Do not, ever ever, I repeat NEVER, buy...

[Jenise]

...Chicken of the Sea canned crab. It's disgusting. Pop the lid and the contents are an ugly grayish red. Flavor? My cat won't even eat it.

I bought a can about six months ago thinking about trying it in some crab cakes for Bob, as it was a favorite food and would at that point have been easier for him to eat than many things.

It went straight in the trash.

Hmm, I wonder if six months was too long for storage. I bought a large can of refrigerated canned crab meat from the meat dept at our local grocery. The meat lady recommended it. When opened, I smelled crab, and was pleased. It had lumps of crab and I used it to make crab cakes. They were great. Yes, the fresh crab would have been excellent but these were fine and adding fresh lemon juice did the trick. Can't recall the name...

[Jenise]

Karen, perhaps, though it's well before the expiration date (I can't remember the last time I tasted something out of a can so nasty I had to look at the date). As I recall I paid about $30/can. And unfortunately I bought two. Wonder if the seagulls would eat it?

My guess is that it was a canned product. And crab meat seems especially sensitive to degradation if not immediately processed. I buy canned tuna, sardines and anchovies. Can’t stand canned salmon, even for salmon cakes. The canned product tastes nothing like the fish, to me. I even prefer anchovies that are processed in glass containers. My confit of tuna made with frozen steaks tastes better than any canned variety I’ve ever bought. There’s something about the tin that I always expect a lesser quality product, especially any meats or seafood.

[Jenise]

I did say that it was canned. Bought it at Costco, which is usually a source of good things. Not that I expected anything close to fresh but as you point out some canned seafood products are good. I love canned tuna, though tuna from Spain preserved in glass is even better. But this was so bad, I can't imagine anyone eating/using it under any circumstances. Not just poor, but nasty.

A thousand years ago, my second job had its office in a 'small business incubator' building. Down the hall from us was a seafood shipper, mostly crab or lobster in cans. Once a year they held a sale and, much to my surprise, lobster in a can was pretty good.

I wouldn't even consider it nowadays, as fresh is simply so much better than canned, but maybe that's just the prejudice of someone who lives at sea level....

I did say that it was canned. Bought it at Costco, which is usually a source of good things. Not that I expected anything close to fresh but as you point out some canned seafood products are good. I love canned tuna, though tuna from Spain preserved in glass is even better. But this was so bad, I can't imagine anyone eating/using it under any circumstances. Not just poor, but nasty.

The Chicken of the Sea that I bought at Costco was in a plastic tub, tightly packed and kept in the cold section with other seafoods. It was very fresh smelling and tasting and I found it perfectly good for crab cakes. It was an imported blue crab, as I recall. Though, nothing compares to fresh Dungeness!

BTW, for canned tuna, I prefer Ortiz or Genova albacore tuna packed in Olive Oil. However, if you haven't tried it, I recommend Wild Planet albacore tuna. It's processed in its own juices with only a bit of sea salt added. Worth the value added price. Also available at Costco. (I hate that place!)

[
The Chicken of the Sea that I bought at Costco was in a plastic tub, tightly packed and kept in the cold section with other seafoods. It was very fresh smelling and tasting and I found it perfectly good for crab cakes. It was an imported blue crab, as I recall. Though, nothing compares to fresh Dungeness!

This sounds similar to the crab we buy for crab cakes. I don't think it's from Chicken of the Sea, but it comes in a plastic tub and is pretty fresh tasting. We sometimes throw one in the freezer, and it's fine for crab cakes after thawing. I've never tried canned crab and now, never will!

[Jenise]

Jo Ann, re canned tuna, I really like Trader Joe's Olive Oil packed one. Flavor and texture are good, and I save the oil I squeeze off for Caesar-like salad dressings. And I've bought fresh crab in the tubs at Costco and agree. I hope to death they have some this week--I'm gonna need it for my terrine.

Re the canned stuff, I looked at the remaining unopened can of the two I bought as I escorted it out to my trash can yesterday. Product of India, wild caught it said. I briefly toyed with opening it for the seagulls that hang around here looking for scraps but decided I didnt want to risk having rotting seafood if they didnt like it.