June 19, 2011 - 5:02pm
Canned Bread???
I was looking for something else on Amazon, and found these products:
B&M Brown Bread Original, 16 Ounce CanB&M Brown Bread Raisin, 16-Ounce Can
Canned bread?!?
The purist in me thinks, "riiiiiiiiiight, this must be pretty bad", but there are things I like (like tripe) that others may find bad but I think of as historic comfort food.
I've also seen "bread" in metallic sealed pouches in Canadian ration packs, and it tastes as good as "vacuum sealed extra preservative completely crushed bread product" sounds. Still, some thought it not too, too bad, so one man's bread product could be another man's bit o' home in the woods.
So, anyone have any reviews - good, bad or ugly - on this stuff? I really am curious.
Look here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_bread
look down the page to find the New England brown bread paragraph.
Steaming is the key. Sort of like a mildly sweet whole meal dumpling with raisins but steamed in a cylinder and sliced (getting it out can be a challenge).
Eat it with baked beans.
There is no judgement here about the quality of what comes in the can. But you can take the notion and make an interesting variation by applying your preferences. Maybe you put in dried cranberries instead of raisins. We always put in some dates and walnuts too and I think once perhaps chocolate chips.
Though not in Boston, or even the East Coast, I remember eating it fresh from the steamer (with baked beans for dinner on Sunday night) and the top (first slice) always seemed wet, even though there was a rag and a piece of paper or foil tied over the open end of the can against which the bread was compressed as it rose.
My mother used to buy a fruit and nut bread that came in a tin, possibly made by Crosse & Blackwell. We used to have it with Bird's Custard. Now there's a blast from the past!
Once upon a time I was teaching a class that was half students in South Carolina and half in Maine. I brought a can of each to the other. The South Carolina students were more appalled by the brown bread than the Mainers were by the boiled peanuts. It's all in where you grew up. Canned brown bread was always on the side when we had hot dogs and baked beans for supper.
Oh, you asked for a review. Brown bread from a can is gooey and wonderful under cream cheese. It is very sweet. More like a damp raisin muffin than a loaf of bread. If you are not from New England, your evaluation might be less kind.
Heidi-the-Yankee-in-the-South
I figured it must be a comfort food link for someone - much appreciated!
As a native southwesterner I had never heard of Boston brown bread until I lived near Boston for a few years. The B & M canned version was my first taste of it as a young wife wanting to learn some regional traditional recipes. Opened at both ends and then using one end to push the loaf out makes it easy to enjoy. Slice it, steam it, generously slather on good butter, and you'll learn its charms. Eating it with the famous baked beans is a wonderful experience, but I love it most as breakfast or a snack with a cup of good freshly brewed tea. I make my own now, and it is one of my favorite foods. I crave it now! I still struggle to find a way to keep the raisins from sinking, though!