Recanning?

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Biser

Assistant Cook
Joined
Apr 18, 2008
Messages
14
Location
Ossining, NY
In the big warehouse stores (Sam's Club, Costco, BJ's etc.) they stock large restaurant sized cans of fruits and vegetables. Is it possible to "recan" stuff from these? Take one gallon sized can of fruit cocktail and turn it into human sized portions? Or beans or corn or ...

The price per can is much much better than the normal small household can price. I have a freezer and a real pressure canner.
 
I don't think so. Once you break the seal that stuff needs to be used up. You can likely freeze things in smaller portions but I think recanning would be asking for trouble. You could maybe use the stuff in casseroles or something like that and freeze those in manageable portions.
 
You could by recooking it, the same thing that you have to do once you take something out of the freezer and thaw it. But canned products are not designed to go through that extra cooking/canning process and you would loose all nutritional value and taste, besides turning it in to mush most likely.

I buy in bulk and when I open a can I move it over to sterilized canning jars, vacuum seal the contents, and keep it in the refrigerator. You still have to use it up in a reasonable amount of time but you've added weeks or months to the time frame depending on what it is.
 
In the big warehouse stores (Sam's Club, Costco, BJ's etc.) they stock large restaurant sized cans of fruits and vegetables. Is it possible to "recan" stuff from these? Take one gallon sized can of fruit cocktail and turn it into human sized portions? Or beans or corn or ...

The price per can is much much better than the normal small household can price. I have a freezer and a real pressure canner.


Hi Biser,
In three words - NO, NO and NO.

Once a can has been opened, any unused contents should be placed in a clean receptacle, like a plastic box and used within 2-3 days. If you cannot do this, it is a false economy and not worth buying.

Warehouses sell large cans for restaurants because they can use them! Very rarely will they be suitable for an averaged sized domestic household. The only item which I can think of buying in a catering size would be tomatoes which I would use to make a tomato suace and cool and freeze in appropriately sized portions for use on another day!

Regards,
Archiduc
 
Not to mention that re-canning without the right equipment is also a bacterial hazard :P What the others have said here is right :)
 
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