# tinned vs canned



## prgill

...still working on my recipe translations from French into BE...

In North America we would  generally refer to "canned" goods (i.e., vegetables, prepared food, fruits, etc.) as simply canned this or that. I have a feeling that in the U.K. you generally prefer "tin" as in a "tin of beans" or a "tin of stew".

Is this so? Have I been watching too many movies?

Thank-you.


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## la reine victoria

prgill said:


> ...still working on my recipe translations from French into BE...
> 
> In North America we would generally refer to "canned" goods (i.e., vegetables, prepared food, fruits, etc.) as simply canned this or that. I have a feeling that in the U.K. you generally prefer "tin" as in a "tin of beans" or a "tin of stew".
> 
> Is this so? Have I been watching too many movies?
> 
> Thank-you.


 
Hi prgill,

Yes, we are still very much into "tinned goods" but "canned" is creeping in.

LRV


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## panjandrum

Tinned beans, a tin of beans - yes, that's good BE.
But we are increasingly contaminated by cans, so a can of beans would be well understood here, with a wry smile.


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## JamesM

On a related note, is "potted meat" also in a can or in a little pot? I've always wondered about that. "Wallace & Gromit" is so educational.


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## winklepicker

prgill said:


> In North America we would generally refer to "canned" goods (i.e., vegetables, prepared food, fruits, etc.) as simply canned this or that. I have a feeling that in the UK you generally prefer "tin" as in a "tin of beans" or a "tin of stew"..


 
Yes. A _can of beans_ is perfectly understood, but _a tin_ is more common (at least to my ear). _Canned goods_ is very unusual, I think: we'd usually say _tinned goods_. I have a feeling there was a vogue for canning at home in the USA which might explain its greater currency. If I've got that right, it never took off in the UK.



> Is this so? Have I been watching too many movies?


 
You can't watch too many British movies films.


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## JamesM

winklepicker said:


> Yes. A _can of beans_ is perfectly understood, but _a tin_ is more common (at least to my ear). _Canned goods_ is very unusual, I think: we'd usually say _tinned goods_. I have a feeling there was a vogue for canning at home in the USA which might explain its greater currency. If I've got that right, it never took off in the UK.


 
...and in another example of the perverse nature of English, "canning" is preserving food in glass jars, not cans.


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## la reine victoria

JamesM said:


> On a related note, is "potted meat" also in a can or in a little pot? I've always wondered about that. "Wallace & Gromit" is so educational.


 
Hi James,

Potted meat comes in small, glass jars, or sometimes in earthenware pots.

LRV


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## Sallyb36

the containers that Americans call cans I've always known as tin cans, and have always varied between calling them tins or cans.


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## JamesM

la reine victoria said:


> Hi James,
> 
> Potted meat comes in small, glass jars, or sometimes in earthenware pots.
> 
> LRV


 
Thank you, LRV, for answering a longstanding question for me.   I've wondered about that for years.


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## MissFit

la reine victoria said:


> Hi James,
> 
> Potted meat comes in small, glass jars, or sometimes in earthenware pots.
> 
> LRV


In the supermarket where I shop, it comes in a small aluminum can, which sits on the top shelf and collects dust because it is rarely purchased.




Sallyb36 said:


> the containers that Americans call cans I've always known as tin cans, and have always varied between calling them tins or cans.


Americans often call them _tin cans_, even though they have been made out of steel or aluminum for many decades.


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## prgill

This is great and I appreciate the feedback, even if I'm not about to stop going to the moving pictures...

For the record, I found a site that gives a good history of "canning". Turns out the process was invented as a "bottling" process to supply the French army. The difficulty with transporting glass led to the manufacture of tins from rolled sheets of tin soldered at either end. 

You can read more at www answers.com/topic/canning


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## Giordano Bruno

What a tin of worms that opened.


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## cuchuflete

Out of the tin of worms popped the other meaning of tin can: a naval destroyer.





Please Giordano and James, no puns about the Pacific Destroyer fleet.


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## .   1

JamesM said:


> ...and in another example of the perverse nature of English, "canning" is preserving food in glass jars, not cans.


In Australia that is called preserving or making preserves.

I think that can has pretty much taken over from tin down here.  Both would be understood but I think that can is dominant.

.,,


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## Brioche

JamesM said:


> ...and in another example of the perverse nature of English, "canning" is preserving food in glass jars, not cans.


 
In my neck of the woods, preserving food in bottles is called "bottling".

My mother used a Fowlers Vacola Bottling Kit.
Put "bottling" into Australian e-bay, and you'll find some examples.


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## EdisonBhola

In general, in the UK, is it more common to say "tinned food" or "tinned goods" when talking about tins of food (e.g. sardines, fruit, sausage) that's sold in a supermarket? 

And in America, is it more common to say "canned food" or "canned goods"?


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## Glenfarclas

EdisonBhola said:


> And in America, is it more common to say "canned food" or "canned goods"?



Canned goods.


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## bennymix

I might point out that the verb 'can' in AE has a broad  reference: it can refer to putting up fruits sterile, (usually)glass jar and sealing it. People at home generally cannot 'tin' anything, i.e. put stuff in tins as would be found in a supermarket.

I wonder what British people say for the verb:  either use 'tin' (which doesn't quite fit) or perhaps 'preserve'?

ADDED:  I see Brioche has answered for the AusE verb:  it's 'bottling'.


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## EdisonBhola

Glenfarclas said:


> Canned goods.


As a non-native English speaker, I think it sounds weird to refer to food as "goods"...


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## bennymix

There's a standard phrase about what one buys in a free market economy:  Goods and services.   If you can touch it and its possession would benefit someone, it's a good.

What the Europeans call VAT, Canada calls the "Goods and services tax"--oddly it does not apply to groceries, but to packaged fast foods, restaurant fare, etc, and many other goods, from clothing to hardware items, computers, TV.

Example:
 Encyclopedia of Occupational Health and Safety
*Chapter 89 - Textile Goods Industry*
*===*
*To market, to market - Troy Record*

*Jul 19, 2015 - “We like being on the street and being so close to our business so we can provide fresh goods at the market,” she added*



EdisonBhola said:


> As a non-native English speaker, I think it sounds weird to refer to food as "goods"...


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## DonnyB

EdisonBhola said:


> In general, in the UK, is it more common to say "tinned food" or "tinned goods" when talking about tins of food (e.g. sardines, fruit, sausage) that's sold in a supermarket?


We generally say "tinned food" in BE, (but "cans" of beer, cider and soft drinks )

It may just be me, but "tinned goods" would tend to imply or include things other than food, although I'm not entirely sure what else you could reasonably tin.


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## You little ripper!

The Free dictionary only mentions food.

Tinned goods

*1. tinned goods* - food preserved by canning


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## velisarius

DonnyB said:


> I'm not entirely sure what else you could reasonably tin.



Tennis balls, or paint. I don't think they come under the heading of "canned/tinned goods" though.


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## EdisonBhola

velisarius said:


> Tennis balls, or paint. I don't think they come under the heading of "canned/tinned goods" though.


Would it sounds weird if I say in everyday speech to a native speaker something like: I'm going to the supermarket to buy some tinned/canned goods today.

I think it sounds very formal.


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## velisarius

I think I might say "There's  a big storm coming, and we may be snowed in for several weeks. I'm going to the supermarket to stock up on pasta, pulses, and canned goods."

That would be understandable, since fresh foods don't keep for weeks. We do talk about "stocking up on canned goods" for an emergency. No, it doesn't sound particularly formal.

Edit: In speech I'd use "tinned food", but "canned goods" is a pretty normal alternative  in writing.


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## Keith Bradford

Over the past 50 years, the terms _tinned food_ and _canned food/goods_ have been fighting a running battle for supremacy in Britain.  In America, _canned goods_ has been the clear favourite for over a century. Almost nobody says _tinned goods_.

Compare: Google Ngram Viewer and
Google Ngram Viewer


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## DonnyB

EdisonBhola said:


> Would it sounds weird if I say in everyday speech to a native speaker something like: I'm going to the supermarket to buy some tinned/canned goods today.


In everyday colloquial speech I'd say something like "I'm going to the supermarket today to stock up on tinned stuff".


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## Rover_KE

It's been a long thread and I might have missed it, but so far I don't think anybody has yet placed on record the nugget that in Australian slang a can of beer is a _*tinny*_ and not a _*canny*_.


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## natkretep

I hear a _tin of beer_ in Ireland too. 

Also remember that _tin_ does not always translate into _can_ in AmE.

We say a _tin of biscuits _and a _biscuit tin_. (Presumably that would be _box_ in AmE.)

And we also talk about a _cake tin_. (Presumably that would be a _cake mold_ or _cake pan _in AmE.)


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## GreenWhiteBlue

velisarius said:


> I think I might say "There's  a big storm coming, and we may be snowed in for several weeks. I'm going to the supermarket to stock up on pasta, pulses, and canned goods."


 Only 2/3 of that would be understandable in AE; I don't think most Americans would have any idea what you mean by "pulses".


natkretep said:


> We say a _tin of biscuits _and a _biscuit tin_. (Presumably that would be _box_ in AmE.)


Only if it were indeed a box (probably made of cardboard.)  Those round metal containers in which Danish butter cookies (not biscuits...) are packaged, like this:






and which are useful for storing things after the cookies are all eaten, are called "tins" -- although that is not how most American-made cookies are packaged.



> And we also talk about a _cake tin_. (Presumably that would be a _cake mold_ or _cake pan _in AmE.)


"Cake tin" is sometimes used in AE, as is "cake pan", but "cake mold" would be odd, unless it were something like this:





I would especially use the term _pie *tin*_ or _cake* tin*_ if it were one of the disposable aluminum ones, although it would not seem strange to hear someone call a permanent metal one called that.  Naturally, it would be odd to speak of a glass pie *plate* as a "tin"!


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## london calling

DonnyB said:


> In everyday colloquial speech I'd say something like "I'm going to the supermarket today to stock up on tinned stuff".


Yes, or even 'tins of stuff'.


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## natkretep

Ah, thanks, GWB. So you'd call all of these tins? 











A cake tin is not normally disposable.


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## GreenWhiteBlue

The first two are definitely _tins,_ although I'm not sure how I would refer to the third object.


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## Packard

The "tin cans" are actually made from steel with a tin coating on both sides.  Tin is one of the few coatings that are food safe and non-reactive to the acids in foods.

I was once in a tee-shirt store where they had a manual tin can sealing machine, and you could choose to receive the tee-shirt in a bag or in a sealed can (with the company logo on the outside).

So it  is not just food that can be put in tin cans.

Currently the U.S. military orders air filters for their tanks and Humvees and they arrive in tin cans that are opened like a ration can with a key.  This keeps the filters clean and dry.  

It opened like this:


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## bennymix

So what do Brits use as a verb for this situation.   "She is at home canning tomatoes" in  AE.   That is, she boils them and sterilizes glass jars (Mason jars), puts in the steaming tomatoes and seals the jar, airtight.    She is 'tinning'?


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## london calling

bennymix said:


> So what do Brits use as a verb for this situation.   "She is at home canning tomatoes" in  AE.   That is, she boils them and sterilizes glass jars (Mason jars), puts in the steaming tomatoes and seals the jar, airtight.    She is 'tinning'?


No, she's bottling tomatoes. I do it every year here in Italy.


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## You little ripper!

Wikipedia calls the Milo container a 'tin'.

Milo (drink) - Wikipedia

_The packaging of tins of Milo in Malaysia and Singapore are also green and also have people playing sports on the tins, giving it the affectionate name of "Tak Kiu", Hokkien Chinese for "kick ball". In Colombia, Milo is closely tied to football (soccer), and the slogan several generations have sung is Milo te da energía, la meta la pones tú ("Milo gives you the energy, you set the goal")._


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## Packard

The Ball Jar Company (producers of Mason jars for canning) has a PDF document in their website called "Introduction to canning".  So, despite the fact that they are using glass jars and bottles, they are referring to it as canning.  I have no idea why however.

http://demandware.edgesuite.net/abb...bf2f473/assets/canning/pdf/IntroToCanning.pdf

*What is canning?* 
How do I know which method to use? Canning is really one step beyond cooking. It is a method that applies heat to food in a closed glass home canning jar to stop the natural spoilage that would otherwise take place, and removes air from the jar to create a seal. There are two home canning methods - Waterbath Canning and Pressure Canning.


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## london calling

You little ripper! said:


> Wikipedia calls the Milo container a 'tin'.


My name isn't Wikipedia, but I'd call it a 'tin' too. Ovaltine comes in tins too. This is the one I remember from the 70s:


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## Packard

You little ripper! said:


> Wikipedia calls the Milo container a 'tin'.
> 
> Milo (drink) - Wikipedia
> 
> _The packaging of tins of Milo in Malaysia and Singapore are also green and also have people playing sports on the tins, giving it the affectionate name of "Tak Kiu", Hokkien Chinese for "kick ball". In Colombia, Milo is closely tied to football (soccer), and the slogan several generations have sung is Milo te da energía, la meta la pones tú ("Milo gives you the energy, you set the goal")._




Which reminds me that my dad used to buy tennis balls in vacuum packed tin cans (3 balls per container).  Apparently balls left in the atmosphere would loose their liveliness, whereas the vacuum packed balls would not (until the package was opened).


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## london calling

We buy tennis balls in tins in the UK.  See a tin of vintage Dunlop (and other males of) tennis balls here (jimstennis.com).


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## kentix

I would call all three of those "tins". What makes them tins is that they are resealable metal containers, unlike a can, which is not resealable.


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## Packard

kentix said:


> I would call all three of those "tins". What makes them tins is that they are resealable metal containers, unlike a can, which is not resealable.



The tennis ball cans were opened with a key and were vacuum packed.  The plastic lid that was provided only served to retain the balls in the can; the hermetic seal was already lost.  

So those cans were "reclosable", but not "resealable".

Note:  I'm not sure when "reclosable" became a word (my spell checker objects), but I do find dictionary definitions for it.  I suspect its usage is fairly recent.


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## kentix

To be clear, I was talking about the pictures above that included the Milo container.


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## Packard

kentix said:


> To be clear, I was talking about the pictures above that included the Milo container.



That type can be resealed.  Though for me once you break the original seal you can only reclose it.  But that is my personal observation. 

I didn't know that type of tin had a special name.


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