Let your canned goods get old – and better
March 12, 2013 by LindsayA few months ago, we wrote a blog on how long food can last. In Don’t throw out that food we noted that expiry dates don’t need to be religiously followed – rather it’s your nose that should be. Now one of the best known food scientists, Harold McGee, author of On Food and Cooking, has weighed in on the subject. And he takes the argument one step further – that some food is actually improved by aging.
In his Slate article, Age Your Canned
Goods, he writes that in many cases, he views “best-by dates as
maybe-getting-interesting-by dates.” He explains in detail the
history and process of canning, and especially notes that as a
result of the intense heat canned goods undergo “the overall flavor
is nothing like freshly cooked foods. Food technologists often
refer to it as “retort off-flavor.” But it’s only off in comparison
to the results of ordinary cooking. It’s really just another kind
of cooked flavor, an extremely cooked flavor, and it can be very
good. Canned tuna, sardines, chicken spread, and Spam all have
their own appeal.”
He also points out that expiry dates only reflect a
difference, not necessarily a dimunition, in taste, “Standard
canned goods aren’t generally deemed age-worthy. Food technologists
define shelf life not by how long it takes for food to become
inedible, but how long it takes for a trained sensory panel to
detect a ‘just noticeable difference’ between newly manufactured
and stored cans. There’s no consideration of whether the difference
might be pleasant in its own way or even an improvement – it’s a
defect by definition.”
Being McGee, of course he also conducts a number of experiments, even going so far as braising cans. Enjoy the article and remember not to be a slave to expiry dates.
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