boiling cans - am I going to die

[dylanwinter]

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

I then let it simmer for a short period - let it cool

I then remove the cans and once they are hand hold hot I open them

I have been censured on scuttlebutt for saying that this is what I do.

I would love to know -

hopefully from some-one who knows

how likely is it that the contents of the cans will get so hot that it starts to boil?

then explode the can in such a way that it sends shards of tin can, shattered bits of suacepan and boiling hot chicken currey acorss my cabin resulting the demise or injury of the head chef.

is this more dangerous than sailing on a calm day without a life jacket - or walking on a slippery pontoon.

being an engineer and physist I had assumed that the tin would be strong enough to cope with the expansion of the food - I had also assumed that the chicken curry would be unlikely to boil before the water

and that if the can did go it would at worst burst a seam and then fill my sealed suacepan with wet curry sauce.

depsite many hundreds of such meals I have so far failed to split any cans at all.

Am I utterly wrong

am I going to die?

Is this more dangerous than bullriding

Dylan

PS

have moved the film of the technique from the vlog section of my website to the front page

at the bottom

if its slow to load....its friday night afterall... then start the films... pause them and they will buffer.

please do not go thinking that the short two minute film is in anyway indicative of the rest of the 100 plus odd films now available there.

It is far more exciting and than anything I have ever done

....apparently

just to save you any nervousness - no-one was injured in the making of this film


Its here

www.keepturningleft.co.uk

there are three other films on the front page - about the Alde, Ore and Butley - much more representative of KTL

 

[Ubergeekian]

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

I then let it simmer for a short period - let it cool

I then remove the cans and once they are hand hold hot I open them...

Am I utterly wrong

am I going to die?

No you are not. The only significant risk is that you open the tin while the contents are still under significant pressure as a result of greater thermal expansion of the contents than of the can. As long as you avoid an eye full of hot oxtail soup you'll be fine.

There is even some food sold to be heated as you described.

 

[VicS]

Provided you are heating them in a pan of boiling water I cannot see there is any problem. If you let the pan boil dry on the other hand !!!!!!!!

There are products on the market that are intended to be heated in this way
For example:

http://www.google.co.uk/images?hl=e...snum=2&sqi=2&ved=0CDEQsAQwAQ&biw=1280&bih=909

Bugger beaten by a rat's whisker

 

[nimbusgb]

Keep the can below 260 F and you should be fine.

 

[Lady Campanula]

Bugger beaten by a rat's whisker

Now, is that sadism or masochism? Do tell!

 

[monkfish24]

Sounds like you have more experience than anyone one here to say wether it is safe or not......

So far for you, yes!

Just tell all the H&S brown nosers to bugger off and find a child with a conker or soemthing

 

[Fantasie 19]

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

Am I utterly wrong

am I going to die?

No - my missus has been making banoffee pie by boiling cans of condensed milk in such a manner for years - never had a can malfunction yet...

 

[VicS]

Now, is that sadism or masochism? Do tell!

Should have said gnat's whisker anyway of course. Dunno about sadism or masochism. Parapraxis I think

 

[Vara]

Standard military procedure, although it's a bit wimpy to let them cool down before handling and eating.

Should be juggled between gloved hands while wielding can-spanner, it is also traditional to use the hot water for shaving and washing afterwards (this is made easier as compo tins don't have labels).

 

[SAMYL]

If you are boiling a closed can in water then the pressure inside it will increase so its boiling point will also increase. Assuming the liquid in the can is water based it therefore cannot boil in the can if the outside water is boiling, however if you steam the can (ie hotter than boiling water) then you should hide behind a bulkhead.

Any increase in pressure in the can should be contained by the can provided that :-
1. there is no air in the can and,
2. the liquid in the can does not have a boiling point much lower than water, ie something like alcohol.

A hot can when opened will squirt a little out so cover it with a cloth or whatever to protect yourself.

 

[VicS]

Keep the can below 260 F and you should be fine.

Now lets think

260 + 40 = 300
300 x 5/9 ≈ 167
167 − 40 = 127 . . . . 260F is 127C so should be safe in boiling water cos bpt of water is somewhere around 100C

 

[Twister_Ken]

Of course your gonna die. So am I.

But you're gonna die from eating canned rubbish, whereas I'm gonna die from an overdose of organic falafel.

 

[stuhaynes]

Get a taller pan, stand the cans upright, pierce the top to allow for expansion, cover and carry on as normal. I don't know if we import cans from China, but if we do, I'd be tempted to keep a big jug of Savlon nearby otherwise.

 

[dylanwinter]

that is a beautiful reply

Sounds like you have more experience than anyone one here to say wether it is safe or not......

So far for you, yes!

Just tell all the H&S brown nosers to bugger off and find a child with a conker or soemthing

I like it here

much more down to earth

so does that mean that over here I no longer have to wear a life jacket in bed

D

 

[peterb]

Just don't let the saucepan boil dry.

Many years ago (more than 60) I put a can of beans into a saucepan of water just as described here, then went away to do something else as the saucepan heated. Some time later I remembered the saucepan and went to see if was properly heated yet. I had my hand on the kitchen door handle when there was an almighty bang from the other side of the door. On opening the door I found that the can had burst at the bottom, expelling the contents like a rocket. The cast iron bars across the top of the stove had both snapped, there was a large (can-size) indentation on the ceiling above the stove, and the kitchen had been rapidly redecorated in a baked-bean colour finish. I considered myself lucky that I hadn't opened the door 5 seconds earlier.

Just don't let the saucepan boil dry.

 

[dylanwinter]

nope

Get a taller pan, stand the cans upright, pierce the top to allow for expansion, cover and carry on as normal. I don't know if we import cans from China, but if we do, I'd be tempted to keep a big jug of Savlon nearby otherwise.

small boat - taller pans don't cut it - too much space

tastes better fresh out of the can - un[periced - I always get some water in and some juice out

then I end up washing the saucepan anyway

this way I have hot water left over for the washing up

although once I have licked the plate and the cutlery there is not much left to do.

Dylan

 

[doug748]

....

so does that mean that over here I no longer have to wear a life jacket in bed

D

Nope, not a problem.

Here's a great tip. If your lifejacket has one of those soda syphon bulbs inside it and you are troubled with rust - take it home and store it in the airing cupboard.

 

[ianabc]

bisphenol/estrogen/extra rounded bits

Lining in modern tins contains....

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...0+tin+cans+bisphenol&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca

"lowered sperm count
and infertile sperm in men,
and exposure during development has been proven to have carcinogenic effects and produce precursors of breast cancer.

BPA has been shown to have developmental toxicity, carcinogenic effects, and possible neurotoxicity.

 

[sarabande]

sounds like a good way to overcome pirates. Leave cans on stove to heat up; offer can to pirate. Stand back.

Oh, I'd forgotten; there are no pirates on the East Coast ....

 

[bikedaft]

please keep your camera running, would love to see a tin exploding "in the name of science"