Was wondering do you guys wash canned food like beans, chickpeas, lentils, green bean, etc. before eating them?
Chick peas, Kidney beans and black beans I always give them a rinse. I don’t need the leftover liquid and I’m not sure if It’s true or not but I assumed giving them a quick rinse makes it easier to digest.
Yes, 100% of the time (when appropriate - see below for exclusions).
I do it, not for cleanliness, but to get rid of as much of the salt/brine I can from things like olives, mushrooms, beans etc.
I don’t, however, wash things like sardines, sloppy joe sauce, tuna, soups and some very soft items that would be destroyed (like refried beans).
Legumes yes because I swear I can feel the starchy & salty water gross goo ickyness in food made from them. Canned vegetables no as long as they are not canned in salt water, I will also generally use the water for something else in the meal as there are lots of dissolved nutrients in that water. Canned fish it depends what its canned in and how i’m preparing it, if I am going to be sauteing something with sardines ill use the olive oil as its delicious.
Hi this is completely unrelated and I’m sure I could’ve just made a different post for this but didn’t feel like it was worth the effort but if anyone is reading and has expertise - what is the verdict on washing store bought raw chicken? I’ve heard some people do some people don’t and I never have, I’ve just cooked it right out of the packaging. What is the reasoning behind washing raw chicken? Salmonella?
The only thing we really ever get that is canned are beans, tomatoes, olives, and chiles. I always rinse the beans, unless I am refry-ing them because the liquid comes in handy. I don’t rinse tomatoes, olives, or chiles though.
I always wash canned beans, because I am on a limited sodium diet. I am not thrilled about washing away extra nutrients in the brine, and I do try to buy no salt added products so that I don’t have to do this. But they aren’t always available, and are more expensive. I don’t have the executive function skills to keep up with managing soaking and cooking of dried beans on a regular basis.
I rinse them off mainly because I don’t like the brine. But no, you don’t need to wash canned goods
Before canning, the container must be sterilized beforehand, to prevent bacteria from growing and developing in the jar/can. It’s a very very serious thing
It’s extremely rare for something like this to be an issue with commercially canned goods, since they have to be canned in a facility, under various regulations (as opposed to someone cannint something in their kitchen, where their sterilization practices may be questionable)
Basically what I’m saying is… there is nothing to be “washed” because the contents of the container were already cleared for that before being canned. They are clean enough to eat, if you chose not to rinse off the brine
I wash foods before cooking or eating them raw. It’s taking little effort and may prevent me from ingesting chemicals, etc. Having read the long list of things put with the food I want I think it is worth the effort! It’s not going to matter if the food in a can, bag or picked from a bin, wash it!
Chickpeas, usually no. We use chickpea liquid from the can, called aquafaba, in our whiskey sours. If you shake up chickpea aquafaba in a cocktail shaker for a minute, it’s a good substitute for egg whites in whiskey sours.
Depends on what it is and how I want it. For me: Chickpeas yes, for the texture. Black beans: yes if I’m putting them someplace dry and separately seasoned, like in a quesadilla or nacho plate, or adding them to something where they’re not the central flavor/protein; less likely for like beans and rice.
Fish? No. But I do drain.
Veggies? I don’t think I’ve intentionally rinsed canned vegetables. At most I drain em. I’ve only “used” canned spinach once, I think I hated it, at minimum I probs should’ve rinsed it.