# Heinz canned spaghetti carbonara: genius or ghastly? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [August 29, 2024, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-canned-spaghetti-carbonara-genius-or-ghastly/1006445 "2024-08-29T23:16:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-canned-spaghetti-carbonara-genius-or-ghastly/1006445/21 "2024-08-30T02:20:09Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Would you buy it? Nope… ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-canned-spaghetti-carbonara-genius-or-ghastly/1006445/22 "2024-08-30T03:05:41Z")
Italians (and everyone else) should just relax. This isn’t going to damage the consumption of real Carbonara any more than Beefaroni did to spaghetti Bolognese. Nobody has to buy it or eat it, and if it is as awful as everyone here (who hasn’t tried it) says, it will die on the vine. Jeezaloo, get some perspective. To answer the OP, certainly not genius, not necessarily ghastly (until actually tasted). ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-canned-spaghetti-carbonara-genius-or-ghastly/1006445/23 "2024-08-30T03:10:58Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > People add cream to a carbonara? I mean, people have been adding cream to fettucine alfredo for so long that when you tell them it’s not in the original recipe they look at you like you just asked for Thousand Island dressing for a wedge salad. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-canned-spaghetti-carbonara-genius-or-ghastly/1006445/24 "2024-08-30T03:33:49Z")
This Heinz product seems to be UK-only. I actually can’t remember if there are many canned pasta products for adults in the US (Beefaroni, Spaghetti-Os and such are for the kids) but there are lots of _frozen_ pasta meals. I’ve got several from Rao’s in my freezer right now. I think the frozen pasta meals have a better reputation. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-canned-spaghetti-carbonara-genius-or-ghastly/1006445/25 "2024-08-30T03:58:08Z")
It’s… interesting. Obviously, Heinz wouldn’t do this if they didn’t think there was a market. And, at current exchange rates, the 1.75 pounds reported price online (see below) is only 2.30 USD, - so it’s a pretty solid value for cheap eats at 400g. I mean, better food variety, even if isn’t good quality, can lead people to a wider variety of eating habits. I won’t absolutely reject it for someone else, but as to the OP’s question, if I had all of my limbs broken and was starving to death, I’d drag myself by my eyelashes over to a crust of old bread before I’d eat it myself. For those curious, I pulled up the ingredients: > **[Heinz Spaghetti Carbonara 400g](https://heinztohome.co.uk/heinz-spaghetti-carbonara-400g/15511866.html)** > > Buy Heinz Spaghetti Carbonara 400g online with Heinz > Pasta (45%, Durum **Wheat** Semolina), Water, Pancetta (1%, Pork (95%), Salt, Spices, Maltodextrin, Dextrose, Acidity Refulators - Sodium Citrate and Sodium Carbonate, Antioxidant - Sodium Ascorbate, Preservative - Sodium Nutrite, Smoked Sunflower Oil, Natural Flavouring), Cornflour, Skimmed **Milk** Powder, Cheese Powder Blend (1%, Contains **Milk** ), **Milk** Powder, Sugar, Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Modified Cornflour, Stabilisers - Polyphospates and Sodium Phosphates, Natural Garlic Flacouring, Black Pepper, Onion Extract, Dried Parsley. I mean, I absolutely agree that the quality of the ingredients is probably of low order, but no more full of… stuff… than a lot of canned goods I’ve seen, and even purchased and used (making New England Clam Chowder is too much work/money for the few times I want it, so Progresso or the like is the norm, albeit with fresh herbs and other additions!). So, yeah, for someone who doesn’t love the real thing, or can’t afford to get it somewhere or make it from scratch, it’s going to be a poor substitute at _best_, but I can see how it may appeal to some as an easy meal inna can, and one that might be a change of pace from their other staples. Just a huge, endless “NO!” for me. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-canned-spaghetti-carbonara-genius-or-ghastly/1006445/26 "2024-08-30T04:02:56Z")
Have you, or anyone else here, actually tried those? I saw them on Facebook a couple weeks ago and replied that I would be willing to take one for the team, but haven’t actually bothered to buy any yet. The one time I tried making carbonara, I basically made breakfast spaghetti, with scrambled eggs. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-canned-spaghetti-carbonara-genius-or-ghastly/1006445/27 "2024-08-30T04:07:35Z")
I don’t think the Chef Boy-ar-Dee product is the same as the one I was served as a child in the 1970s, and TBH I don’t like it. I do buy frozen or refrigerated ravioli, and that’s usually pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-canned-spaghetti-carbonara-genius-or-ghastly/1006445/28 "2024-08-30T04:35:12Z")
Won’t try, Can’t answer. Or did I?? ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-canned-spaghetti-carbonara-genius-or-ghastly/1006445/29 "2024-08-30T12:58:56Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Have you, or anyone else here, actually tried those? I haven’t tried but also wasn’t kidding about the interest. I look for the Frank’s Spaghetti-Os (but not Spaghetti-Os with franks) every time I think of it but still haven’t seen it for sale. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-canned-spaghetti-carbonara-genius-or-ghastly/1006445/30 "2024-08-30T13:26:22Z")
I’m a pretty unrepentant foodie, and have made my own carbonara several times, and this sounds like it _should_ be awful. But I’m guessing it’s something like Spaghetti-Os with a creamier sauce. It’s just another option for people who like canned pasta type food- stuff like Chef Boyardee ravioli, Spaghetti-Os, or Beefaroni. The trick isn’t to compare whatever it is to the best version of it, it’s to evaluate it on its own merits. I had a buddy in college from Iowa, and he was talking about how he didn’t like a particular counter-service Tex-Mex chain that we all loved for drunk food in the wee hours. After watching him dig in at a sit-down place we all liked, I finally asked him why he didn’t like Taco Cabana. He replied that compared to the place we were at, it wasn’t very good. Which floored me; his comparison was more along the lines of having a slice of pizza from a mom & pop shop and saying it wasn’t good because it’s not as good as genuine AVPN Neapolitan pizza. My thinking is that the mom & pop place ought to be compared more to frozen pizza, and by that yardstick, it’s fantastic. As was Taco Cabana when compared to say… Taco Bell or some of the other lower-end Tex-Mex places. So canned carbonara probably isn’t good if you’re comparing to something made with fresh pasta, pancetta, freshly cracked pepper, free range eggs and real Parmigiano Reggiano. But if you’re comparing it to other canned meal options, it probably isn’t bad at all, and may even be tastier. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-canned-spaghetti-carbonara-genius-or-ghastly/1006445/31 "2024-08-30T13:33:58Z")
Weird that the ingredients list contains typos, on the manufacturer’s own website. I mean, unless there are such things as: Acidity Refulators Sodium Nutrite Natural Garlic Flacouring ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-canned-spaghetti-carbonara-genius-or-ghastly/1006445/32 "2024-08-30T13:39:26Z")
This might be a product that Heinz has created just to get some attention - a while back they advertised a limited edition ‘every sauce’ that was apparently a blend of 14 different ketchups and mayonnaise variants. It never actually appeared in stores and I think the ‘limited’ run was only 100 bottles which were given away in some sort of raffle. Carbonara is a dish that is almost guaranteed to troll a lot of gatekeeping attention if you make it wrong, or even if you make a variant of it that arose outside of Italy. This is true of Italian dishes in general, but especially carbonara. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-canned-spaghetti-carbonara-genius-or-ghastly/1006445/33 "2024-08-30T13:43:42Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > [Carbonara in a can? Chefs get shirty but Heinz is unrepentant | Food & drink industry | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/aug/29/heinz-spaghetti-carbonara-canned) Without even looking at it, I wouldn’t because it probably has way too much salt in it. The last time I checked a can of pasta, and I mean a can the size of a standard soup can, it said, “2,000 mg per serving”. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends adults limit sodium intake to less than 2,300 mg per day, so that’s way too much salt for what they consider “one serving”. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-canned-spaghetti-carbonara-genius-or-ghastly/1006445/34 "2024-08-30T13:53:58Z")
I’ve ordered a can, because I have a video series named Weird Stuff in a Can. I will post back to this thread when I taste it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-canned-spaghetti-carbonara-genius-or-ghastly/1006445/35 "2024-08-30T14:04:14Z")
Franks? You mean Franco-American? AFAIK, Soaghetti-Os have been a Campbells product for some time. I’d try the carbonara, but I’ve hated every canned pasta I’ve ever had. Even as a kid I hated the canned ravioli, spaghetti and meatballs, O’s, etc. Too sweet and just weird tasting. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-canned-spaghetti-carbonara-genius-or-ghastly/1006445/36 "2024-08-30T14:11:05Z")
I used to eat Chef Boy-ar-dee ravioli from a can. I don’t remember it being horrible, but it would never have gotten the seal of approval from Michelin 5-star chefs. Carbonara-in-a-can sounds awful. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-canned-spaghetti-carbonara-genius-or-ghastly/1006445/37 "2024-08-30T14:12:48Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I’ve ordered a can, because I have a video series named Weird Stuff in a Can One of my favorite segments. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-canned-spaghetti-carbonara-genius-or-ghastly/1006445/38 "2024-08-30T14:25:29Z")
Too much water. No wonder canned pastas are always mushy. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-canned-spaghetti-carbonara-genius-or-ghastly/1006445/39 "2024-08-30T14:57:51Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Franks? You mean Franco-American? AFAIK, Soaghetti-Os have been a Campbells product for some time. This goofy thing: > **[SpaghettiOs® Spicy Original | Campbells.com](https://www.campbells.com/products/spaghettios/spaghettios-spicy-original-made-with-franks-redhot/)** > > Introducing SpaghettiOs® first-ever flavor collaboration with Frank’s RedHot®! SpaghettiOs® Spicy Original packs a mild-medium heat level with it's iconic o-shaped pasta. Edit: I’d have guessed higher sodium. It’s about 1000 mg/can. > [@Mangetout](#): > > … Heinz has created just to get some attention … I was going to agree until I saw you ordered some. I’m very curious. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-canned-spaghetti-carbonara-genius-or-ghastly/1006445/40 "2024-08-30T16:11:23Z")
It looks like its going to be fairly similar to their macaroni cheese, except different shaped pasta and a tiny amount of bacon [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-canned-spaghetti-carbonara-genius-or-ghastly/1006445.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinz-canned-spaghetti-carbonara-genius-or-ghastly/1006445.md?page=3)