From: MEDELMA@cms.cc.wayne.edu (Michael Edelman)
Subject: Re: Gross foods in cans: competition
Organization: Wayne State University, C&IT
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 12:39:48 GMT

In article <1587@hsvaic.boeing.com>
throop@hsvaic.boeing.com (David Throop) writes:
 
>
>In article <1992Aug26.155928.8014@stsci.edu> yen@stsci.edu (Felix Yen) writes:
>>
>>Asian markets are chock full of weird and exotic preserved foods.
>
>They certainly are.  The problem is that I find that the preservation
>techniques not really up to par.  For instance, I bought a can of
>potted eel at the Indian grocery store near here a few weeks back.  I
>made a sandwhich out of it.  But I found it *very* dry.  The flavor
>was OK, but it was really tough.  If had been packed in a light
>vegetable oil or a water pack it would probably been great, but this
>was pretty leathery.
>  I've noted that with a number of odd foods I've picked up at the
>Asian markets -- it's not the food itself that is so bad, but the
>preservation method leaves it dry and often way too salty.
>  Does this represent a cultural difference in tastes? Or are the
>quality standards different?
>
>David Throop
 
I'd say it's really a difference in tastes *and* preserving methods.
Canning is a rather new addition to the art of preserving- drying goes
back a few thousand years previous ;-) Many canned foods seem to be
canned more for convenience in shipping and marketing and to meet various
governmental health regs than as part of the preservation process.
 
So perhaps it's our western expectations that create the difficulty. Just
because it's canned it may not be ready-to-eat!
 
Getting back to the thread: I love canned congee and canned rice pudding from
Chinese markets. And speaking of rice pudding- I found some wonderful
instant Afghani rice pudding in an Indian grocery not long ago, full of
pistachios and cardamom and other spices. A little teeny packet made a
huge bowlful when combined with a couple pints of milk. My guests thought
I spent hours on it ;-)
 
Other favorites: Did I mention Furukake? A Japanese treat you simply
sprinkle on rice and mix in and eat. It can contain one or more of the
following: Green tea, flakes of nori, cod roe, uni, fish flakes, teeny
fish, sesame, beefstake plant leaves (shiro), egg, salt and no doubt a
million other things. Plain green tea poured over rice is itself popular
in Japan, I am led to believe.
 
Instant "sushi rice" mixes, containing vinegar, sugar, spices and a variety
of chopped up preserved vegetables. Mix with cooked Japanese rice and stuff
into ready-made squares of fried, preserved tofu for (I think) age-sushi.
(sp?)  The tofu comes in cans with maybe 20 pre-slit squares ready for stuffing
packed into one can about the size of the cans that button mushrooms come in.
The sushi rice mix comes in packets, three or four to a glossy paper envelope.
 
Canned broiled eel- in a sweet soy sauce mixture. Tuna with vegetables and
soy (and other stuff...) ready to be served over a bowl of rice.
 
Interesting bottled sauces..."crab pepper" in bottles that remind me of the
old 5 cent coke bottle from Thailand. Anchovy and shrimp sauces and pastes
from the Phillipines. Bannana sauce from the Phillipines, a bright red
ketchup-looking sauce that I use on burgers. A zillion varieties of noodles.
Preserved shredded "Szchuan Vegetable" in really neat looking glazed
pottery jars sealed with a large cork and sealing wax. Varieties of preserved
pickeled tofu with various seasonings, a delicacy that tastes amazingly
like ripe camembert cheese. (I'm told you serve this by itself, or "with
vegetables". Any further direction would be appreciated.) Wonderful
assortments of canned tropical fruits- mangoes, bannanna blossoms,
jackfruit, lychees...
 
Sigh.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
 Michael Joseph Edelman           Wayne State University
 medelma@cms.cc.wayne.edu         Computing & Information Technology
 mje@pookie.pass.wayne.edu        Detroit, Michigan
 medelma@waynest1.bitnet          (313) 577-0742
 KE8YY
 
(Unfortunately I've made made a lunch date at the local heath food restaurant.
You know the type- twelve varieties of bland pseudo-Mexican food, some
tofu, a stir-fried (i.e., boiled) vegetable Special of the Day, all of it
full of oil and dairy cholesterol. Maybe I could talk her into a trip to
the local Thai restaurant...?)
 
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