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The Can Opener Gourmet
More Than 200 Quick & Delicious Recipes Using Ingredients from Your Pantry
By Laura Karr OPEN ROAD INTEGRATED MEDIA
Copyright © 2002 Laura Karr
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-5040-1113-6
CHAPTER 1
Getting Started
Gourmet cooking has become one of America's favorite pastimes. In fact, foodies seem to follow cooking shows the way groupies once followed the Grateful Dead, hoping to glean something new from each performance. But the problem, to quote comedian Richard Jeni, is that many of these celebrity chefs are using "spices you never heard of, tools you can't afford, in kitchens nicer and bigger than my house."
But what if there was a different way to cook altogether? What if regular folks could create truly delicious meals quickly, with foods in season or not, without preservatives, and knowing the exact nutritional value of each dish? The answer to that question is probably already in your cupboard, waiting patiently for you to notice it. It's called "canned food," and you're about to learn a new way to cook with it.
How This Got Started
The thing is, it never used to occur to me to use canned items other than tomato sauce. Then I got married and came face-to-face with the ugly specter of preparing some kind of meal every night, not just for special occasions and not just peanut butter with a side of popcorn. Suddenly, marriage made that seem wrong somehow.
After about a year I understood how being the only person in the house who can cook might work against me. Man, it was a huge pain. Not only making the food, but the monotony of thinking up something, anything, then shopping, chopping, cooking, and cleaning up afterwards. I began to look for easier ways to make dishes we liked. This was a challenge because both my husband and I were pretty picky eaters, despite the peanut-butter-and-popcorn confession (although the peanut is a legume and popcorn is a grain, so there you have the amino acid chain for a whole protein).
One of my hobbies had been to re-create some of the dishes we'd been served in some of our favorite fine restaurants. I was pretty good at guessing ingredients and usually had the right ones on hand or at least knew which markets might carry them. But as every cook knows, lack of ingredients is the mother of invention. For me, it was the pork loin chops with plum sauce.
I'd already set out the chops to thaw when it occurred to me that not only did I not have any plum sauce, I didn't have any plums, and they weren't even in season. And if Icould find plums, I'd have to cook and puree them, and where did I store that silly food processor anyway?
Then I remembered something: Once I was in a grocery store with a friend who had to buy baby food for her nephew. "That vanilla pudding isn't too bad," she had said.
Momentarily horrified, I thought about it. Baby food was food, after all. But I had assumed that it was full of bland combinations along the lines of pureed turkey with Brussels sprouts, specially made for burgeoning baby digestive systems and their alien nutritional needs.
But I was desperate. And curious. I went to the grocery store and to my surprise found baby jars of pureed plums with apples. Checking the label for ingredients, I was shocked to learn that the only ingredients were real plums, apples, and water — no additives or preservatives. That made sense. It was for babies, after all. No one would sell chemicals to babies.
Now, I must tell you I don't have a baby and I felt pretty silly in the checkout line with all those tiny little jars. I had an excuse ready should my checker ask: I was buying the food for my niece. My alleged niece (no one asked), who ate a lot of plums.
Back home, I poured them all into a pan. Yep, the consistency was pretty good. All it needed was a little rice vinegar and, well, you can read about it in "Sauces and Dressings."
The sauce was really good. And I felt as if I had stumbled onto a great shortcut that used natural ingredients I could find any time of year. Can't say that about fresh plums.
Next, I started slipping in some canned corn here, some marinated roasted red peppers there. I used that combination on my pesto pizza ... nobody noticed. In fact, it became an instant favorite. And before I knew it I was haunting the canned food aisles, furtively dumping in white asparagus and sliced mushrooms. Then I dipped my toe into uncharted waters — canned roast beef. I was afraid but reasoned that I had eaten beef soup, chili con carne, and beef stew from cans, so what was my problem? One Beef Stroganoff Sauvignon later and I had no problem.
Then other ideas occurred to me. We had had wonderful butternut squash soup at our favorite fine restaurant and I wanted to make it at home. But did I really want to seed, chop, boil, and puree a big ol' squash in order to make that soup? Nope.
Back at the grocery store it turned out that babies do, indeed, eat butternut squash. They also eat sweet potatoes, which seemed like a good way to add sweetness without overpowering the squash. Six squash and sweet potato jars later, I had the base for my Butternut Squash and Apple Soup. Woo-hoo!
I started brainstorming about all the ways I could substitute the already cooked and pureed natural ingredients packaged in those tiny jars. One time I went to the checkout counter with about ten jars of baby food and a bottle of vodka for a marinade. Baby food and vodka — they must have thought I was the worst mother in the world!
Then the baby food idea spread to other canned items. Sweet young peas went pretty well in my Indian Samosas. Draining canned spinach made it perfect for use in my Greek Spinach and Feta Pastry or my Spinach Gnocchi.
I was giddy. Everything tasted great and it was like having my own personal sous-chef! (I've never been big on all the chopping and preparation that's necessary with so many recipes.) And the ingredients were suddenly available year-round. I could store them indefinitely, which cut down on my trips to the store. It also cut down on my husband's occasional sorties to find an ingredient I'd forgotten. He just didn't get the whole supermarket "endless variety" thing and would call me several times from the store so I could talk him through his mission and ensure he came back with the right stuff. An onion is not a "seen one, seen 'em all" kind of vegetable.
Anyway, it went on like that until it finally hit me: What if you could make entire gourmet meals using only pure ingredients stored in cans and jars? But still, it was canned. What goes into this stuff? I did some research and learned many interesting facts about canned items.
Things You Didn't Know About Canned Foods
It turns out that canned foods have been around a long, long time. In fact it was Napoleon, the man who said "An army marches on its stomach," who kicked off what would be the beginning of the canned food industry. In 1795 he offered 12,000 francs to anyone who could find a way to preserve food so that he could feed his military wherever they might march.
In 1809, Nicolas Appert collected the reward for his method of sealing food inside a jar or bottle, heating it, and leaving it sealed until it was ready for consumption. It would be another fifty years before Louis Pasteur found that heat killed microorganisms and the seal prevented others from invading.
The very next year, in England, tin-coated iron cans were developed (no more breakage), and this technology spread to the United States a few years later. By the end of the nineteenth century the first automatic can-making machines were introduced, and by 1955 canned foods even proved safe to eat after participating in nuclear testing in Nevada.
Besides representing the ultimate in food preservation and storage, canned foods offer some surprising health and convenience benefits.
THEY'RE GOOD FOR YOUR BODY
* Canned food (and thus your cooking) is nearly always additive-free. The heat process sterilizes the food and the vacuum process preserves it indefinitely, without the use of preservatives.
* Baby food, used in many of my sauces, cakes, and soups, is also virtually additive-free; it's usually just the fruit or vegetable pureed with a little water.
THEY ELIMINATE PESTICIDE RESIDUE AMD OTHER PESKY VARMINTS
* Commercial canning not only destroys bacteria that cause food spoilage, but can also eliminate as much as 99 percent of the pesticide residues occasionally found infresh produce. This is accomplished through the normal washing, peeling, blanching, and heat processing of canned fruits and vegetables.
* Canned tuna does not carry the risk of histamine poisoning, as does fresh tuna.
THEY SEAL IN NUTRITION
* Because fruits and vegetables are generally harvested at their peak and then quickly heat-sterilized and sealed, canned items do not lose their nutritional potency in the same way as many "fresh" foods that sit in warehouses, then in trucks, and then on grocery shelves. Canned foods are also preserved in their own juices, which contain much nutritive value that is often lost with many home-cooking methods.
THEIR NUTRITIONAL VALUE IS KNOWN
* Professional food processors have already calculated nutritive values for you in accordance with government requirements, making it easier for you to make health-conscious choices.
THEY'RE GOOD FOR YOUR BUSY LIFE
Canned food
* Keeps virtually forever.
* Is readily available year-round, in season or not.
* Is already prepared for use — chopped, diced, pureed, etc.
* Offers great variety — 2,500 canned products are available, with 1,500 types of foods.
* Is usually (more than 90 percent of canned items) packaged in recyclable steel, with approximately 20,000 steel cans being recycled in the United States every minute. (That's not about being busy, it's just nice to know.)
So, imagine a supply run being no farther than your own pantry. Imagine a crisper not filled with brown goo (formerly known as carrots) because you didn't use the contents in time. Imagine being able to simply assemble and heat entire great-tasting meals.
For me, these were ideas whose time had come.
A FEW TIPS AND THE LOWDOWN ON STORAGE
After you read this section or before you go grocery shopping, you may want to see Appendix 2, "Stocking Your Pantry," beginning on page 279. You can use it as a shopping checklist if you wish, but it may also help you decide what to buy, taking into consideration your cooking and storage-space requirements.
BARGAINS
First, I want to tell you that you can find inexpensive canned food in the darnedest places. Those "everything's a dollar" stores often offer great deals. I also find bargains at drugstores and general discount stores. Just keep your eyes peeled.
DIETARY CONCERNS
Canned food is known for being high in salt, but that's not always the case. For instance, most folks are shocked to learn that tomato puree averages only 15 milligrams of sodium per ¼-cup serving. If you're concerned about your diet, read labels. There are low-salt, low-fat, and low-sugar versions of many canned foods. Just keep in mind that you may have to increase other spices or flavorings to compensate, and you'll do just fine.
EVAPORATED MILK
What is it? It's simply milk that's twice as concentrated because the moisture content has been reduced by 50 to 60 percent. It makes wonderful sauces, soups, and desserts and is an excellent substitute for half-and-half. To make milk, just combine equal parts evaporated milk and water. Never run out of milk again!
One other thing — I've seen countless cookbooks promising that if you chill evaporated milk and beat furiously, you can make whipped cream. I have tried and tried and never succeeded. Let me know if the secret is ever revealed to you.
EXPIRATION?
Expiration dates are rarely found on canned foods. Those numbers on the bottom are manufacturers' internal codes telling them when and where the foods were processed. However, many companies are now printing a "freshness/use by" date.
The general rule of thumb is this: Canned goods will remain fresh in your pantry for two years after the date of purchase. They actually have an indefinite shelf life if stored at 75°F or less. Canned food as old as one hundred years has been found in sunken ships and it was still micro-biologically safe.
That doesn't mean that after several years canned goods are guaranteed to retain all their flavor, because flavor can fade over extended periods. But it does mean that they retain all their nutritional value and are perfectly safe to eat well after the two years.
STORING LEFTOVERS
If you don't use the entire contents of your can, you may cover and refrigerate the unused portion, although I strongly suggest placing the food in a storage container first to avoid the development of off flavoring. And always transfer tomato products to other nonmetallic containers.
SAFETY
That hissing sound? Some cans do hiss slightly when opened because they are vacuum-packed. But if a can practically explodes or spurts when opened, the food could be spoiled. Likewise, if the can is severely dented or bulging, don't buy it. When in doubt, throw it out or return it to your grocery store. Slight dents, however, are not a problem. Just use good judgment.
TOMATOES
Don't let them get too old (use within about six months). While they will keep indefinitely, they can develop a tinny taste over time. And because of the strong acid content in tomatoes (and lemons and vinegar), be aware of the type of pan you use when cooking them. Stay away from all-aluminum and pure copper pans, as they react strongly with the acid, producing a bitter aftertaste. In the case of copper, the combination can be toxic. Use nonreactive, coated, combination or stainless steel pans.
COCOA POWDER
One of the things I like about cocoa powder is that it's so versatile. You can use it to make hot cocoa or in place of baking chocolate. The powdered form is relatively inexpensive, potent, stores indefinitely, and doesn't melt on you in the summer; and when you use it with oils, you can choose a cholesterol-lowering oil such as safflower instead of getting the hydrogenated (saturated) fat of cocoa butter that normally comes in bars of baking chocolate. Remember, it's not the chocolate itself that's fatty.
EGGS, CHEESE, BUTTER, AND MILK
Did you know you can freeze each of these items? One of the advantages of freezing foods we normally think of as refrigerator perishables is that they're there when you need them, just like canned goods. Besides, you can take advantage of bulk and sale prices (one of my favorite pastimes).
Eggs cannot be frozen in their shells, however. You may freeze whites and yolks separately or together, starting them in ice-cube trays, for example, and then moving them into sealed containers. Be sure to keep track of how many you put in each parcel for measuring purposes later. The Joy of Cooking has a great section with specific instructions on how to package just about anything for freezing and gives guidelines for how long they can be kept. The Egg Handling and Care Guide (American Egg Board) says you can freeze eggs for up to a year.
Cheese is one of my favorite things to freeze, although I don't freeze it in bricks because it tends to get crumbly. Instead, I put it through my shredder. One sandwich-size Ziploc bag holds about 8 ounces of shredded cheese and is perfect for topping vegetables, salads, and pizzas or for quick snacks such as nachos or quesadillas. Cheese should be used within about six months.
Butter and milk don't need any special packaging before freezing. I like to use them within a few months, though.
SPICES
You've probably noticed that spices are very expensive. If you have absolutely none, I recommend you buy salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and cinnamon to get started. And pay attention to the garlic and onion powder — it's easy to buy garlic and onion salt by mistake. Not only do you add a bunch of extra salt to your dish, but some brands contain extra chemical agents.
I've also noticed that you can buy larger amounts of spices much more cheaply in your grocer's ethnic foods section.
ORGANIZATION
This one's tough, because everyone has a different amount of space in his or her kitchen and pantry. There are, however, a couple of ways you can go about organizing your shelves so that there are fewer instances of doubling, running out, or transforming your cabinet into a time capsule. Try to rotate the newest purchases to the back so the older ones get used sooner. (I know, in a perfect world ... but do it when you can.)
I've heard of people who organize canned goods by the color of the food. They put greens, reds, yellows, etc. in separate sections.
Personally, I like to organize by category: vegetables, meats/fish, soups/chilies, fruits, and strays such as Worcestershire sauce, pickles, and hot sauce. That's not to say everything in my pantry is arranged with military precision. My cabinets are arranged more in a "close enough is good enough" style.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Can Opener Gourmet by Laura Karr. Copyright © 2002 Laura Karr. Excerpted by permission of OPEN ROAD INTEGRATED MEDIA.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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