boiling cans - am I going to die

[dt4134]

BBC recipe

now is the sheeps stomach inside or outside the can



1 sheep's stomach or ox secum, cleaned and thoroughly, scalded, turned inside out and soaked overnight in cold salted water

heart and lungs of one lamb

450g/1lb beef or lamb trimmings, fat and lean

2 onions, finely chopped

225g/8oz oatmeal

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp ground dried coriander

1 tsp mace

1 tsp nutmeg

water, enough to cook the haggis

stock from lungs and trimmings

Of course haggis in a real sheep's stomach is better and even the plastic substitute isn't too bad, but I don't think they'd keep as well in the bilges as the tins.

I'm a bit dubious about your recipe, it sounds a bit posh for haggis, although I guess that depends upon the interpretation of 'trimmings'.

 

[alan_d]

I had to read that three times before I realised it didn't say "ox rectum".

Pete

If it is meant to be "caecum" then it is a higher-up bit of the same plumbing - a dead-end between the small and large intestines, where the appendix is in humans.

 

[dt4134]

I had to read that three times before I realised it didn't say "ox rectum".

Pete

I think the correct term for that is trimmings, at least according to the BBC.

 

[William_H]

Of course you are going to die Dylan...just like the rest of us......but probably not from exploding cans........

About 950 years ago, one of my student summer jobs was working in a canning factory. The full cans , complete with lids were put inside an `autoclave`....like a giant pressure cooker..and steam heated to some fantastic temperature and pressure...to cook and sterilize the food.......If they can withstand that...they can withstand being put in hot water for 20 mins or so. Quote

I Can't let that go without correction. An autoclave heats under pressure. The pressure on the outside of the can balances the pressure in the can so no risk of explosion.
So we can' t use that example as an indication of the safety of heating sealed cans. However if can is boiled in water then there will be no explosion of can unless water boils dry or can gets hotter than temp of boiling water. olewill

 

[prv]

You do realise you are now describing Fray Bentos pies, aka FB pies, and every time I describe them as dog food, however cooked, I get flamed by aficionados.

Of course, since FB pies get heated in an oven (and then, the only time I've ever encountered them on a boat, tipped onto the cabin sole) rather than boiled, they don't conform to Dylan's Law of Unopened Tins. I have heard of FB pie explosions taking place (not on a boat) when someone grasped the "bake in the tin" idea but didn't actually read the instructions.

Pete

 

[Bob_Ranft]

I work in the food can making industry. As you mention many food cans are subjected to what is known as a "Retort Process". Batches of cans are placed in what is essentially a large pressure cooker and are steam sterilised typically at 121c for 30 minutes. Depending on the contents some cans are sterlised at 132c for 45 minutes.

For the internally lacquered cans and externally printed cans, for my part I must ensure that there is no loss of adhesion, no change of colour, to either the internal lacquers or external print following retort. All food can making factories have retort simulating equipment in their QC labs.

Basically problems with exploding cans are never encountered even at the elevated temperatures that retort processes subject cans to. Only problem we tend to get is the mess that can be difficult and time consuming to clean up when cans on which the ends have not been seamed on correctly leak all over the others.

Cup of coffee and back to making cans

Bob

 

[nimbusgb]

I always though that things like stew were put into cans at the factory raw and the cans were heated to cook the product thus ensuring no possibility of contamination / going bad. Anyone know if this is correct?

A lot of goods are cooked in the can yes.

Lots of pointless stuff here

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Exploding can risks disaster

Maybe have a crack at that over a tin of alphabetti-spaghetti

If the can explodes it will spell disaster.


Okay, okay, I know where the door is.

 

[DogWatch]

for many years I have been cooking my meals by placing two unopened cans on their side in a saucepan of water and bringing it slowly to the boil in a covered steel saucepan

>>>>More culinary foody advice snipped<<<<

Dylan

Gosh it's true! owning a yacht is like an entry ticket to the millionaire club.

It's stuff like this that explains why so many men sail alone isn't it?

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Having spent a culinary miserable year on a yacht eating re-hydrated or canned food. The smell of concentrated monosodium glutamate reminds me of those days.

Boil yer cans all you want, but I'll go for fresh as often as possible.

 

[dylanwinter]

when Jill is aboard

Gosh it's true! owning a yacht is like an entry ticket to the millionaire club.

It's stuff like this that explains why so many men sail alone isn't it?

standards of both cuisine and hygiene imporve immensely when Jill is aboard.

The can boiling is usually a winter occupation. In a small boat its only possible to stand and cook when its warm enough to have the hatch open.

In the winter at night its troglodyte time. A slow cooking porcesss is a great thing whne the gas cyclinder is so cold that its hardly working at all.

Jill will only come sailing when the weather is hot enough for swimming.

of course I am sure that if I did the sort of sailing where the two bathroom boat was almost permanently plugged into the lecy on a marina pontoon then she might come sailing more often

But having seen all those blokes sailing alone in their 33 foot lozenges.... maybe that plan does not always work.

lets face it - in most cases - its the bloke who is keener on sailing than his partner.

Most cases....

before some-one jumps on me for being sexist... pointing out that your own dear Cynthia is keener than you are does not prove a sausage.

Dylan

 

[NOHOH]

... pointing out that your own dear Cynthia is keener than you are does not prove a sausage.

Dylan

..the proof of the sausage is in the eating?.......and whether Cynthia eats your sausage?

 

[Fire99]

If the can explodes it will spell disaster.


Okay, okay, I know where the door is.

It's ok, I can't throw veg at you with that performance. It's stuck in the tin.

 

[Searush]

PV=kT
Pressure x Volume - konstant x Temperature

So, volume is fixed, until the moment the can blows.
As temperature goes from 10 to 100 then pressure should go up in proportion?

Assuming the can is packed at atmospheric pressure then is the can designed to withstand 10 atm?

Empirically, yes.

Q Statistically how long will it be before Dylan encounters an out of spec can?
Discuss you reasoning and compare with his chances of wining the lottery.

For extra marks suggest the forces released in a spontaneous loss of envelope integrity [ it's a technical term] and describe the injuries likely to be encountered at 0,5 , 1 and 1,5 metres range.

OK, here goes;
An out of spec can might be over or under spec - only under spec is going to be an issue, so assuming that 1% are out of spec (a very high estimate I think) then only 1 in 200 cans represents ANY potential issue. Now, if the can is under spec we can assume a standard deviation curve which probably puts a further 40% of the under spec cans within the bounds of safe cooking so we are down to 1 in 2000 potentially failing. Remember that these are cans with a weakness that have already been pre-processed at above the temp Dylan can achieve so if they could fail they would fail then. If the factory had that many failures the cost of clean up would force them to improve their manufacturing process.
My conclusion is that the risk of failure is even lower than that of wilnning the lottery - and the risk of winning the lottery is infinitesimal.

Consequently the assesment or damage caused is pointless.

Edit; You may not consider this an "Exam Quality" answer, but I can assure you it is streets ahead of many exam answers I have marked in my time.

 

[Fire99]

This has no doubt already said, but I thought i'd throw it in the pot anyway:

If the can is in contact with the bottom of the pan then it can raise above the boiling point of water and theoretically cause errr a hot can.

But does it bother me? noooo. I use ladders unassisted and have turned on a light switch with slightly damp pinkies. I live on the edge!

 

[MonniotC]

If the can is in contact with the bottom of the pan then it can raise above the boiling point of water and theoretically cause errr a hot can.

Aha - that's why Dylan lays the cans on their sides. That way only a tiny part of each can is in contact with the pan itself, thus mitigating the effect. I bet even he didn't know he was that clever!

 

[AntarcticPilot]

I'm not sure you can let the goodness out of a tin of haggis.

You may, if you aren't very careful, let some in!

I once read a description of the making of haggis. I'm not eating it.

 

[dylanwinter]

not that clever

Aha - that's why Dylan lays the cans on their sides. That way only a tiny part of each can is in contact with the pan itself, thus mitigating the effect. I bet even he didn't know he was that clever!

you got it

dozier than a dozy thing.



I did them on the side so that two fit in the shallowish pan

but now that I know the science behind the geometry.....

D

 

[bbg]

am I going to die?

I expect so, one day. But probably not from heating cans this way.

 

[Fire99]

I expect so, one day. But probably not from heating cans this way.

Dylan is more likely to snuff it, sailing down an undiscovered creek and getting his wellies stuck in the mud.