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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The Food Curator

The Food Curator (AKA Michael Robinson) is an aficionado of all things food and bon viveur based in London. A passion for cooking and dining has driven him to put fingers to keyboard to bring you his thoughts on the world of food. When not writing, eating or cooking he has a love of American muscle cars. Pop on over to my Facebook page and let's start a Facebook food revolution together: http://tinyurl.com/thefoodcurator

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