From sardines to spam, chefs weigh in on the worthwhile tins. Photo / Getty Images
Convenient, cheap and full of flavour, these are the cans all cooks need to create speedy suppers.
Many Italians don’t like their traditional foods being messed around with, so it’s no surprise a recent announcement by Heinz sparked controversy. Spaghetti carbonara is set to join the likes of Spaghetti Hoops and Alphabetti as the American brand’s first tinned pasta launch in more than 10 years.
Chefs responded with ire. “Do you mean in a tin, like cat food?” asked Alessandro Pipero of Michelin-starred Pipero in Rome. The jury’s still out on the product - it will be released in Britain in September. But one thing’s certain: tinned foods form the staples of our cupboards, the reliable workhorses when we need a quick meal.
Tinned fish has become cool again, with Iberian-influenced cans costing several pounds becoming something of a fashion statement, and even baked beans are undergoing a makeover, now seen as part of our five-a-day.
“Tinned produce is often frowned upon, when really it’s preserving food at its very best,” says Gabriella Margiotta, the owner of Brazilian steakhouse Viva in Liverpool. “I have been a firm lover of tinned tomatoes for years; they capture the essence of Italian cookery.”
Here are the tinned goods top chefs can’t live without.
Most chefs will have a steady supply of canned tomatoes in their homes. “I can’t live without tinned tomatoes in my cupboard,” says Mike Reid, the culinary director of M restaurants. “They are incredibly versatile and form the base of many dishes.
“The quality of tinned tomatoes today is exceptional, often more consistent than fresh tomatoes.” Reid cites Mutti as his favourite brand, and says chopped tomatoes are great for sauces, curries and stews, while whole baby plums are optimal for pasta.
But you don’t necessarily need to splash out on the pricey stuff. Gary Townsend, the chef-owner of Elements in Glasgow, says his “best-kept secret as far as tinned foods go has to be Aldi’s cherry tomatoes. Relatively inexpensive and exceptional quality, deliciously sweet and can elevate any simple pasta dish. Especially handy for a quick arrabbiata or bolognese”.
Bocca di Lupo is one of London’s best-loved Italian restaurants, and its owner, Jacob Kenedy, is equally effusive about tinned plum tomatoes - “the answer to every last-minute meal”. He advises never buying cans with garlic or herbs in them - add them at home.
“Best meal ever: pasta with tomato sauce,” he says. “For two people, two fat cloves of garlic, sliced and lightly fried in two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Add a little chili and the tomatoes, fry until over-reduced, season well, slacken with pasta cooking water and enliven with two more tablespoons of oil, and maybe some basil.”
Tinned fish ranges dramatically in price, from cheap pilchards to the finest Cantabrian tuna. They provide a quick meal in themselves, can be mixed into a pasta sauce or used to flavour meat.
Jack Stein, the chef-director at Rick Stein Restaurants, is a huge fan of Ortiz anchovies, which are pricier than your average supermarket tin but full of flavour.
Sometimes he’ll have them just with bread and butter. “I use cheaper tins for cooking things like my roast lamb along with garlic and thyme, as they add a nice depth of flavour.”
Telegraph columnist Xanthe Clay agrees. “Anchovies are so vital that if the tin count gets below three, I start panic-buying.” Like Stein, she uses their intense savoury flavour to boost tomato pasta sauces and marinating lamb.
Jose Pizarro, the man often credited with raising the bar for Spanish restaurants in the UK who recently opened Lolo in London, loves sardinillas, small tinned sardines in olive oil, which he serves on toast with fresh tomato.
Jackson Boxer, the executive chef at Henri, also in London, finds plenty of ways to satisfy his “long-standing love” for tinned sardines.
“On toast, with fried eggs; with brown rice and broccoli; with shallots and garlic and tomato paste in a kind of store-cupboard ragu.”
For a cheap dinner, Sam Lone, the head chef at TT in London, likes Lidl’s tinned mackerel in olive oil, which he often eats straight up after a busy service.
Tinned meat suffers from a bad reputation, especially in this era when everyone is aware of ultra-processed foods. The French may have their quality options such as confit de canard, but a surprising number of chefs are fond of Spam.
“It’s having a bit of a resurgence and is a good all-round ingredient,” says Tom Vincent of Vincenzo’s, a pizzeria in Bushey, Hertfordshire. He uses it in fritters, burgers, chopped up and added to a stir-fry and even on pizza.
Judy Joo, the owner of the Seoul Bird group of Korean restaurants, is similarly enamoured. “I have a love affair with Spam, it is still considered a luxury item in Korea.” Joo grew up eating it and there’s usually a tin lurking in her kitchen. “It is best chopped up and fried with kimchi fried rice. My mum used to fry a couple of slices up and feed them to me with steamed short-grain rice and a gooey fried egg.”
For Drew Snaith, the chef-owner of Sesta, which is opening in Hackney in September, Ma Ling luncheon meat is wonderful fried in a sandwich, added to a spicy rice dish, or “if I’m really looking to upset an Italian friend, used in place of guanciale for a carbonara”.
Tinned pulses are a staple. They’re affordable, healthy - packed with protein and fibre - versatile and (mostly) delicious. Dried beans may be cheaper, but “no one has the time to soak beans for 24 hours”, says Laura de Filippis, the head chef at the Cavendish pub in Marylebone, London.
She uses cannellini or kidney beans to make an Italian pasta stew, with carrots, celery, onions and stock, while chickpeas are “an essential”, as home-made hummus is easy and “always better than bland, store-bought” versions.
Michael Caines, the owner of two-Michelin-starred Lympstone Manor in Devon, opts for butter beans, which are “soft and delicious, an excellent source of carbohydrates, and great in a casserole or soup”.
Cannellini beans are “extremely versatile”, adds Ben Pereres Cook, the founder of Lucky’s Hot Chicken in London. He uses them at least twice a week. “They have a lovely fluffy texture with a slightly nutty but mild flavour. They’re perfect for a post-service dinner when you’ve been around rich food all evening.”
Vegetables respond equally well to canning as meat, fish and beans. Elliott Grover, the executive chef at Cut at 45 Park Lane in London, is a lover of artichoke hearts in oil.
“After a shift, I don’t have too much time [to cook], so I like to add them to things like pizza, salads, and you can even fry them for a quick snack with some garlic mayo.” He says fresh artichokes are one of the most time-consuming things to cook, so the tinned version is the ultimate convenience food.
Sweetcorn is another childhood staple many chefs haven’t let go. “Growing up, corn on the cob was only available in season,” says de Filippis.
“Tinned corn holds a special memory for me. One of my favourite snacks is tinned sweetcorn in a hot pan with butter, a bit of crisped guanciale and black pepper. Perfection.”
Tinned peaches are a staple in many chefs’ cupboards. They may not offer the refinement of the fresh Mediterranean fruit, but they’re versatile and available year-round.
For Adam Smith, the executive chef at Woven by Adam Smith at Coworth Park in Ascot, they’re a “guilty pleasure. Served with some vanilla ice cream, it’s the laziest of puddings on a night off”.
Tom Booton, the executive chef at The Grill by Tom Booton at the Dorchester in London, adds them to a crumble, which transports him back to his childhood, while the juices can be saved for a summery drink.
For Amelia Christie-Miller, the founder of Bold Bean Co, which makes high-quality jarred pulses, tinned figs are the answer to British figs that “often lack flavour. Canned ones are always juicy, sticky and perfect”.
“I have them with full-fat Greek yogurt and some chopped nuts like pistachios.” Clay likes canned Alphonso mango pulp for a quick sorbet, while Reid uses jackfruit for a plant-based alternative to a meaty curry.
Coconut milk is an essential for all manner of dishes, from Thai curries to Brazilian fish stews. “It’s one of my pantry staples,” says Dominique Woolf, the author of The Asian Pantry.
“It means a delicious curry is never far away, as I always have Thai red curry paste as well.” Sebby Holmes, who runs Farang, a Thai restaurant in north London, also relies on coconut milk, but advises using products with a high coconut content, such as Aroy-D, as many are “mostly water”.
Sweet-toothed chefs are never far away from another canned milk: condensed. Woolf uses it for a quick no-churn ice cream, which takes just minutes to make.
Fin Spiteri, the co-founder of Caravel in London, has it in his coffee “religiously, every morning. It is a trick I learned on holiday in Bali and now simply can’t live without”.
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