Stocking up on tinned stuff?

[postie]

I was wondering what the thoughts are about buying tinned stuff for the stockpile.

Obviously tinned stuff has a long shelf life and all that, but my question is:

Is it better to buy more lower quality (value) tins, or better quality, but less of, the more expensive own brand type stuff? Basically, Tesco's Value Baked Beans over Heinz Baked beans etc? Or do you go for the mid-range price stuff?
(example, 4 tins of tesco value BB = about 1 tin of Heinz.)

I can't see there being any real difference in the quality of the packaging, tins is tins after all.

At the moment, cos we aint loaded, pretty much everything we've bought has been of the value variety, except where there isn't a noticeable difference in cost.

Any thoughts on this would be welcome

[biffvernon]

Be careful do distinguish between that which is of the value variety and that which is of greater value.

[snow hope]

And how does one do that Biff?

I tend to buy extras of things when they are on offer or when on BOGOF. It is very important to try to rotate the stock, which I am not always successful in doing. But then again I regularly eat stuff which is out of date and I rarely have any problems with it. If it looks okay and smells okay, then I am happy - that's the way it used to work until the big con of sell-by dates was introduced!

For instance I like to buy cheap, basic muesli. I mix it with a little more wholesome expensive stuff and/or finish off near empty packs of whatever cereal is in the cupboard. Currently I am eating a large pack of Tesco cheap Muesli that is 11 months out of date and it is absolutely fine. I love it, mixed with something a little more exotic or just some plain fruit added!

[Kentucky Fried Panda]

I buy tins in bulk at costco. You have to shop there often to make up for the £30 a year subscription tho. Also good for wool socks and cheap fleece tops.

[DominicJ]

Surprisingly, apparently, Tesco does have its own beans factory.
Sainsburys, Tesco, Branstons and Heinz beans are almost certainly all coming from the same factory.
There are differences in the recipe, but I doubt the canning process changes.

If you eat a "weight loss" chocoloate bar, its almost certainly made in Tywyn in Wales by a company called Halo that no one has ever heard of.
http://www.glistenltd.com/Halo_Foods/Home.aspx?id=5

[adam2]

It is generally accepted that tinned goods keep for longer than suggested by the best before date, though not perhaps forever.
I use a year past the "best before" as a guide.
IME, bargain price tinned goods often have a much shorter date than the full priced well known brands.
It would be best not to purchase dented or otherwise damaged cans.
If a can in my stockpile is dropped and dented I would neither waste it, nor continue to store the tin, but would eat the contents promptly.
Rusted cans should not be purchased. If a stored can developes VERY SLIGHT surface rust I would open it, very carefully examine to ensure that the rust WAS confined to the surface and then eat the contents.

Any regular rusting of stored cans indicates unsuitable storage conditions.

Corned beef, spam, and tuna in oil are all highly nutritous, can be eaten cold, and often have much longer dates than other canned goods.

Dried goods such as pasta keep well and are cheaper than cans, but have the drawback of needing water and at least very basic preperations, whilst tinned foods can be eaten cold cold from the can.

[MrG]

And how does one do that Biff?

Well.. on Tesco value beans.

There is just less beans in the tin than there is in the 'own brand' tin. Or so it seems to me. More juice, less beans. And they aren't even that cheap any more.

[MrG]

Adam what's your verdict on the 'ring pull' type tins. You reckon they last just as long as ordinary ones?

[adam2]

Adam what's your verdict on the 'ring pull' type tins. You reckon they last just as long as ordinary ones?

They seem more vulnerable to accidental damage, and I avoid them, not for any good reason, but simply a distrust of anything less well tried than the traditional can.
The very thin metal that can be opened by pulling on a ring would seem at risk of perforation by even very slight rust that would be less serious on a conventional can.

[emordnilap]

Lots of food in glass these days have the 'button' indicators on the lids, which pop up when the seal is broken. This seems a generally trustworthy indicator of quality along with the ability to actually see the contents in lighter-coloured glass.

Of course there are drawbacks to glass containers (breakage, weight, ingress of light) but overall it seems a better choice where a choice exists. If labels come off, it's less of a problem than cans too!

Thoughts on food in glass containers?

[MrG]

Adam what's your verdict on the 'ring pull' type tins. You reckon they last just as long as ordinary ones?

They seem more vulnerable to accidental damage, and I avoid them, not for any good reason, but simply a distrust of anything less well tried than the traditional can.
The very thin metal that can be opened by pulling on a ring would seem at risk of perforation by even very slight rust that would be less serious on a conventional can.

That was what i suspected

[hardworkinghippy]

I'm a fan of glass jars. We're really lucky I know but we store everything we can in jars.



I do a dozen or so jars most weeks in the summer and autumn or whenever we have a glut of anything. Everything here goes into jars. My partner's granny did the same (Funny how it jumps a generation.) and we've eaten some of her jars which were more than twenty years old and the contents tasted fantastic.

Food that's well sterilised in glass jars is OK but I wouldn't keep cans for longer that a year or so.

The problem is that it takes time to sterilise jars of food and they are really expensive to buy ready made. The jars and all the gubbings are a bit expensive - although they last for possibly more than a generation.

You also need a cool, dark space to keep things in perfect condition and I appreciate that not everyone has that space.

(We've just eaten lunch from a glass jar, easy peasy - heated up and that's it ! )

[PowerswitchClive]

Generally the best advice that I can think of is that you want to store high density food... ie Protein and Carbs. It is after all emergency food. So you want fairly high calories. Having experimented with this subject over the past 7 years. I have found that you can normally double the estimated lifetime of cans. For example a can of corned beef may have a best before date of 4-5 years into the future. I can tell you from experience that 8 years on the corned beef was fine.
You will no doubt have limited space, like us all, so it’s good to start with tinned meats, rice and pasta.
Baked beans may be cheap, but for the space they take, they are not enough calories. They are good for a snack, but you want to think of decent meals for you and your family.
Marks and Spencers, makes very high quality tinned meats (think tinned steak, chilli con carnie, chicken curries and fish) they have a half price sale on at the moment on their canned foods, making most of these £1 to 1.50 a can

[Kentucky Fried Panda]

I store a fair bit of rice pudding, it's very energy rich and can be eaten cold. I can bulk buy tins for a lot less than they're sold individually too.

There's a spork by vargo, they call it a scork, that has a can opener on the other end, buy one for each person in your group.



An essential modern survival item.

[postie]

Marks and Spencers, makes very high quality tinned meats (think tinned steak, chilli con carnie, chicken curries and fish) they have a half price sale on at the moment on their canned foods, making most of these £1 to 1.50 a can

And that's in a sale?

Blimey.

Maybe the lower quality beans etc are less nutritious, but at the cost they are, and the quantity you can get for similar M&S product, I'd go for the lower value beans (or similar) .. as while nutrition may be vital to survive.. a decent hot and filling meal meal will also help you survive. And maybe in 2 cans you get the same nutrition.. at half the price???

If I pay out even £1 a can.. I'll simply have, IMHO, some very good quality food for a short while (on my budget).. then I'll be hungry. If I went for the value stuff, at least I'd have the psychological effect of feeling like I've eaten, which is invaluable.. in survival situations. And I'd have had a lot more of it.

Not criticising.. just my view on it.