The Key To Making Canned Fruit Taste Better Is A Squeeze Of Citrus

Canned foods like fruits can be an affordable and convenient way to incorporate some nutritious foods into one's diet, and they have the advantage of a much longer shelf life than fresh produce. Some canned fruit can be overly sweet because it has been swimming in there soaking up that sugary syrup, but there is a simple solution to help improve the flavor profile. 

As is noted by the Canned Food Alliance, all fruits have naturally occurring sugars, but there are different levels of sweetness depending on what you buy at the supermarket. They use the example of peaches to demonstrate. Buying canned peaches in a light syrup can contain 16.6 grams of sugar, while peaches with 100% juice have 12.8 grams. Canned peaches with no sugar added have six grams of sugar. If you need to mitigate some of that sweetness, adding just a dash of citrus from something such as lime or lemon juice to those canned peaches, pears, or pineapples can make it taste better. 

Incorporating citrus is the same concept as using citric acid or lemon juice for home canning of fruits like tomatoes, which raises the acidity level and can enhance the palate experience. Citrus is also commonly used in a variety of dishes to balance them out and provide a depth of flavor with the sour and acidity, delivering a little extra boost that kicks it up a notch. For example, you can use a little tart to counter the sweetness in a canned cherry pie filling utilizing citrus ingredients like lemon juice, lemon zest, or extract. A splash of lime juice can be added to canned tomatoes to increase the acidity and liven up a sauce.

If you could use some guidance as far as what canned fruits you should buy and which you shouldn't, we have you covered with recommendations. And if you want to take your flavor enhancement a step further, in addition to a squeeze of citrus, you can sprinkle in some chili powder or ginger on your canned fruit and really treat your taste buds.