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Food that should never come from a can?


OkToBeTakei

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We used to get the whole canned chickens when I was a kid. They were cheap, easy to store, and could be stretched into multiple meals, nearly a week's worth if I remember correctly. I remember vividly eating soup made from a canned chicken, saltine crackers spread with margarine, and milk on very cold winter nights.

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Asparagus. It's not even really asparagus anymore when it comes from a can--it's a slimy green glob of goo. *shudder* I still have nightmares about the one time it was served to me from a can.

My fiance cleaned out the dishwasher's filter-trap last night. There was something in there that looked and felt like a stalk of canned asparagus. It was, in fact, a stalk of fresh asparagus that had been roasted and then subjected to numerous cycles of the dishwasher. Note to self: remind daughter to rinse food off plates before loading the dishwasher.

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I would also argue you can put them to good use by rolling up a few chocolate chips in each and baking them until they get nice and crispy. Sort of a trashy version of a chocolate croissant.

Use dark chocolate chips when you want to feel really fancy.

My 10-year-old daughter likes to do that, but she uses Nutella. She must be super fancy.

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My fiance cleaned out the dishwasher's filter-trap last night. There was something in there that looked and felt like a stalk of canned asparagus. It was, in fact, a stalk of fresh asparagus that had been roasted and then subjected to numerous cycles of the dishwasher. Note to self: remind daughter to rinse food off plates before loading the dishwasher.

Oh goodness. That explains everything. I wouldnt doubt that that is how canned asparagus is processed.

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Oh goodness. That explains everything. I wouldnt doubt that that is how canned asparagus is processed.

:lol:

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In Israel, my morbid curiosity lead to me buying a can of vegetarian cholent (a stew of beans, barley, and root vegetables typically cooked overnight for Shabbat lunch the next day). No slow-cooked goodness, no love--everything was wrong with it.

There's something inherently wrong with canned cholent, especially since people who likely eat cholent can't open the can or heat it on Shabbat. I introduced my daughter to cholent last week (and she loved it). It is one of the easiest dishes to make: dump beans (soaked), chopped onion, a couple handfuls of barley and some inexpensive stew or roast meat into a pot or crockpot. Add salt, pepper, a garlic clove or two, and broth or water. Bring to a boil and then cook on very low for 8 hours or longer. The dish is so simple to prepare, I'd let my daughter make it on her own if she used the crockpot method.

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There's something inherently wrong with canned cholent, especially since people who likely eat cholent can't open the can or heat it on Shabbat. I introduced my daughter to cholent last week (and she loved it). It is one of the easiest dishes to make: dump beans (soaked), chopped onion, a couple handfuls of barley and some inexpensive stew or roast meat into a pot or crockpot. Add salt, pepper, a garlic clove or two, and broth or water. Bring to a boil and then cook on very low for 8 hours or longer. The dish is so simple to prepare, I'd let my daughter make it on her own if she used the crockpot method.

Hmmm, this sounds delicious. I think I'm going to have to try this for this coming weekend... /threadjack

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Hmmm, this sounds delicious. I think I'm going to have to try this for this coming weekend... /threadjack

If you're really planning on making it, let me provide the correct proportions.

1 pound of beans (I use either lima beans or a mix of beans (like for 8-bean soup)

2-3 handfuls of barley (I have small hands, lol)

a couple pounds of meat (it is mostly for flavor, but it is nice to get a chunk of meat occasionally)

1 large onion, chopped (you can sweat it, if you want)

broth or water: if cooking in a slow oven, cover with liquid plus 1-2 inches; if using a crockpot, less liquid, maybe an inch above the rest of the ingredients (the cholent will thincken up a lot after it cools -- yo may need to add liquid if you reheat leftovers).

salt, pepper, garlic to taste

If I have kishka (Jewish stuffing: originally a stuffed intestine, but these days they use fake casing) in the freezer, I'll slice it and place it on top of all the other ingredients.

I hope you like it.

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If you're really planning on making it, let me provide the correct proportions.

1 pound of beans (I use either lima beans or a mix of beans (like for 8-bean soup)

2-3 handfuls of barley (I have small hands, lol)

a couple pounds of meat (it is mostly for flavor, but it is nice to get a chunk of meat occasionally)

1 large onion, chopped (you can sweat it, if you want)

broth or water: if cooking in a slow oven, cover with liquid plus 1-2 inches; if using a crockpot, less liquid, maybe an inch above the rest of the ingredients (the cholent will thincken up a lot after it cools -- yo may need to add liquid if you reheat leftovers).

salt, pepper, garlic to taste

If I have kishka (Jewish stuffing: originally a stuffed intestine, but these days they use fake casing) in the freezer, I'll slice it and place it on top of all the other ingredients.

I hope you like it.

I can't eat the barley-- I'm gluten sensitive-- but do you think some quinoa might substitute?

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It's one thing for tuna or cresent rolls. Pillsbury's ok...and I use the rolls for a variety of things...

But there's just something unnatural about meat in a can. You don't even know how long that's been in there...

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I can't eat the barley-- I'm gluten sensitive-- but do you think some quinoa might substitute?

I think you need something starchy. Maybe (brown) rice?

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A chip shop delicacy..

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I actually made these myself with an egg surplus from my hens. They were just too vinegary to be pleasant, but I made myself eat my way through the whole jar (gradually!) because I hate wasting food.

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I think you need something starchy. Maybe (brown) rice?

I remember cholent being really potato heavy. Am I remembering a different dish? We used to have it at a close family friend's house who unfortunately died a few years ago. She was a holocaust survivor and the most incredible woman I've ever met.

edited because I typed in the quote box.

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I remember cholent being really potato heavy. Am I remembering a different dish? We used to have it at a close family friend's house who unfortunately died a few years ago. She was a holocaust survivor and the most incredible woman I've ever met.

edited because I typed in the quote box.

Apparently, there is no such thing as universal Jewish cooking, as each region and/or subgroup has its own recipes, as does each individual family. So a standard and normal version of this dish or that one might be strange and exotic to another family, does that make sense? Assuming that it's a dish the two families even have in common to begin with.

I was very annoyed when I found all this out, by the way, because like most people I had an impression of What Jews Do and wasn't happy to realize that I really only knew What Some Jews Who Happen To Be From A Certain Background Do, But Not Even All Of THOSE. It's like when I found out that Catholics don't have to go into a little booth to confess - what else do I have wrong? What else do I think I know, but don't really know? The very foundations of my understanding of the world were shaken.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholent

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So, yeah. I had to call my mom because I needed to know what that yumminess we used to have was (and I didnt remember any meat). She said that it was potato and bean based because they were ridiculously poor in Poland before the way. There were tiny bits of "crappy" meat in it but I just didnt remember them. The recipe died with her and my mother has apparently been trying to recreate it for the past decade. No one can figure out what was in it because the card was a mix of yiddish/polish/german/english (if she didnt know the word for something she used a different language) and is so covered in oil splatter some of it isnt legible and its written using hebrew letters but isnt always Yiddish...

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I actually made these myself with an egg surplus from my hens. They were just too vinegary to be pleasant, but I made myself eat my way through the whole jar (gradually!) because I hate wasting food.

WOW! I am seriously impressed ;)

Just the thought makes me gag.

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Guest Anonymous

I worked in a grocery store for 6 years and by far the grossest thing I ever saw in a can was tamales really?? tamales?? yuck!

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So, yeah. I had to call my mom because I needed to know what that yumminess we used to have was (and I didnt remember any meat). She said that it was potato and bean based because they were ridiculously poor in Poland before the way. There were tiny bits of "crappy" meat in it but I just didnt remember them. The recipe died with her and my mother has apparently been trying to recreate it for the past decade. No one can figure out what was in it because the card was a mix of yiddish/polish/german/english (if she didnt know the word for something she used a different language) and is so covered in oil splatter some of it isnt legible and its written using hebrew letters but isnt always Yiddish...

I used to make cholent with with beans, barley, onion and short ribs, and mushrooms. I've had Sephardic versions with chick peas and tomatoes and short ribs. I'd never go near canned cholent or canned tamales.

As to meat in a can, well I've read The Jungle far too many times to even venture into that realm of gustatory delight.

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When I was a kid, a long time ago, there were canned peas. They had the texture of mush and a very odd color, kind of green-gray.

Oh, there still ARE canned peas. I don't understand why anyone would buy them though in 2012 when you can get flash frozen peas, which are every bit as convenient and cheap but can be steamed quickly in the microwave and come out still well-formed and bright green. I mean, you can get a giant bag on sale for $1.

(Well, if you don't have a freezer...)

This thread has made me think about canned vegetables generally. Used to be that was all there was aside from fresh, but the technical issues of the canning process mean that canned vegetables pretty much have to be cooked to death, and so are mushy. I suspect a lot of people who "don't like vegetables" don't like that mushiness, because I am certainly one of them. Asparagus in a can I just can't even imagine.

Asparagus is trivial enough to make from fresh stuff if you have access to it. Just cut the bottoms off and steam. Peas I'm generally not going to spend the time on shelling 'em fresh. But flash frozen vegetables are SO much better, y'know? None of the horrible mushiness.

Upshot is, I now eat peas frequently. When canned was the only choice, I did not.

I'll admit to eating tuna fish from a can - I even eat the cheap store brand! I'll eat spam too, on rice balls, but way less frequently.

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Good canned tuna in olive oil is delish. I buy Ortiz when I see it. Also Portuguese sardines canned are fab. The Spanish use these amazing peeled sweet red peppers from a can in lots of recipes. Can't remember what they're called but I've seen them in some speciality shops. You stuff em, bake em and omg amazeballs..

ETA Pimientos! They're one of the few foods that are better canned than fresh because as Rick Stein says, who has time to peel peppers?

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Guest Anonymous

Oh, there still ARE canned peas.

Mushy peas are to be eaten with British fried fish and chips. Eaten out of paper with your fingers. Preferably after a few pints. :D

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