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Canned Foods

PurpleDingo99

By PurpleDingo99
in Food Traditions & Culture

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PurpleDingo99

PurpleDingo99

Posted
Posted

because the only affordable (And closest) market around here pretty much sucks in terms of selection right now and our fridge is beginning to die, i have (sadly) turned to canned foods for many things. The sad part is, is that i can actually cook surprisingly well with canned things. The apology? at this rate i may have to be the next least-common-denominator chef who takes over emeril's niche. :shock: Ill be nice though- ill let you all pick my band leader. :raz:

but seriously, are there any specific canned goods that you think are worth a look? personally, im addicted to s&w canned corn because, although it doesnt stay as sweet as fresh corn, it holds its taste decently and its texture rather well if you drain and let it be for a while before using it. What can i say- after many years of my mothers cooking, i have low standards. :raz:

fifi

fifi

Posted
Posted

Actually, there are a lot of canned goods that I take advantage of.

When it comes to tomatoes, canned are almost always better than tasteless cardboard fresh. I am a big fan of Hunts and Muir Glen when I can get them.

I use canned beans all of the time for salsas when I don't have time to cook them myself. Goya brand is a favorite. They seem to have developed a technique for canning that doesn't turn the beans to mush.

Canned corn, creamed corn, etc. is a staple for some corn soufles.

Canned milk products, condensed milk, sweetened condensed milk, are indispensible in some Mexican and "down home" recipes. The cooked milk flavor is important in some recipes.

I would be hard put to knock a lot of canned products. Well, actually, I would not advocate canned asparagus. :raz:

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

culinary bear

culinary bear

Posted
Posted

Has anyone actually eaten and enjoyed tinned mushrooms?

Allan Brown

"If you're a chef on a salary, there's usually a very good reason. Never, ever, work out your hourly rate."

fifi

fifi

Posted
Posted
Has anyone actually eaten and enjoyed tinned mushrooms?

Actually, there is one family recipe that demands "tinned", really in jars, mushrooms. The preferred brand is Green Giant. This is a hot dip served during Christmas that includes dried beef (Hormel in the little metal capped glasses), cream cheese, and the canned mushrooms. Somehow, fresh mushrooms just don't work.

OK . . . Maybe it is one of those trailer trash things that seem to endure.

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

PurpleDingo99

PurpleDingo99

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
Has anyone actually eaten and enjoyed tinned mushrooms?

Actually, there is one family recipe that demands "tinned", really in jars, mushrooms. The preferred brand is Green Giant. This is a hot dip served during Christmas that includes dried beef (Hormel in the little metal capped glasses), cream cheese, and the canned mushrooms. Somehow, fresh mushrooms just don't work.

OK . . . Maybe it is one of those trailer trash things that seem to endure.

im with ya on that. redneck all the way. :raz:

i predict a marinate water craze (like in filippino cooking) coming in several years which would utilize things like mushroom stock. i could seriously buy boxes of the stuff for soup. :wink:

*Deborah*

*Deborah*

Posted
Posted (edited)
Has anyone actually eaten and enjoyed tinned mushrooms?

I like them in red sauces sometimes, and on pizza...I know they are rubbery, and theoretically gross, but I think of them as another vegetable than a fresh mushroom, sort of...their own entity. I used to really like B in B brand, but I don't see it any more, so I don't get them often. I used to have a cat that loved all kinds of canned vegetables (from soup) and he had a real thing for mushrooms...

I like fresh mushrooms, as well, so don't despair of me!!

Edited by *Deborah* (log)

Agenda-free since 1966.

Foodblog: Power, Convection and Lies

Chufi

Chufi

Posted
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These are the cans in my cupboard right now:

Artichokes

Tuna

Anchovies

Corned beef

sweet corn

Tomatoes

Tomato puree

Chickpeas

Kidneybeans

Chipotle in adobo sauce

I also keep a few small cans with tomato soup because sometimes canned tomatosoup is the only thing that will do on a cold rainy afternoon (to eat in front of the tv)

Klary Koopmans

~ The Travels of Verjuice & Chufi

~ Eat cheap, travel far

~ Dutch Cooking recipe index

website

Syrah

Syrah

Posted
Posted

I have almost all of yours

Artichokes

Tuna

Anchovies

Corned beef

sweet corn

Tomatoes

Tomato puree

Chickpeas

Kidneybeans

PCL

PCL

Posted
Posted

Now, Chinese Spam, in a can, from a company called Ma-Ling, marketed as luncheon meat, is like wow, totally fantastic when sliced and fried S L O W L Y... in a teflon non stick, and served up with fluffy steamed rice and Srirarach-cha <<forgive spelling>> chilli/hot sauce...

And WOW..... jar'ed white asparagus... straight up, with a NZ sauvignon blanc... you're in business.... maybe a Pouilly Fuisse or Chablis too... nada to them New World Chardies....

But I keep tomatoes in cans in the pantry, with no small measure of anchos, sweet corn, peas, and refried beans for them sudden taco cravings....

And also for camping!

"Coffee and cigarettes... the breakfast of champions!"

Mayhaw Man

Mayhaw Man

Posted
Posted
Has anyone actually eaten and enjoyed tinned mushrooms?

OK . . . Maybe it is one of those trailer trash things that seem to endure.

Don't forget Rotel Tomatoes. I know that this was just a temporary oversight. :wink::laugh:

Brooks Hamaker, aka "Mayhaw Man"

There's a train everyday, leaving either way...

fifi

fifi

Posted
Posted

Bad fifi . . . Bad fifi . . .

How could I have forgotten Rotel. :sad:

I also forgot hominy. I always keep that on hand because it goes into my BBQ posole and some of the bean salsas.

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

Luckylies

Luckylies

Posted
Posted

what are those giant white lima beans called? butter beans. those are good.

artechoke marinated in oil.

all things goya...

those baby peas in the silver can...you need these. they are so good. better than anything actually...mmmm

does this come in pork?

My name's Emma Feigenbaum.

jayt90

jayt90

Posted
Posted

I'll be the first to admit to having a stock of Campbell's mushroom soup on hand.

A half a can added to a braise of chicken or pork is easy and quick, when I come home from work hungry. There is a fairly good concentration of mushroom flavor.

slbunge

slbunge

Posted
Posted

I love oil-packed tuna in cans. I also have a couple of cans (or tins) of Portuguese sardines. Lots of canned food are my staples: tomatoes, tomato paste, black beans, chick peas, Herdez salsas.

When in college (moons ago) I used to favor Hunts tomato sauce in a can over any of the jarred varieties. Much simpler with far fewer additives. Now I make my sauce from tomatoes that I can or, such as now, when I'm out I reach for the store-bought cans.

One of my favorite canned vegetables is the 'french- style' green beens packed in vinegar.

Stephen Bunge

St Paul, MN

PurpleDingo99

PurpleDingo99

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

And WOW..... jar'ed white asparagus... straight up, with a NZ sauvignon blanc... you're in business.... maybe a Pouilly Fuisse or Chablis too... nada to them New World Chardies....

god, are you recommending wine for jarred foods now? :laugh:

i love this place.

andiesenji

andiesenji

Posted
Posted

I am a fan of many canned foods. As well as the ones listed by Chufi and others, I have quite a few "ethnic" and "exotic" foods that are not available in any other form.

Coconut milk is especially important because I use it in many recipes.

All type of beans are an important staple and again, some from other countries aren't available fresh or frozen, except in very limited areas.

On another note. Because I live in an earthquake zone, where there is a possibility of losing power, gas and water, I have one section of my pantry that has "emergency" rations, including canned whole chicken in addition to other canned meats, soups, stews and other things that can simply be heated on a camp stove or even on a Sterno stove.

I agree that canned tomatoes have much better flavor than the fresh "pretty but tasteless" supermarket tomatoes. (Wish we could get the "Uglies" here.)

Canned broth and stock is not as good as the stuff I cook myself, but it is instantly available and is better than frozen that has not been sealed properly and gets that awful "freezer burn" flavor.

Diced green chiles (the mild ones) are always available in my pantry.

Olives, especially the black ones or the green ripe "Graber" olives which are not available in any other form.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

fifi

fifi

Posted
Posted

A second here on the diced green chiles and coconut milk. I load up on the Chaudoc brand coconut milk when I make a run to Hong Kong Market. They usually have it for 50 cents a can.

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

NulloModo

NulloModo

Posted
Posted

I too enjoy canned mushrooms, but I agree they are almost a seperate vegetable from the fresh variety. The rubbery texture of the canned ones is perfect for your basic ground beef red spaghetti sauce, and they work decently in soups and other places where the fresh mushrooms would get waterlogged anyway.

Other things i try to keep in cans on-hand are:

Tuna (in oil and in water)

Canned Chicken (great for melts or chicken salad, or for making dips)

Sardines (in various sauces)

Kipper Snacks

Clams

Smoked Oysters

Crab-Meat

Pickled Jalepenos

Chipotles

Green Chiles

Rotel tomaotoes and chiles

Canned tomato sauce (plain basic tomatoes only stuff)

Black Soybeans

Black olives

Roasted peppers

Saurkraut

Lots of been and chicken broth.

He don't mix meat and dairy,

He don't eat humble pie,

So sing a miserere

And hang the bastard high!

- Richard Wilbur and John LaTouche from Candide

patti

patti

Posted
Posted

I keep all the usual suspects previously mentioned by others, and andiesenji's mention of coconut milk reminded me that I also like to have cans of red curry paste on hand. This is a relatively new addition to our pantry. Others have mentioned canned mushrooms and I'll add canned straw mushrooms to the list.

Dear Food: I hate myself for loving you.

Mabelline

Mabelline

Posted
Posted

I can't add anything because everybody has mentioned my pantry. But if I don't have Herdez green salsa and Rotel, I start to get antsy. I do keep mandarin orange segments, though, just because I like them with meats or poultry a lot of times. And affirmative on the coconut milk; Montana is sadly lacking in coconut palms.Goya beans, very good. :smile:

Jaymes

Jaymes

Posted
Posted

I prefer the cans of whole green chiles. The chopped and diced versions have too many peels. And you can chop the whole ones into smaller or large dice. Or just tear them into large pieces. I always have at least a dozen cans of those on hand.

And evaporated milk.

And that brown raisin bread that comes in cans.

I don't understand why rappers have to hunch over while they stomp around the stage hollering.  It hurts my back to watch them. On the other hand, I've been thinking that perhaps I should start a rap group here at the Old Folks' Home.  Most of us already walk like that.

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