Interesting article that addresses one of the issues about ‘cooking in cans’:
It used to be a thing that you could cook heat your canned food, say, some Chef Boyardee for example, by putting the can in boiling water. When the food was heated all the way through you could open the can and eat. No muss, no fuss.
The change in this practice started a while back when cans were starting to incorporate plastic liners in them to help keep the cans from rusting and avoid flavor issues from the contents of the can reacting with metal….you can see this most notably in high-acid foods like tomatoes and pineapple which will eventually react with the can in a way that leaves a black ‘mold’ in the can.
This article seems to suggest that if there is an issue with the cans used these days, the negative impact is as minimal as the risk you get from microwaving your food in a plastic container.
I suppose that in a crisis, two or three days of canned ravioli heated in boiling water will do you far less damage than not eating at all, but I think I’m still inclined to just have a quality mess kit and a way to clean it. I am curious, however, about retort pouches. Obviously MRE’s are designed from the ground up to be heated in boiling water. But what about things like pouches of tuna and chicken from the supermarket? Just as boilable as MRE’s? Or are we back to worrying about plastic liners becoming part of our GI tract?
On the other hand, most foods that are canned are already cooked and simply need to be re-heated to be tasty. That doesn’t mean they can’t be eaten cold…just means they won’t be as enjoyable. And ‘not enjoyable’ beats starvation any day of the week.
The British army for years well into the 90’s issued canned food and cooked it by putting it into water. They used to put a hole or two in the lid just using a can opener. If they did not know if they would be moving off before it was done, the trick was to put a large dint on the side and when cooking, when the dent was filled out it was cooked.I would not do these on cans with a pull lid. I’ve been told many times that it worked fine but many have told me you would not want to make tea (British Army) with the water, instant coffee was OK.
The Danish army also used canned rations, at least in the 80s. They taught the same process, dent the can, then slightly open it to allow v venting. They heated the can on an solid fuel stove similar to Esbit. I only had one can “pop” and spew out dinner due to my not opening it enough.
Commander:
I imagine the keyboard commandoes in the back 0ffices of retort-based systems wouldn’t allow anything TOO poisonous in the retort materials.
At least I hope so…
Ceejay
The Canned Food Alliance website – https://www.mealtime.org/faq/
Can canned food be heated in its container?
Yes. If it is necessary to heat canned food in the container, the top must be removed to prevent pressure build-up. The opened container may be covered loosely with a piece of aluminum foil. Then place the can in a saucepan of hot water and simmer on the stove top. Food cans should never be placed in a microwave for heating. To heat canned food in the microwave, open the can and place the contents in a microwave-safe container.
Interesting, I wonder what the real level of hazard this would be.
A lot of Boy Scouts I know have heated canned foods for years of campouts and I’m pretty sure some BPA lined tins were involved.
They may also have been using aluminum coffee pots and such. Seems that’s hazardous also?
Is it your screwed hazard level OR it’s California where everything gives you cancer level warnings?
Given the power issues you’ve had in your area perhaps even now such “dangerous” methods are being used?
How IS the Power Grid recovery in your area friend?
Canning in a food can involves heating the food up to kill the bugs and cook it in the can. I am having trouble seeing the difference in that and your brief reheating. In fact, the canning process is much longer.
stainless steel cookware, and the latest titanium when available/affordable, is one of the must have in the kit. Super cheap at Goodwill. Boil water, melt snow, heat up food, hot toddies, etc. now that we can’t even trust cans anymore!
I remember this cooking cans in hot water filled vessel with the unsubmerged top of can cut to prevent pressure build-up. The thought of cooking can was 1) no dirty pot to clean – sanitize. 2) If rapid deployment was required, the can (wrapped could be carried away quickly, the vessel emptied and packed away. Armour and Dinty Moore Beef Stew along with crackers was the menu – good stuff ! Spam and Treet cans left in full sun and flipped alternatively provided warmed (but not cooked) food t put in sandwiches or eaten alone if you felt like a savage, lol.
Many made inexpensive DIY cook pots with cans, piercing opposite sides with wire to hang over fire. I still have a couple of those stashed in odd corners. Even made a very lightweight 5 litre Heineken beer can into a pot but it is rather fragile in a pack that can be crushed.
I worked in a cannery as a young man and I would point out that ALL canned foods are cooked in the can after they are sealed in order to kill any bacteria that may be present…..usually in an autoclave. Therefore fears of the lining are minimal…..
i was wondering if anybody was going to point that out. bravo.
In my opinion, the hype about BPA is WAY overwrought – it’s a tiny amount and an even tinier amount makes it into you.
To me, this whole subject is a part of bureaucracy and Safetyism where there is always something to stoke fear and justify more regulations. When all the big stuff that is actual hazard has been addressed, they have to find ever smaller things to worry about. Often the only way to justify it is ever tighter rules that ban what is perfectly safe.
Isn’t the food cooked in the canning process? So all you have to do is (maybe) heat it up?
Hello All,
Who takes a gas stove or risks revealing their position by fire or smell while in ANY degree of conflict with an enemy? Eat cold then bury your garbage. Even cold food gives off smells but garbage is worse.
When the SHTF here, two-day old aftershave if you have it, will be detected a hundred yards off.
People’s sense of smell will be dulled and heightened at the same time. I’ve seen Picanins (young tribal black kids) follow their noses to find us out around their villages. Game’s up! These are kids who live in smoke fill huts but their sense of smell is still acute.
They didn’t stumble on us… they could smell cigarette smoke a half mile away on a still day. Villages send these kids out on reconnaissance every day since they’re harmless. It’s their Early Warning System. You give them a bag of sugar and leave to infiltrate another area with hopefully no detection. Before you leave, you kick the guy’s arse who was sneaking a smoke.
When it gets bad enough here, your situation will transform to the same.
Cooking or heating in package tins? Eat cold and savor your hot meals for a secure area. I’ve seen some guys puking their guts out from cooking in the can it was packaged in. It may have been the Rhodie canning. Still don’t recommend.
Termini…
Jack Lawson
Member, Sully H. deFontaine Special Forces Association Chapter 51, Las Vegas, Nevada
Author of the “Civil Defense Manual,” “The Slaver’s Wheel,” “A Failure of Civility,” “And We Hide From The Devil” and “In Defense.” Go to http://www.CivilDefenseManual.com
“We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand watch as our guardians in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm. A soldier must seize every advantage to defeat his opponent. He must strike swiftly and strike hard… he who dares… wins. But under all circumstances those guardians must stand ready to protect the innocent and those too weak or unable to defend themselves…” – Often spoken quote of New Zealander Martin O. of my unit 1RLI Support Commando, Killed In Action – Africa 1979 – He was my friend
From Jack Lawson… an American in 1RLI Support Commando and attached to Rhodesian “C Squadron” SAS Africa 1976-79
Dont have anything useful to add, just a reminisce. In 1969, while in the phillipines we were battened down for a typhoon at Clark AFB. We were hanging around our shops and getting sent out on labor details. They dropped some “C rations”* around for us to eat and being a welding shop we had the means to heat our food. A co worker walked in and wanted to know how we had hot food, I just told him set the can on a vice and heat it with an acetylene torch. I may have forgotten to tell him to open the can and i certainly forgot he was the second dumbest numbnuts I had ever seen in uniform. A couple minutes later we heard a pop, then howling. He had not opened the can and it blew up covering him with hot food. This the same guy that tried to heat water in a plastic bucket with a big torch. * c rations? Some sort of food in a can, Hey, I was air force, you know dining facilities, swimming pools, bowling alleys etc it was about the only time I saw food in little cans.
Some sort of ‘food’?
Did you ever have the lima beans and ham? Or the scrambled eggs?
I always tried to get the spaghetti and meatballs. And I would eat it cold. Too much trouble to heat up a C-Rat and if you sit too long then the leeches get you.
A long time ago cooking a meal on a truck engine while driving was a thing.. Lots of tin foil and wire in place with coat hangers. Back when microwaves cost more than TV and truck stops might not be on your route. Canned goods were possible if they could be secured upright to allow top to be punctured and not spill
Back in the later 1970’s – I is old – there was a craze for doing this, and there were even books out about it.