) I'm no expert in the fish canning business, but I suspect that the salmon is packaged, and then shipped from the cannery to StarKist, Chicken of the Sea, etc., who then slap a label on the tin.

You suspect correctly. There are only 3 or 4 Alaskan canneries that produce all of what is available in the regular grocery.