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Tinned fruit and veg hits and misses

55 replies

Al1Langdownthecleghole · 06/04/2020 14:53

Apologies for such a boring thread.

I'm writing a shopping list for the week and whereas I normally would buy a lot of fresh fruit and veg, and do one or two top-up shops for fresh salad etc. Obviously, that's not an option right now, so I'm working out how to make a week's shopping last, by buying a mix of fresh and frozen stuff.

Could tins help? I usually have chickpeas, tomatoes and sweetcorn in the cupboard, but what about things like mushrooms? are they OK in tins for use in a casserole or just too horrible?

So - what would you recommend, and what should I definitely avoid?

OP posts:
RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 06/04/2020 15:48

Oh yes - I like tinned pears too. especially in lime jelly!

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 06/04/2020 15:48

I love frozen broad beans, but haven't seen them anywhere for ages.

WickedlyPetite · 06/04/2020 15:53

Tinned peaches smell like feet.

Tinned pears and dates are lovely though.

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PigletJohn · 06/04/2020 15:57

tinned grapefruit makes a nice breakfast. Mandarins and pears good. We always get the "in juice" not the "in syrup" ones. The juice is OK.

Standard own-brand tinned tomatoes good, we usually get the chopped ones as they go in sauce or casserole. "value" range is made with the discard tomatoes, and for a few pence saved, not worth getting.

Ketchup can be used if you haven't got tomato paste. we usually have a tube of garlic puree in the fridge, but grow garlic in the garden (very easy) so never use it....

Thinking of growing herbs in pots or a window box.

Tomatoes are very easy to grow in the ground, preferably against a sunny wall. Pots or bags need a LOT of watering and feeding

Cocolapew · 06/04/2020 15:58

Tinned crushed pineapple makes a nice crumble.

BiddyPop · 06/04/2020 16:10

I have a lot of chickpeas, various types of beans, some tomatoes, and almost out of sweetcorn.

All get used quite frequently, even without a lockdown situation - DD makes a nice bean taco dinner with the beans and some corn, fried up with some fajita seasoning, and served with wraps, tomato salsa, guacamole, crème fraiche/sour cream, sliced tomatoes/lettuce, and grated cheese. Most of that is still doable from storecupboard ingredients - there is even long life guacamole and sour cream in the Mexican shelf in supermarkets!!

I usually have a couple of different tins that go into Chinese stir fries - bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts etc. These can help to stretch out whatever mixture of the last half a pepper, 3 mushrooms, 1 carrot, an onion, few leaves of cabbage or handful of brussels sprouts.....as a vegetarian meal, or include whatever meat/fish we have, even if that's a mix of a thinly sliced piece of leftover roast pork (from freezer), and lamb (from freezer), and some fresh chicken or some prawns (fresh, frozen, tinned) for a wide variety of stir fries.

I've never tried tinned mushrooms, but I get dried ones from the Chinese supermarket and use them in stir fries too, but mostly to make things like mushroom risottos. Again, not necessarily a lockdown dish, but the variety may be reduced in lockdown. If you carefully pour the water used to rehydrate the mushrooms into a pot afterwards (slowly, so any dusty residue/grit from the mushrooms doesn't go into the pot), you can heat that up and use it as part of the stock to cook the rice for an added hit of flavour and less actual stock needed.

I also have a couple of jars of olives, sundried tomatoes and peppers which are good for salads.

We love tinned pears, usually just on their own, but I am trying to do some baking with them too. And peaches.

In terms of other ways for longer lasting fruit and veg:
Frozen can be great if you have freezer space. We much prefer petits pois to "peas" as they are smaller and more tender. I'm not great about keeping frozen veg otherwise, but most seem to be fine that I have tried. Smoothie mixes are good too for fruit - either to make smoothies or to have chunks defrosted and served with icecream or similar, or to dollop on top of a meringue with cream - either mago based ones, or berry based ones.

Onions last ages in a cool, dark cupboard - well beyond the week. Same with garlic, although that is trying to sprout at this time of year. And potatoes.

Cauliflower and carrots tend to last well in the fridge for 2-3 weeks. Also broccoli and cabbage are relatively long lasting.

Even peppers, mushrooms, courgettes, mangetout, sugar snaps, French beans, etc should all last at least a week relatively ok. The fastest of those to need using up would be mushrooms.

I keep tomatoes out of the fridge, and they generally last a fortnight or more.

And in the bowl on the table, I have oranges, apples, kiwis, lemons, limes (and a butternut squash), most of which last weeks and weeks. The fastest fruit that needs to be eaten from there is bananas (any that go black get used in banana bread, and can be frozen to use later if you don't have enough or the time to do it when they need to be used). The fastest fruit generally needing to be used are berries, which we keep in the fridge - if they start to be less desirable, I whizz them in the smoothie maker with no juice and freeze them (in ice cube trays) as pure berry puree, to add to smoothies later.

motherofgod2 · 06/04/2020 16:14

I love tinned fruit ! Tinned peaches, apricots, pears, pineapple and mandarin are all regular buys. My favourites are peaches and apricots. I often have them with yoghurt for breakfast. Just get the ones in juice and rinse it off. Frozen wise I love Mango chunks. The Aldi ones are particularly nice.

With veg only really carrots and sweetcorn in tins but I like the frozen bags of green beans, peas l, sweetcorn (but tinned is nicer) and mixed veg. I still buy fresh but it's nice to have extra there in the freezer. I find that potatoes last for about two weeks if kept in the fridge so I wouldn't worry about buying them.

BobbinThreadbare123 · 06/04/2020 16:15

Tinned fruit is usually good in all forms. Anyone else love tinned fruit cocktail and evaporated milk?!
Just don't ever get tinned asparagus - it is bloody vile.

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 06/04/2020 16:22

Yes to tinned bamboo shoots, and beansprouts at a push. I hate water chestnuts though - evil crunchy little bastards.

Jarred artichokes are lovely on pizza, or in a risotto.

I buy red peppers when there's a glut (and I don't mind green either, although many dislike - I hate yellow ones) and chop and freeze with onions, carrots and garlic, to form the basis of a spag Bol or chilli.

morecoffeerequired · 06/04/2020 16:28

Tinned fruit makes great crumble. I use it a lot, especially peaches and apricots.

MogHog · 06/04/2020 16:33

Tinned potatoes done in the actifry are not that bad with a fair bit of seasoning/spices.

We had a tin of marrowfat peas the other night. Not had them for ages and I had forgot just how good they are

MrsCatE · 06/04/2020 16:37

Only tinned fruit that is almost as nice as fresh are lychees however, I drain off the syrup because pure sugar.

WarmSausageTea · 06/04/2020 16:41

Tinned beans/chickpeas make a brilliant bean salad, along with sweet corn, and, a bit niche, but tinned artichoke in there, too. Don’t buy the tinned ready mixed bean salad, it tastes of futility and regret.

Tinned fruit for breakfast, but in juice is better than syrup. Tinned prunes are bloody lovely. I prefer mine cold from the fridge. Again, avoid tinned fruit salad, generally disappointing.

I like potato salad made with tinned potatoes. I might be in a minority here, but it’s a hill I’m prepared to die on.

Al1Langdownthecleghole · 06/04/2020 16:42

I'd forgotten ratatouille - I sometimes use it for a lazy mousakka type dish, so that's a good thought. Overall, I'm sensing more love for tinned fruit than veg Grin.

OP posts:
ThonBitch · 06/04/2020 16:45

Don't think anyone's mentioned frozen spinach. It's amazing in a Thai green curry

FlamingoAndJohn · 06/04/2020 16:46

Can you still get tinned coleslaw or did that die out in he 70s?

Toomanycats99 · 06/04/2020 16:52

I don't like frozen mushrooms - I find they have a funny taste!

ErrolTheDragon · 06/04/2020 16:56

You can definitely buy fruits and veg which will last a week - many of the 'harder' items will last longer. So, eat the berries before the apples and the salad before the carrots etc.

Tinned and frozen fruit and veg is useful for if you have to self isolate for longer, so get some and put it away.

Al1Langdownthecleghole · 06/04/2020 16:58

Don't think anyone's mentioned frozen spinach. It's amazing in a Thai green curry

Not tried it in curry, but I can confirm it's a good way to get green stuff into pasta.

OP posts:
QuestionableMouse · 06/04/2020 17:37

I fry frozen mushrooms in quite a lot of garlic butter and have them on toast. Not very often but my god it's delicious.

PigletJohn · 06/04/2020 18:57

I've tried tinned potatoes but never found them any good. They look like they should be salad potatoes or new potatoes. Any tips?

Lindy2 · 06/04/2020 19:00

We regularly have tinned peaches, pineapple and manderines. My children really enjoy them so it's a good way to get them to eat fruit.

I also like tinned carrots and sweetcorn.

Janaih · 06/04/2020 19:04

Tinned potatoes make delicious Spanish omelettes. Lazy tinned onions are tasty too.

Fivefourthree · 06/04/2020 19:05

+1 for the utter vileness of tinned mushrooms
I would highly recommend the book 'Tin Can Cook' by Jack Monroe which is currently available on kindle for 99p
She has an amazing knack for making very tasty meals from tinned food.

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 06/04/2020 19:10

I only like tinned mandarins in orange jelly. Used to make a chocolate and orange trifle with them years ago, and now I really fancy it!