Being a Brit we are not exactly renowned for our food and there is a lot of stuff others might consider crap, that we love, much of it of the tinned variety. Canned ravioli is very much one of these foods I miss, crave and dare I say seek out.
What’s the deal with tinned foods in England?
OK, so I don’t mean all tinned foods, but tinned stuff pretty much invented by Heinz and usually coming with some kind of soft-tomato sauce. The fad started with Heinz Backed Beans, I did not know this, but backed beans are actually soy beans.
These became a staple for the English breakfast, our one culinary delight to the world and then I assume Heinz thought “Are there any famous global dishes we can pervert and put into a tin”?
And boy did they go gangbusters, I mean a could literally go on forever about what Heinz put in a tin and will probably give them their own article one day, but we got heinz spaghetti, which as you might have guessed was not exactly spaghetti, but processed tiny bit of pasta with a tomato sauce. We got alphabeti spaghetti, which was made the same, but with letters (a genre which would also have animals). Tinned spaghetti bolognese, which I would often eat cold and drunk and the subject of todays discussion tinned ravioli.
What is Ravioli?
Ravioli is a famous italian dish that if god had his way would never have been put into a tin. According to Wikipedia “Ravioli singular: raviolo, pronounced [raviˈɔlo]) are a type of pasta comprising a filling enveloped in thin pasta dough. Usually served in broth or with a sauce”. Said sauce of tinned variety being a sweet tomato one.
It has a long history going back to 14th century Italy, but there are records of it in the UK around the same time AND that it was not bastardised by Heinz for the sake of the British!
You can read about Street Food in Rome here
The history of canned ravioli
Canned or tinned ravioli thus became popular around the time that everyone was tinning things, World War One. Initially Tinned Ravioli was popular with Italian troops, before it went out to the wider world, including the UK and the USA.
Post-war the Italians remembering they could actually cook went back to cooking, while the UK and USA thought wow canned Ravioli, lets make this a god damned thing.
What is canned Ravioli/Tinned made of?
The most popular canned ravioli or tinned ravioli is pasta filled with beef, although Italian sausage, or even cheese have been used. The sauce is usually light slightly sweet tomato sauce, but again could be tomato with some meat in it, or again cheese thrown in for good measure.
Heinz are generally the gods canned, or tinned ravioli and offer a bunch of selections. Heinz though do not in my mind make the best canned ravioli. Who then makes the best canned ravioli? That we will get to.
Canned Ravioli Brands – What’s the best canned Ravioli?
What are the 5 best canned ravioli brands in the UK? OK, so I typed this in hoping to get some answers, or rather than someone had answered it for me, but alas not. I have therefore literally had to research this myself. You’re welcome
5) Waitrose Canned Ravioli
I hate everything Waitrose stands for, but if you look into it they apparently make a really good one. By really good they mean more expensive than other brands.
4) Aldi Canned Ravioli
Like the above but much cheaper. Sadly while brands like these have become very popular I still feel the ilk of poverty when I buy anything from there. Although with the current inflation in the UK, they really are a household brand now.
To read about inflation in the UK click here (CPI,of%200.6%25%20in%20April%202021)
3) Tesco Tinned Ravioli
OK, so when I was actually really poor these were like 5p a can. Honestly in the late 90’s I could do a months shopping on 10 quid, alas that is not so easy nowadays.
2) The second best canned ravioli is Heinz
Yeah we get it you invented it, so you feel like you own shit now, but while you are good you are not the best canned ravioli in the world.
1)The best canned ravioli in the world is Branston Ravioli
Ever had cranston pickle? OK so they make the best pickle in the world, and by pickle it is a bottled picked black sauce thing that we really love in the UK. Branson pickle and hame sandwich cannot be beaten. I digress, but basically they make a tinned ravioli that when I posted its picture my friend described as “food of the gods”. He was not wrong. Not all that different from Heinz, but with a Branston edge and just a brand that makes you feel good.
Can you get canned ravioli in Cambodia?
Can you get canned ravioli in Cambodia? Yes, you can at Angkor Market in Siem Reap.
To read about Angkor Market click here.
Why is this important? Because I live here, that is why.