Warning: I was dumping canned tomatoes straight into the pot for years

I always thought you just open a can of diced tomatoes and throw them in the skillet. Last week I was making a quick chili with a can of kidney beans and tomatoes and it came out watery and bland. My neighbor saw me and asked why I never drain and rinse the beans or simmer the tomatoes first. She showed me that cooking down the tomatoes for 5 minutes on medium heat concentrates the flavor and gets rid of that metallic taste. Now I actually taste the difference and my chili doesn't taste like tin. Has anyone else had this wake up call about a basic step?

2 comments

2 Comments

barnes.brian1mo ago

Draining the beans is another big one. People skip that step and wonder why their chili is cloudy or soupy. The liquid in the can is basically salted starch water, it's not doing you any favors. Same thing with corn, you gotta drain that too. And yeah, cooking down the tomatoes is key. I always crush whole peeled tomatoes by hand now instead of buying diced. The texture is way better and you control the final thickness.

parkerkim1mo ago

Have you tried rinsing the canned beans too, @barnes.brian? I found that gives a cleaner flavor and lets my chili seasonings shine through way better.