Canned Food Challenge Day 5: Ravioli

February is National Canned Food month and canned foods are a great way to stay prepared for any disaster or SHTF event. So, for all of February, Chowmageddon is all about eating out of cans--not all three meals, every day, but one meal per day. Soups alone could meet this requirement, but who wants to eat soup every day?

Way back in the 1970s, one of the canned foods I ate the most as a child was Raviolis. This was a whole meal in and of itself, although I often ate it with a side of mashed potatoes or some vegetables. Like its cousin, Spaghetti-Os, Raviolis offer up a delicious, long-lasting alternative to spaghetti, in a can. Ironically, if I wanted Raviolis as a kid, cans were the only way to have them. We didn't go to fancy restaurants that served freshly-made raviolis, nor did the local grocer carry the higher-quality raviolis in the freezer section that you need to make your own sauce for that are so common today.

This is one can food that has been a staple of my diet for as long as I can remember, and I've eaten tons of them... Somewhere along the way, Chef Boyardee changed their formula, and for the past ten or so years, I've been buying generic Raviolis. I was heartbroken when my kids got older and decided they didn't like the pasta-and-tomato-sauce combination, but that just means my pantry stockpile means more for me in a disaster.

Overall ratings:

PRICE:

For a complete meal in a can, these are quite reasonable. Name Brand Chef Boyardee run about $1.00 a can, while my local Generic is generally $.69 a can. 

SHELF LIFE  

Canned foods rule when it comes to shelf life, and I've read about cans a hundred years old still being edible... not nutritious, not tasty, but still edible. My local generic still uses a traditional can while the Boyardees tend to be poptops--which I read don't have the shelf life of a can you need an opener for.

One interesting note is that my generic Raviolis, when opened a year later, seem pasty and almost dried up, compared to freshly-bought cans that are almost runny when opened. This makes the older cans harder to empty, but I can't really tell the difference, taste-wise. 

EASE OF PREPARATION

Like canned chili, Raviolis are super-simple to prepare. Open the can, dump into a safe cooking pot, plate, cup, etc., then heat. Stir occasionally, and when they start bubbling, they are ready for consumption. I believe that these can be eaten raw as well--but I doubt they'd taste very good. 

VERSATILITY

While raviolis are indeed a complete meal in and of themselves, and while most cans are just enough for one person, you can combine them with sides, perhaps to split the contents with someone else. I like mashed potatoes (instant) with mine. Bread is an obvious side, and I can recall many folks eating these with sides of green beans. 

TASTE

As much as I love these, they really do need some cheese. I like to melt Velveeta on mine, or cover them in a dusting of grated parmesan. Other cheeses would likely work as well. While not a substitute for freshly home-made pasta, they are surprisingly good for a canned food.