There’s a particular sort of optimism involved in buying six tins for an emergency and assuming every one of them has a ring pull. The time to discover that the peaches need an opener is ideally before you’re standing in the kitchen with a torch under your chin.
So this week’s bit of preparedness is the ordinary manual tin opener. The one that lives between the potato peeler and three takeaway menus, if you’re lucky. It works when the sockets don’t, and if you’ve already got one that works, this week’s shopping bill is £0.
Give it a home you can remember
Keep it in one predictable spot. That might be the front of the cutlery drawer or a small tray beside the tins. If you’re sharing a kitchen, tell whoever else does the cooking. “Front left of the cutlery drawer” is much more useful than “somewhere in the kitchen”.
Next time you open a tin, use the manual opener and see how you get on. If the handles are awkward to grip or the turning knob is stiff, make sure some of your cupboard food comes in packaging you can open comfortably. Easy-open tins and shelf-stable foods in easy-tear packs can be useful, depending on what works for your hands.
If you’re replacing yours
If the one in your drawer works for everyone who uses it, keep it. My daughter’s left-handed, which makes me think about who can comfortably use the things we keep in the kitchen drawer. It’s worth asking whoever will actually use the opener what feels right in their hands.
- Smooth-edge design. Lantana’s manual opener is designed to cut around the rim. * Lantana Smooth Edge Tin Opener
- Soft-grip handles. The Amazon Basics model has soft-grip handles and a wide turning knob. * Amazon Basics Manual Tin Opener
- An opener on its own for either hand. The grey Culinare MagiCan is listed as suitable for left- and right-handed users. * Culinare MagiCan
- One-touch, battery-operated. The Keplin is an option if squeezing handles or turning a knob is awkward. Keep a spare set of the specified batteries handy and have an adult operate it and handle the lid if children are helping. * Keplin One-Touch Tin Opener
- Left-handed kitchen set. The KYDIFS set includes a tin opener, scissors and a peeler. It’s worth a look if you’d use all three. * KYDIFS Left-Handed Kitchen Set
Keep one meal you can eat straight from the cupboard
A tin opener can get dinner started when a power cut takes out the cooker or a storm puts paid to the big shop. The trick is to pick food your household already eats and check the label so you know what’s ready to eat without heating.
An easy starting point is a tin of ready-to-eat beans, a packet of oatcakes and a tin of peaches. Swap in whatever works for your household. Think about the youngest person who’ll be eating it, the person who hates the texture of beans and the person who’ll open the peaches on a perfectly ordinary Tuesday. If you use your backup tin, put it back on the shopping list.
There’s a reason council emergency checklists put ready-to-eat food and a tin opener together. A cupboard meal also gives you something to reach for while you keep the fridge and freezer doors shut during a power cut. Nottinghamshire County Council’s emergency checklist · Food Standards Agency guidance for England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Open what you’ll eat
Give yourself enough light to see the lid, set the tin on a stable surface and watch for sharp edges. Start with a portion you’re likely to finish. If you have reliable refrigeration, follow the label’s instructions for keeping leftovers and transfer any remaining food out of the opened tin into a covered container. During a power cut, when you can’t keep leftovers safely chilled, smaller tins are handy. Food Standards Agency guidance on chilling food · Food safety in a power cut
The five-minute version
Find the opener. Check that it works the next time you open a tin. Put it back somewhere you’ll remember. Then look in the cupboard and pick one meal you’d happily eat without switching anything on.
If the meal turns out to be oatcakes and peaches, congratulations. You’ve accidentally reinvented a 1980s buffet for one.
Share this with whoever always puts the tin opener back in a different drawer.