Bamboo Shoots

Canned bamboo shoots are either white, crisp, and thoroughly clean-tasting, or yellow, limp, and smelling hideously like a biology lab, or something dull and in between (this according to an inch-thick stack of labels and tasting notes I have accumulated over the years). In my experience, only three particular cans are worth buying: Ma Ling Bamboo Shoots, packed in a 1-pound 3½-ounce can with a green label (drained weight 12⅝ ounces) are large, crisp shoots that taste very good. Companion Winter Bamboo Shoots In Water, packed in the same size can with a blue label, are again large, clean-tasting, and crisp. Companion Giant Bamboo Shoots Stripped In Water (Chinglish for “bamboo strips in water”) come in the same large, blue can and are very good, though not as good as the other two.