Almanac for Homemakers

Good Tips for Buying Canned Fruit "Buy canned fruits according to grade if possible." If there is one thing about this almanac is that they really like to talk about canned food. We discussed canned vegetables here. Which by the way, the deadline to submit your grievances to the USDA is coming up next month. We discussed canned and frozen vegetables here. We talked about can sizes here. And I got so tired of writing about canned foods that I wrote about something else here! So here we go again. Another post about cans. The higher the grade, the better quality in size, shape, and color. It doesn't have anything to do with the nutritional value. So all the labels of fancy just mean that it is or was more appealing looking. So don't fall for the entire Grade A and Fancy labeling. It's all just a marking tactic. These guidelines were developed by the USDA. For good reason too! You wouldn't want spoil...

Check Quality Grades of Vegetables You Buy "Many canned and frozen vegetables are sold under quality grades established and maintained by consumer and marketing experts of the United States Department of Agriculture." Here is my tip on the subject: If you can't buy fresh buy it frozen. This is because the fruit or veg is frozen when the item was ripe. The flash freezing technique prevents moisture loss so it tastes better than the canned variety. Canned vegetables are cooked or blanched before the canning process. Canned foods also have some type of filler like water, oil, or syrup. So you lose some of the freshness of the product. I found a USDA pamphlet on canned and frozen grading that was published in 1969. READ IT HERE! Basically there are Grades A, B, & C A is best B is ok C is trash "Fancy" is also a term used for Grade A products. You just thought it was fancy marketing! EXTRA FANCY This is the best ...