6 incredibly delicious foods from a can
In these bizarre coronavirus times, canned food is flying off the shelves. Food from a can is not only long-lasting, convenient, affordable and sustainable, but also incredibly delicious. At least, if you choose the right products. Below, we give you an overview of the editorial team’s favorite canned foods.
Legumes
While canned green beans are a tragic shadow of their crisp fresh counterpart, there are also vegetables that shine in a can. Think especially of legumes, such as: lentils, chickpeas, brown beans and kidney beans. Ideal for a salad (just rinse them with water in a sieve first), stew or homemade hummus.
Tomatoes
Although you naturally want to use fresh tomatoes in a salad or fresh dish, canned tomatoes make an excellent base for a killer tomato sauce. Buy them as passata (a basic sauce made from puréed tomatoes), purée (a highly concentrated version), diced or whole. Do pay close attention to the quality, because one canned tomato is not the same as another. Looking for the very, very best? Go for San Marzano tomatoes from Mutti, the crown jewel of supermarket canned tomatoes. Check out this overview for budget cooking with canned tomatoes.
Fish
Of course, nothing beats fresh fish from your favorite fishmonger. But can’t leave the house, or are you on a tighter budget? Then canned fish can sometimes be an excellent solution. In his cookbook Fish from a Can, Bart van Olphen shows that you can put a sustainable and flavorful dish on the table with canned fish. Fish that are well suited to this include sustainably caught sardines, anchovies, tuna, salmon and crab. How about dishes such as crab with mango, avocado and ginger, or anchovies with gnocchi and sage?
Coconut milk
Coconut milk is made from grated coconut flesh and water. Although you can make it yourself, the canned version is just as easy to use in all kinds of savory and sweet dishes, such as creamy Thai curry, Surinamese stews, tropical cocktails such as piña coladas, ice cream and cakes. Do check the ingredients on the packaging, though, because some varieties contain unnecessary added sugar.
Condensed milk
For those with a sweet tooth, a can of condensed milk is a must-have in the kitchen. Because did you know that you can use it to make an incredibly easy dulce de leche (caramel spread), among other things? Place the unopened can in a pan filled with plenty of water and boil it for 3 hours. Open the can and tadaaa… creamy caramel spread for all your shortbreads, cookies, ice cream and cakes.
Meat
Yay or nay? While opinions on canned fish are fairly unanimous, they are more divided when it comes to canned meat. Products such as confit de canard (confit duck legs) or rillettes (a rich pâté made, for example, from slowly cooked pork, game or rabbit) are of course a real treat. But cheaper products such as Spam (a type of luncheon meat), pâté and corned beef are also making a comeback.
For example, Danny Lee, owner of the Chin Chin Club in Amsterdam, likes to eat Spam with a portion of noodles. And American chef Alvin Cailan turns it into the ultimate hangover breakfast with a fried egg. A questionable one: canned frankfurters. Although, according to this star chef, they are unbelievably delicious.
Travel tip
And when we can travel again, are you planning a city trip to Lisbon? Then be sure to visit the restaurant Can the Can in Lisbon. There, they have elevated canned food to a culinary art form.
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