Substituting fresh vegetables/fruits for canned
I've made a commitment this year to reduce the amount of waste coming out of my home. This includes cooking and buying in smaller portions so less is composted and paying attention to what kind of packaging my food comes in, so it can be eliminated wherever possible and recycled other times. Part of this is I'd like to drastically reduce the amount of canned products I buy. I know cans can be recycled, but I figure it takes energy to convert that can into something else, so it's still better if I buy less of them.
In attempt to reduce the amount of failed trials with trying to substitute fresh produce for canned, does anyone have any tips as to where my efforts may not be worth it?
For example, my sister is telling me that if a recipe calls for canned tomatoes, it's usually better to just listen. Another recipe I tried to sub fresh pineapple for canned in a dessert and learned that the acid in fresh pineapple destroys the gelatin proteins so that is why my dessert didn't set. [Edit: It's the enzymes in pineapple, not the acid. I actually knew that and just mis-typed, but thank you, Joe, for the correction!]
If it helps, I live in Vancouver, BC, Canada (to give you an idea of what is grown locally during what season). I have not ventured into canning endeavors yet, but I do have a stand-up deep freeze so I freeze a lot of stuff myself. I do not have a garden, so everything is bought from a store that sells organic, local-whenever-possible groceries.
Thank you in advance!
Best Answer
Tomatoes are one of the few things I use from cans, mostly because they have more flavor than the ones you usually get at the grocery store, but about 2-3 good-sized, ripe tomatoes substitute just fine for a can.
The canning process includes heating the food being canned, so using fresh fruits and veggies might require more cooking to get the same effect or texture in a dish, and as was noted in the comments, could also cause some other effects like denaturing enzymes. If you're preparing a recipe that doesn't require you to cook the canned veggies, you may want to steam or blanch their fresh counterparts before adding to the recipe.
I find the can also affects the flavor, but not in a good way, so I wouldn't worry about that difference ;-)
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Is canned fruit a good substitute for fresh fruit?
According to the USDA's Dietary Guidelines, adults should eat at least 2 servings of fruit each day. And canned fruit can absolutely be just as healthy (if not more) than its fresh counterpart.How do canned fruits and vegetables compare to fresh and frozen forms?
Canned foods are cooked prior to packaging, so they are recipe-ready. Canning locks in the nutrients at their peak of freshness, and, consequently, they have a long shelf life. Frozen foods require little preparation \u2013 the washing and slicing is already done.What is the difference between fresh fruit and canned fruit?
Canned fruit will have lower amounts of vitamin C compared to fresh fruit, since the canning process depletes some of the vitamin. However, vitamin C levels remain constant throughout the shelf life of canned fruit.Are canned fruits and vegetables as good as fresh?
Canned foods can be just as nutritious as fresh and frozen foods because canning preserves many nutrients. The amount of minerals, fat-soluble vitamins, protein, fat and carbohydrate remain relatively unchanged by the process of canning.Canned Vs Frozen Vs Fresh fruit \u0026 Veggies
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