Canned foods have been with us for many, many years. They have gone through being the “latest” thing with a certain cachet, to a stalwart of the two World Wars in the form of “bully beef” or corned beef to us civilians. They have even been at the forefront of the 1960s pop art revolution, with Andy Warhol designing the iconic Campbell’s Soup brand.
Even with this venerable history cans have seen a slow decline in public opinion to today’s position of being viewed as a little down market.
The only canned food which manages to universally avoid this snobbery is tinned tomatoes. Beloved of pretty much every kitchen cupboard they are hold their head up as if they are good enough for the Italians (and they are great cooks!) then they must be good enough for us. Like a little bit of Tuscany in a can.
Another one which isn’t held in such high esteem but is everybody’s guilty food secret is baked beans. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like baked beans on toast, and for most people (including me) only one brand will do.
Heinz, famous for entombing comestibles in metal cans and what a fine job they do of it too. In fact I was inspired to write this post after eating a can of potato and leek soup from that brand. It was delicious, even though it lacks the designer label of its competitor. Of course its sister in the range, cream of tomato soup, is almost legendary.
But there are lots of things we can buy in cans which are high end – foie gras, bouillabaisse and abalone either expensive or considered “posh” foodstuffs yet happily reside in a can next to your baked beans. In fact the range of food available in cans is mind boggling.
So why the snobbery over canned food? It’s a proven way of preserving food extremely well, precooked and easy to prepare and offers great ingredients to cook with as per the aforementioned tinned tomatoes.
I think it’s simply down to the plethora of low quality canned products like the infamous “all day breakfast” which doesn’t sound, look or taste (yes I have tried a can!) very appealing.
My canned guilty secret? Well it’s Heinz baked beans with sausages. Yes the one with those cheap tasting frankfurters, I love them and have done since I was a kid.
Cans offer something for everyone, so leaving tinned tomatoes, cream of tomato soup and baked beans aside, what’s your favourite thing in a can?
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It didn’t even occur to me until reading your article that I honestly can’t remember the last time I visited the canned goods isle in my local grocery store! It’s very true – I tend to stick with either fresh or frozen everything – mostly because of taste, especially when it comes to vegetables. Another reason is since I started working from home I cook more things from scratch so rather than picking up a can of chili for example, I buy beans in bulk and a bunch of fresh ingredients and pop it all in my crock pot for the day. Tastes w-a-y better and overall is more cost effective. Hum, so obviously I won’t be visiting the canned goods isle any time soon, but thanks for the thought provoking article!
Marquita Herald recently posted..Mastering Transition Is The Key to Meaningful Life Change
Thanks Marquita, glad you liked the post! Buying fresh is always best but these are some things which do work well in cans and are quick and convenient.
Favorite canned goods? Hmmm … let me think …
It has to be beer. Even though I prefer it from a bottle, except for some of those canned draft beers you can get in England (and occasionally imported to the US.)
Next to that, canned tonic goes well with a good gin, like Plymouth.
Alan
Alan Jenkin recently posted..6 Simple, Proven Principles for Success
Alan I think you just won lol! Beer of course is a fantastic thing from a can.
Yikes… canned goods.. beans… only because they add fiber to my food supply! There is more research out there about the cans that one uses for canning so I’ve tried to avoid the canned goods… If I’m off on a canoe or camping trip, i would have to admit baked beans would be my canned good of choice… with chopped up hotdog in it!! Shhhhh don’t tell anyone I told you!! hehehe Oh sauerkraut too!!
Holly recently posted..I Don’t Like How That Feels! Gotta Start Somewhere!
Haha I won’t tell a soul Holly 😉
OH MY… canned food … where would we be without canned food… baked beans, other beans…fruit…I certainly don’t use canned food for everything – recently saw a tin of friend onions … and was like really…but each to our own I guess…but I do have an issue that often when that time of year comes and the kitchen cupboards get a spring clean, there are always a few cans from way back lurking in the back…my motto is buy them and use … great post 😉
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Yes there are some odd things in cans Sarupa, fruit is a great one though. I love pineapple in a can and drinking the juice is yummy!
Must have canned food in our house is potatoes, both sliced and whole! It is my husband’s choice rally and not so much mine, but they do make a quick side dish. We call the ‘bally potatoes’ and fry them up quite often.
Newest canned item that is a must have is corned beef and hash. Our college-aged sons really love it. Basically, it is salt in a can!
Dawn Golden recently posted..Week 03 Journaling ROW
Gotta love corned beef hash Dawn. I have a soft spot for it, it’s great with a fried egg on top! Why not try it in a Spanish style, add some sliced bell peppers to your onions as you fry them and give it a sprinkling of paprika (smoked if you have it).
Well Michael, now you can say you DO know someone who doesn’t like baked beans on toast. I used to have them now and again as a child, but I can’t stand them now. When I first left school, I lived in a “Nurse’s Home” while I did my Nursing “apprenticeship” (I spose you could call it that).
Anyway, there were no microwaves in those days, and we only had a toaster and a kettle in the “universal” kitchen, so I bought an electrical appliance that I could plugin and warm up food. So, many of my dinners were canned food like veggies with those little sausages, because the canned food didn’t need a fridge to store them. When I first started Nursing, I was quite skinny, but within a year of eating that kind of food, I had put on quite a bit of weight.
Anyway, one of my favorite canned foods these days is coconut cream/milk for Chinese recipes. I like canned fruit sometimes too.
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Oops, I forgot – in the winter time I love canned pumpkin and tomato soup:-)
Julieanne van Zyl recently posted..How to Create a Static Homepage with Free WordPress Theme
Soups are great in a can Julieanne, but they do tend to have massive differences in quality depending on brand. Canned coconut milk is a must in my store cupboard too, but try it on bananas with some nut butter (peanut, cashew, etc) as a dessert…it’s absolutely delicious! 😉
Hi, Michael! I don’t eat much out of a can, but I do buy beans. Sometimes I just don’t feel like soaking and cooking them myself. It’s so easy to open up a can of black beans (or whatever kind) and use them in soups, salads and other dishes.
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I totally agree there Leanne, beans are so easy to use out of a can. The only thing I suggest to people is to be careful with over cooking them, if you cook a bean from a can chilli too long it can get a bit mushy, so make you sauce add the beans then turn off and marinate for a hour or two. Then reheat and you will have firm beans with all the flavour!