Canned vs Fresh
 

Ladies, I have a non quilting related question.
In most of the recipes I see online canned stuff is used. Why not fresh? Is it too expensive? Too time consuming? Too.......??

I have always thought that canned is always available where fresh is available best in season. But I do know in some recipes fresh has too much water. Canned is a cooked down version of the same taste. Guess it depends upon the recipe.

Also depends on "who canned it?" I can most of our fruits and veggies...and they taste a Whole lot different than what I buy in the store as I use a whole lot less sugar!

I solve that problem by just not using recipes that call for canned goods. I don't really see that much canned goods in the recipes I look at. Where are you looking?

I have seen recipes that called for canned this or that for quick meal preparation. There used to be a show on one of the cooking channels where the host/chef used canned goods in her recipes on every show. Some of it looked good but I prefer to use fresh whenever possible.

We don't buy too many canned veggies or fruits. Those I do buy are of a certain brand like Contadina products, mainly because their products make my spaghetti sauces and chilis taste better.

Our neighbor gives us canned salmon a couple times a year. Makes wonderful salmon patties without searching for all the bones like the canned salmon from the store.

I normally buy frozen vegetables. Some frozen fruit has too much sugar so I read packages. We like fresh strawberries, blueberries but we know frozen is processed at the peak of their flavor so I feel they’re just as good.

Some vegetables have more nutrients when canned. To me it depends on taste. Canned, frozen, or fresh. If it tastes like I want it to taste then I'm fine with any version. I wouldn't give up a good tasting recipe because it had canned ingredients. I'm not going to cook a pot of beans to make baked beans.

Somewhere, I read that frozen veggies are actually "fresher" than the fresh veggies in your store, since they are flash frozen within hours of harvest from the fields. Whereas the "fresh" veggies in your store probalby were harvested 5-7 days ago. Canned veggies could be the same situation. Home canned veggies are another animal altogether--- I do some canning myself, salsa, tomatoes, and a lot of pressure canning (venision, stew, potatoes, etc).

It does depend in what you are making. We have a couple of crab dip recipes that call for canned crab. (Came from 2 different people) So my DH and I thought we would improve it by using fresh crab and it was not better at all. Same with a shrimp and macaroni salad that was an old family recipe for my DH. I don't like green bean casserole unless made with canned green beans. Most it is what you are used to and how you expect it to taste.
When I make beef stew I use fresh ingredients - I do not care for the taste of frozen carrots or beans. Nothing beats fresh corn on the cob in my book but I do prefer frozen over canned, same with peas. I grew up eating canned asparagus but much prefer fresh.
My kids don't understand that we did not have certain fruits and vegetables year round, so we ate a lot of canned or frozen items. My kids think fruit cocktail is gross, and we thought it was great especially if it had the cherry in it.

I too think about the "fresh" fruits and veggies in our store. They don't look so fresh. I know a lot of these foods are stored in a big warehouse then brought to the grocery store and stored in the back of the store until ready to unbox. I read where frozen was the best as far as being fresh unless you have your own garden and can pick your own fruits and veggies. It is a problem.