Food - Drink
Why You Should Always Have Canned Tomatoes In Your Pantry
By WENDY LEIGH
Canned tomatoes have a lengthy preparation process that includes sealing, heating, and sterilizing, resulting in a long-lasting product that can sit in your pantry for 12 to 18 months with no spoilage. It turns out that besides being economical and reliable, there are plenty of other reasons to love canned tomatoes.
Lycopene, a pigment found in tomatoes, can have beneficial impacts on inflammation and cancers of the heart, breast, and prostate, according to at least 700 studies discussed on Food Network's Healthy Eats. The human body absorbs lycopene most effectively from gently or partially cooked tomatoes, such as canned ones.
Canned tomatoes are also fresher than most un-canned ones; canned tomatoes are preserved right away at the peak of ripeness, while fresh tomatoes are often artificially ripened and out-of-season. If you're concerned about the metallic taste of the can, try adding honey, sugar or tomato paste to canned tomatoes, or baking them with olive oil.