Daddict t1_ixz2gon wrote on November 27, 2022 at 2:45 PM

Reply to comment by rigobueno in Gotta love the practicality. (Hilarious, genius solution by busy grocery worker on Thanksgiving a.m.) by SoColdSoFair

Some canned goods are nearly indistinguishable from fresh. Pumpkin is definitely in that class. Green beans are not. Corn is. Cranberry sauce... well, that depends on what you want. I like a fancy fresh cranberry sauce made with walnuts and apple. I know lots of people who like the gelatin that comes in a can. I consider them two different foods entirely though. I know plenty of people who serve both at their dinners.

Gravy is such a critically important part is holiday dinner though, screwing it up can ruin the whole meal.

If you don't know how to make it, definitely learn, but do so well before the day of the dinner. You also have to appreciate how the flavors you add to the turkey affect the drippings and subsequently the gravy. Wrapping a bird in bacon might give it a richer flavor but it makes for awful gravy from the drippings.

There's a lot that can go wrong if you don't know what you're doing, though. So if that's the case, canned gravy can work. It won't be amazing, it won't win any awards, but if the rest of the food is en pointe, it'll perform well.

Still... if you're gonna claim to know how to cook a turkey and not know shit about gravy, then I think you should probably let someone else handle the whole thing.

GreggAlan t1_iy2w25s wrote on November 28, 2022 at 9:33 AM

Different vegetables are better canned or frozen.

Green peas, frozen. When canned they turn an odd color, the skins slide off, they're mushy and taste bleah. Frozen they stay bright and when heated just right they retain a bit of crispness.

Green beans, canned. Frozen they do the same taste thing as canned peas and they turn rubbery.

Carrots, canned. When frozen they do the rubber thing like green beans.

Cauliflower and Broccoli, frozen. When canned they're always overcooked, mushy, and taste terrible.

Most restaurants I've eaten at will either use an all frozen mix where the beans and carrots are lousy, or if making their own mix they go for the canned peas and frozen green beans and frozen carrots.

I'd like to see a company do a split vegetable medley with the ones that do best frozen and the ones that do best canned put together. Print on the labels Best Frozen and Best Canned, with a note to look for the other half in the Canned Vegetables or Frozen Foods.