Ten Canned Foods for the Shelf by John Lehndorff
Scripps Howard News Service
It always amuses when I hear born-again gourmets bragging about their cookery. They flaunt the fact that simply everything they create with is absolutely fresh, harvested this morning, and made from scratch for superior flavor.
Ask them whether they use any canned foods in their rarefied cuisine and you're likely to see their noses scrunch up at an odd angle as if they've just stepped on something unpleasant.
Perhaps the problem is that canned prompts visions of American home cookery in the 1940s and '50s, when often-bland convenience foods were appreciated as a godsend by harried homemakers.
It's too bad some "serious" cooks disdain quality canned and bottled foods. The rest of us time-harried cooks know there are dozens of preserved prepared foods we can't live without. We recognize that the only way to whip out a quick weekday meal or an unexpected hors d'oeuvre is to maintain a pantry that is well-stocked with the right stuff.
It isn't just a matter of time and convenience. Truth is, many canned foods are as good--and often better--than anything you can prepare in your home kitchen.
Here are 10 of my can-opener favorites
1. 10-oz. can Kuner's White Kidney Beans; about 95 cents
The Italians call them cannellini and use these tender white beans in a myriad of dishes. You can puree them with olive oil and roasted garlic to make a dip, add them to white chili made with ground turkey or toss them with macaroni to make pasta fagiole, often pronounced "pasta fazool."
2. 3.66-oz. tin Ty Ling smoked mussels in cottonseed oil; about $1.69
These delicious morsels are an appetizer waiting to happen. Simply drain them, marinate in a good vinaigrette and place atop a sour cream-dolloped cracker. Wrap a smoked mussel around a whole macadamia and wrap that in bacon and bake or grill until crispy.
3. 12-oz. bottle Cento roasted red bell peppers; about $2.99
Marinate red peppers in olive oil and serve as part of an antipasto. Puree drained red peppers with olive oil, pine nuts and garlic and spread on bruschetta. Puree and add to seasoned broth to make an instant soup. Add to pasta, salads and chili.
4. 13.5-oz. can JFC Coconut Milk; about $1.65
Simmer assorted seafood in coconut milk and season with curry powder and fresh ginger. Heat a can of coconut milk and whisk in several large tablespoons of creamy peanut butter. (All the Thai cooks I know love Jiffy.) Add chopped vegetables, hot peppers and chunks of chicken and call it curry. Sweeten it and freeze in an ice-cream maker to create coconut gelato.
5. 13-oz. bottle Bonne Maman Apricot Preserves; about $3.39
Use these all-purpose preserves as a base for quick chutney. Serve it warmed over brie baked en croute. Spread it thinly on poundcake slices and layer with whipped cream as a base for strawberry shortcake. Thin it with hot sauce and brush on all kinds of grilled meats.
6. 15-oz. can Kuner's Whole Pumpkin; about 90 cents
* Note: Make sure it's not pumpkin-pie mix that includes spices and sweetener. Whole pumpkin is actually butternut squash. Thin it with chicken broth and season to make squash bisque. Add to quick breads to provide moistness and flavor.
7. 27-oz. can Hatch Select Whole Green Chiles; about $3.99
These famous mild, roasted and peeled New Mexican green chiles are good for just about everything, including green-chili sauce. Saute chopped chiles with your favorite steak. Stuff with cheese to make quick chile rellenos. Cut them over cheesy nachos. Puree green chiles and add to beef stew. Chop and mix with cream cheese to make an appetizer dip.
8. 14-oz. can Cento Artichoke Hearts; about $4.89
Artichokes are expensive for a canned food, but they're worth every cent. Ask anyone who has ever tried to prepare eight artichoke hearts for a dish using fresh artichokes. Marinate them in vinaigrette and serve as part of an antipasto. Grill them and serve as a side vegetable for chicken and veal dishes. Stuff them with meat and bread crumbs and bake in tomato puree as a side dish. Add them to grilled chicken kebabs. Chop and saute in butter and herbs and add to cooked pasta.
9. 16-oz. can Ocean Spray whole-berry cranberry sauce; about $1.89
What a waste to only use whole-berry cranberry sauce one day a year. Use it to make fruit salsa, add to gelatin molds, spread on roasted chicken sandwiches, stuff inside pork loin and broil, and add to muffin mixes.
10. 15-oz. can of Franco-American Ravioli; about $1.49
All right, so this isn't an exquisite prepared ingredient. There's nothing like eating Franco-American ravioli straight from the can while standing in the kitchen. I don't heat 'em or fancy 'em up. This is what you snack on secretly while you cook that fancy Mediterranean-style feast.
(John Lehndorff writes for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver.)
Resources Rocky Mountain News--newspaper
Rocky Mountain News
400 W. Colfax Ave.
Denver, CO 80204
Phone: 303-892-5000
Email:
talktous@rockymountainnews.com
URL:
denver.rockymountainnews.com
Cento Roasted Red Bell Peppers, Cento Artichoke Hearts
Peppers: 12-oz. bottle
Artichokes: 14-oz. can
Cento
Phone: 856-853-5445
Email:
info@cento.com
URL:
www.cento.com
JFC Coconut Milk
13.5-oz. can
JFC International Inc.
Phone: 650-871-1660
URL:
www.jfc.com/brand.set.html
Kuner's White Kidney Beans, Kuner's Whole Pumpkin
Beans: 10-oz. can
Pumpkin: 15-oz. can
Faribault Foods, Inc.
128 NW 15th St.
Faribault, MN 55021
Phone: 507-334-5521
Fax: 507-334-0243
URL:
www.faribaultfoods.com/Brands/Kuner_s/kuner_s.html
Ocean Spray Whole-Berry Cranberry Sauce
Ocean Spray
Toll Free Phone: 800-662-3263
URL:
www.oceanspray.com/prod_foods.htm
Ty Ling smoked mussels in cottonseed oil
3.66-oz. tin
World Finer Foods, Inc.
Phone: 973-338-0300
Email:
nkaskel@worldfiner.com
Website:
www.worldfiner.com/tyling.htm
Hatch Select Whole Green Chiles
27-oz. can
The New Mexican Connection
2833 Rhode Island NE
Albuquerque, NM 87110
Phone: 505-292-0058
Toll Free Phone: 800-933-2736
Email:
tab@nmcchile.com
URL:
www.nmcchile.com
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