At a recent Thanksgiving dinner a family had high praise for the collards.

“These are great, Heyward! What’s your secret?”

Heyward, who contributed the collards, said, “I confess. They came from a can.”

Silence.

There are definitely plusses and minuses when evaluating the best way to eat collards.

Convenient!

But there are no questions about ease of use.

Open the can, heat the collards, and enjoy.

This is way better than fretting over the lack of fresh collards.

I rejoice at not having to prepare fresh collards.

I almost always have a can of collards on hand for a quick serving.

Yes! Some canned veggies are quite good. Collards and turnip greens, the French-cut string beans that appear during the holidays mixed with mushroom soup and canned fried onions, are a few popular ones.

These are examples where you are getting good, but not perfect food. They are a great way to cover your need for vegetables with little trouble and little expense.

Vitamins

Because collards have a tough cell structure in their leaves, they require a long time to cook. Cooking can cause a loss of Vitamins C & B. Because of the high heat in the canning process, water solubale C & B are lost too.

Minerals

Minerals, inorganic, are not lost from high heat.

A commercial canning operation will havest, clean, cook and season, and seal the can in the same day. This locks in a lot of the nutrients that would be lost being shipped and sitting in a produce department.

Phytochemicals

These very important nutrients can be more available to us because the high heat and pressure breaks down cell walls and frees them up.

They include: lycopene, a phyto-nutrient more available in canned tomatoes than in fresh. It’s a potent antioxidant; strongly linked to heart health and prostate health. This is a strong component of the Italian diet and surely a contributor to Italian health.

Beta carotene from canned pumpkin, sweet potato and carrots. It converts to Vitamin A for immune function and vision.

Polyphenols and anthocyanins – From black beans and kidney beans. Keep the liquid in the can. Anti -inflammatory properties and blood sugar regulation.

Ferulic acid from canned corn. This is a powerful scavenger of free radicals and thought to be beneficial for brain health.

Like properly cooked pasta, canned veggies can bring not just great ease and simplicity, but also health benefits that could save you a fortune is some supplements.