Food poisoning? Not if you listen to celebrity
chef Michael Symon's advice from an interview with Mashed.
We hold this truth to be self-evident: Not all canned foods are inherently evil. The latest
course books on such subjects estimate that over 1,300 kinds of canned foods exist to be
purchased in the world. What's more, human thirst for the packaging type is nearing
the unquenchable. Fortune Business Insights estimates that the global canned food market
is growing and will top $100 billion by 2027 — which means that maybe it's time to have the talk.
"Look at this! What's the matter with these cans?"
There are certain canned foods that you should never invite into your kitchen;
some, on the other hand, are safer to stock in your pantry than others. This
is something that celebrity chef Michael Symon knows well. Symon,
who sat down with Mashed recently to celebrate his partnership with Contadina,
explained to us his rule of thumb for picking a solid canned food from your supermarket shelf.
Symon won't choose a can based on the beauty of its label. Instead, he reads it. He told Mashed,
"When you grab a can of anything, a very good thing to be aware of immediately is
how much or how little is on the can. If I grab a can of something and it
has 47 different ingredients in it and 39 of them I can't pronounce,
[it's] probably not a good option for me [for] the way that I like to cook or choose to cook."
When it comes to canned foods, Symon said that simple is better, adding,
"When you look at something and you're like, 'Oh, there's not a ton of things listed here,'
we're in a great place right off the rip. That's a very important thing to me. A lot of times with
the canned stuff, there's a lot of things that you can't pronounce, can't say, and that's not
what you're looking for when you're looking for a product. You want less things in the product."
"You want to make sure that you check the product over with any canned good."
As a rule, Symon also stays away from canned foods with artificial flavors,
preservatives, and GMOs. If you're looking specifically for a good canned tomato,
pay attention to how they're peeled and processed. You want something vine-ripened,
and you'll also want them steam peeled, Symon explained,
"[This is] so there's no weirdness going on with how they're choosing to
peel the tomatoes before they end up in the can."
In addition to Symon's advice about ingredients and processing, you should always be sure to
thoroughly examine cans before you purchase them. While your examination should of course
include the label and the expiration date, perhaps even more important is the integrity of the can.
"This is cans everywhere!"
As explained by UnlockFood, the manufacturing process involves heating and vacuum-sealing
the canned goods to kill off and prevent microorganisms from contaminating the
contents. However, if a can gets dented or otherwise damaged, bacteria can get inside
and spoil the food. Leaking cans also signal some kind of damage, and likely contamination.
Another abnormality to look out for is bulging or swelling. You should avoid
buying cans that are damaged in any way so you can avoid food poisoning.
Even after you've examined the canned food ingredients and overall can integrity,
there's one last task: storing your canned goods properly. Many of us
simply shove our canned goods in the pantry or on a shelf in the basement,
which usually works out well enough, but there are a few things to keep in mind.
Canned goods should be kept in a cool, dry place that maintains a fairly stable temperature. You
also don't want to keep canned goods someplace that could get too cold,
as this too can damage the cans' integrity. On the same note,
moisture can cause rusting, and we definitely don't want that.
One last thing to consider is rotating your canned goods. For instance, as you buy new items,
place them behind older items. This ensures that older cans get used first and don't go
to waste. You should also keep track of expiration dates. The USDA recommends
keeping high-acidity canned goods like tomatoes for no more than 18 months,
and low-acidity canned goods like soup for no more than five years.