# Let us discuss canned meat products

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-discuss-canned-meat-products/1007066>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Tags:** food-cooking\
**Created:** [September 10, 2024, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-discuss-canned-meat-products/1007066 "2024-09-10T15:56:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 6

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**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2024, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-discuss-canned-meat-products/1007066/101 "2024-09-12T14:18:37Z")

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> [@jnglmassiv](#):
>
> I came across this old ad tonight on r/vintagemenus

Kind of interesting that it outright brags about tasting heavily of salt and sugar!

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**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2024, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-discuss-canned-meat-products/1007066/102 "2024-09-12T15:01:37Z")

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> [@kayaker](#):
>
> scrapple

You rang?

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**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:** [September 12, 2024, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-discuss-canned-meat-products/1007066/103 "2024-09-12T15:11:02Z")

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And some cornmeal mush!

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**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:** [September 12, 2024, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-discuss-canned-meat-products/1007066/104 "2024-09-12T15:18:34Z")

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Thanks for the link @ThelmaLou - subscribed. My wife and I like shows like the PBS Taste of History, and even Lords and Ladles about historical cooking/menus so I’ll set it aside for some fun watching with the wife (we like watch such things while cooking and eating dinner together).

We also enjoyed the Chef Show, and various Cheng shows that sadly only lasted a few seasons and were often too much about the celebs rather than the cooking, but are still fine dinner fare as it were.

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**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2024, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-discuss-canned-meat-products/1007066/105 "2024-09-12T15:55:42Z")

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I quite like this series:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/bzjR0yL4f0Y?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque

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**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2024, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-discuss-canned-meat-products/1007066/106 "2024-09-12T16:32:56Z")

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> [@thorny\_locust](#):
>
> outright brags about tasting heavily of salt and sugar!

And presumes to hold the title to biggest hunger appeasing taste. Send now, indeed.

> [@ThelmaLou](#):
>
> definitely check out that subreddit

It’s reddit at its best.

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**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2024, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-discuss-canned-meat-products/1007066/107 "2024-09-12T16:53:34Z")

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> [@pulykamell](#):
>
> Go to a good Eastern European supermarket and you should find canned delights galore.

Just got back from the Russian grocery store. Oddly, they didn’t have much of a selection of sardines. It’s a really small store, and I guess they figure you can get a good selection of sardines in the regular grocery stores (Go, H-E-B!). There were other canned and dried fishes, refrigerated, too, but I will save that exploration for another time. Here’s my modest haul:

[![](https://i.imgur.com/6uP2BCx.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/6uP2BCx.jpeg)

The only “meat” I got was salmon in mustard sauce and salmon pate, the latter being British, not Eastern European. I guess those Brits know their way around a salmon pate tea sandwich or two-- at least they do in all the British murder mysteries I watch.

The first time I went into that store a couple of years ago, I saw the poppyseed roll and I almost cried. I hadn’t seen one since my mother made them when I was a kid. She was the child of immigrants from Slovakia (in 1921 it was still _Czecho_slovakia) and I grew up with a few ethnic foods. I almost cried today when I picked up one. She used to make a poppyseed one and a walnut one, but this roll has both in the filling. (Note to self: right after eating a slice, go use the Waterpik _immediately_!).

[![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZyuxpACwCSc/XWwwnWFrc9I/AAAAAAAAH30/HtKr8WVtNsg9zmU98Z-cVJNjcDKdky4sQCLcBGAs/s1600/Kolach%2B014%2B-%2BCopy.JPG) ](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZyuxpACwCSc/XWwwnWFrc9I/AAAAAAAAH30/HtKr8WVtNsg9zmU98Z-cVJNjcDKdky4sQCLcBGAs/s1600/Kolach%2B014%2B-%2BCopy.JPG)

I predict an interesting lunch for myself today…

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**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2024, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-discuss-canned-meat-products/1007066/108 "2024-09-12T18:16:17Z")

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> [@ThelmaLou](#):
>
> Oddly, they didn’t have much of a selection of sardines.

I’m surprised there wasn’t Baltic sprats or a herring of some kind. The sprats are small and heavily smoked and always a bargain\*. They seem to more often get packed in wide, flat, circular cans or stood on end in jars.

> **[Amazon.com: Riga Gold, Smoked Sprats in Oil - 8.82 oz/250g (Pack 3) : Grocery...](https://www.amazon.com/Riga-Gold-Smoked-Sprats-2-pack/dp/B00UBJPKXC)**
>
> Amazon.com: Riga Gold, Smoked Sprats in Oil - 8.82 oz/250g (Pack 3) : Grocery & Gourmet Food

\*edit: not a bargain at amazon! Link for illustration only. I’d expect the jars for $3-5 each.

Another jewel of reddit is r/cannedsardines.

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**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2024, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-discuss-canned-meat-products/1007066/109 "2024-09-12T18:38:49Z")

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They did have herring, both shelf-stable and refrigerated.

They also had the very same jar of sprats you posted. Should I have gotten that? How do you prepare/eat them?

The canned stuffed cabbage was _meh_, the sauerkraut was fine, but the sesame halvah was out of this world! Basically it’s a bar made of sesame paste and glucose with vanilla flavor, but the texture is dry and crumbly, not sticky. The horseradish is excellent. I do love horseradish.

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**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2024, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-discuss-canned-meat-products/1007066/110 "2024-09-12T19:06:53Z")

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I eat the sprats straight out the tin. I still remember the first time I had them at language school in 1972. They’re dripping in oil and practically melt in your mouth.

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**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2024, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-discuss-canned-meat-products/1007066/111 "2024-09-12T21:00:41Z")

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> [@terentii](#):
>
> They’re dripping in oil and practically melt in your mouth

thats how i like my sardines I know the water is healthier but its not the same

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**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2024, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-discuss-canned-meat-products/1007066/112 "2024-09-12T21:51:13Z")

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Fish oil is **very** healthy. People take it as a dietary supplement.

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**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2024, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-discuss-canned-meat-products/1007066/113 "2024-09-12T22:17:15Z")

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I haven’t seen sardines in fish oil in well over twenty years. Olive oil is the best I can get, and it isn’t always that.

At my mother’s request (which is how I know it’s been over twenty years) I wrote the company we were used to buying from and asked about the sardines in their own oil. They replied that they didn’t pack them that way any more. Maybe they’re selling it for the dietary supplements and getting more money.

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**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2024, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-discuss-canned-meat-products/1007066/114 "2024-09-12T22:50:03Z")

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This thread reminded me that when I was in Iceland I bought a packet of Fish Jerky Bites. “Our Icelandic Fish Jerky are salted and dried slices of high protein snack made from solid cuts of fish.” It also identifies the fish as haddock. I haven’t gotten around to trying it yet, although I did eat the Icelandic chocolate bar and the Icelandic licorice; the latter had an interesting taste, different from the Australian licorice I usually eat.

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**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2024, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-discuss-canned-meat-products/1007066/115 "2024-09-12T23:01:05Z")

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ahh these days its soybean oil or olive oil when you find it

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**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2024, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-discuss-canned-meat-products/1007066/116 "2024-09-12T23:38:24Z")

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I’m kinda concerned about that can of stuffed cabbage. 😳. Let us know about that, please.

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**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2024, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-discuss-canned-meat-products/1007066/117 "2024-09-13T00:04:52Z")

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You’ve never had cabbage rolls? They’re called _golubtsy_ in Russian and Ukrainian (and other East European languages too). They’re usually stuffed with ground beef, onions, and rice, and then baked in tomato sauce.

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**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2024, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-discuss-canned-meat-products/1007066/118 "2024-09-13T00:18:40Z")

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My parents used to buy canned stuffed cabbage rolls, back in the 1950’s. My father and I both loved the stuff. My father came across a sale, and came home with two cases.

Shortly after that we had them for dinner – and I came down with something and got thoroughly sick that night. Nothing to do with the cabbage rolls; but I could never stand to eat them after that, and there was my poor mother (who was in charge of meals) trying to figure out how to use up two cases of canned stuffed cabbage rolls, which were no longer a good quick dinner for everybody. (I think my much older sisters were no longer usually there for dinner.)

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**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2024, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-discuss-canned-meat-products/1007066/119 "2024-09-13T00:22:49Z")

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I occasionally buy them frozen at the local Food Basics, but they (like so much else) are better when you make them from scratch.

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**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2024, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-discuss-canned-meat-products/1007066/120 "2024-09-13T00:31:48Z")

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In his long out of print but not hard to find book, “Burma Surgeon”, Dr. Gordon Seagraves said that one fine day, his battalion got an air drop that included crates of Spam, and several soldiers vomited upon seeing the contents, because they were that tired of eating it.

I haven’t purchased it in a very long time.

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