Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Should you store tuna cans upside down?

I don't bother to do it but Nancy Leson does. Find out why below – along with the reason you should never use old tuna cans to cut biscuits. 

I've also posted my "Clamity Cheryl" DeGroot-approved red clam sauce recipe. You can make it in the time it takes to bring a big pot of water to boil for the spaghetti – and in these times of the Fetish for Fresh it's proud to use canned clams.

Let's get the upside-down tuna deal out of the way first. Nancy does it because she was told that since water or oil the tuna is packed doesn't completely submerge the tuna the top of the fish can dry out in the can. You can read the whole explanation here. Come back when you're done and I'll tell you why I don't.

Dept. of Give Me a Break

In many decades of canned tuna fish eating I have never once opened a can of tuna, looked at it and thought "Hmmm ... this tuna looks a little dry on top." Have you? Anyway, there's always mayo. Next case.

Why you shouldn't cut biscuits with old tuna cans

They're dull and press down the edges of the dough, impeding the rise. I'd been using tuna cans for that purpose for years so when I first read this I was dubious. But when I experimented with a batch of biscuits cut half with a tuna can and half with a sharp biscuit cutter, the latter were noticeably higher and lighter. On to the canned clam spaghetti sauce.

Stein's Canned Clam Spaghetti Sauce. 3 cans of chopped clams Parsley, oregano,garlic, anchovies, crushed red pepper, olive oil. Amounts? Up to you. One of those little cans of tomato paste 1. Fill a large pot with water and set it over high heat to boil. 2. While that's happening warm up some olive oil in another large pot and add the chopped parsley, garlic a couple of anchovies, pinch of crushed red pepper and a few pinches of the dried oregano. Do this over low heat, you don't want the garlic to brown. 3. While that's happening set a strainer over a bowl and dump in the three cans of chopped clams. Let drain while you... 4. Mix the tomato paste into the aromatics and olive oil. 5. Mix in the clam juice drained from the strainer but not the clam meat. Cook at low heat until reduced to the consistency you like. 6. By now the water should be boiling. Add the spaghetti, cook and drain. 7. Now add the clam meat from the strainer to the sauce. Taste for seasoning. Add some more parsley for looks At this point you can either mix the cooked spaghetti into the sauce or serve separately.

Bada-bing

"We have our factory, which is called a stage. We make a product, we color it, we title it and we ship it out in cans."

-Cary Grant

Dick Stein joined KNKX in January 1992. He retired in 2020 after three decades on air. During his storied radio career, he hosted the morning jazz show, co-hosted and produced "Food for Thought" with Nancy Leson and wrote and directed the Jimmy Jazzoid live radio musical comedies and 100 episodes of Jazz Kitchen.