Brown Bread: A wonder food?

[echo83]

Ok, maybe not...but hear me out. I had breakfast for dinner last night, and part of the offerings were Brown Bread in a can, an aggressively New England take on bread. It's a fully cooked, round loaf with a 2 year shelf life. It's made with dark whole wheat flour, rye flour and molasses, so it's pretty rich tasting, very sweet, and very dense.



After opening the top and bottom with my trusty P38 (Rule #78: never pass up the opportunity to unnecessarily test your gear) I took a look at the ingredients and nutritional info. One can weighs 1 lb and yields 8 slices. Each slice is 130 calories, 28 grams of carbs, so for a can you're looking at 1,040 calories, 224 grams of carbs.

Ordinarily I avoid canned food for a bug-out situation for obvious reasons; it's heavy, takes up space, all that. Here is one of those few times I make an exception. I always keep some handy because I'm not sure there's a better way to keep bread on hand, unless it's hard tack.

Has anybody else tried this? Or am I the only weirdo in the room?

[Raptor]

Thanks for the post!

No you are not a weirdo...at least not for anything in this post...if you are then I would likely accept that moniker also.

That said I have to admit that the picture remined me of canned dog food. I am not familiar with this product so I will look for it though.

[Raptor]

Is this really $8.36 a can!?

Geez that is a lot for a loaf of bread.

[EBuff75]

Is this really $8.36 a can!?

Geez that is a lot for a loaf of bread.

Yeah, the prices for it are all over the place.  In the past I could usually find it for about $3 - 3.50 / can, but periodically I've seen it listed for much more.  The plain is cheaper than getting it with raisins.  If you buy a case of it (12 cans) on Amazon right now it's $47, which is expensive, but not nearly as bad:  https://smile.amazon.com/Brown-Bread-Raisin-Ounce-Pack/dp/B0025UCIGC

The funny part for me is that I've eaten this since I was a kid, but it was my mom making it at home.  Whatever the recipe was that she used almost exactly duplicated the taste of the store-bought stuff.  Probably should ask her for a copy of it.

Best eaten with lots of butter and it's good either cold (refrigerated) or toasted/warmed.  Yum!

[echo83]

Whoa, $8.36 a can is ridiculous. It's like $2.89 a can where I am. Maybe it really is a New England thing.

I agree, it looks totally unappetizing, and the idea of canned bread is a bridge too far for many. Mrs. echo83 thinks I'm nuts, but we eat it so rarely that I get a pass. And baked, with a pat of Kerrygold in the middle? Heaven!

I think the appeal for me is that it's survival food, but disguised. And people whose eyes normally glaze over as I lovingly describe my MRE lunch are more likely to give it a try.

Seriously, though...what's the point of buying survival food that nobody in your group is going to eat?

[RickOShea]

They last a lot longer than 2 years. I have a couple dozen cans that are dated October 2014. I tried a can a couple months ago, and it was just fine.



ETA: Pic added.

[echo83]

Wow, that's pretty impressive! I guess the high sugar, airtight thing has a few advantages. (C ration pound cakes everywhere might agree...) How did you store it? I'm assuming somewhere pretty stable?

[RickOShea]

Wow, that's pretty impressive! I guess the high sugar, airtight thing has a few advantages. (C ration pound cakes everywhere might agree...) How did you store it? I'm assuming somewhere pretty stable?

On a shelf in my junk/prep room with most of my other longterm food stuffs.

I don't know about that B&M stuff, but most canned foods are cooked in the can after it is sealed, which also kills off the bacteria that may be present. That's why a lot of canned goods can remain edible for decades, so long as they maintain their airtight seal and aren't exposed to high temps.

Some people worry about the bisphenol-A (BPA) chemical that some cans are treated with, but as I understand it, less than 10% of canned goods still use BPA.

[RoneKiln]

Has anybody else tried this? Or am I the only weirdo in the room?

No you are not a weirdo...at least not for anything in this post...if you are then I would likely accept that moniker also.

We're on a forum for preparing for an invasion by alien zombies.

I think we are way past the point for being self conscious. Just embrace the weirdness.

I'm tempted to order a case of that to try.

[flybynight]

Has anybody else tried this? Or am I the only weirdo in the room?

No you are not a weirdo...at least not for anything in this post...if you are then I would likely accept that moniker also.

We're on a forum for preparing for an invasion by alien zombies.

I think we are way past the point for being self conscious. Just embrace the weirdness.

I'm tempted to order a case of that to try.

Well that's weird. 
Order two 

[Anianna]

Is this really $8.36 a can!?

Geez that is a lot for a loaf of bread.

Yeah, the prices for it are all over the place.  In the past I could usually find it for about $3 - 3.50 / can, but periodically I've seen it listed for much more.  The plain is cheaper than getting it with raisins.  If you buy a case of it (12 cans) on Amazon right now it's $47, which is expensive, but not nearly as bad:  https://smile.amazon.com/Brown-Bread-Raisin-Ounce-Pack/dp/B0025UCIGC

The funny part for me is that I've eaten this since I was a kid, but it was my mom making it at home.  Whatever the recipe was that she used almost exactly duplicated the taste of the store-bought stuff.  Probably should ask her for a copy of it.

Best eaten with lots of butter and it's good either cold (refrigerated) or toasted/warmed.  Yum!

I'd be interested in that recipe.  Using a FoodSaver on it would cut down on the weight of the can, plus you could make and store it in individual serving sizes for easy rationing.

[NapalmMan67]

My grandparents always used to have some around when I was a kid.  Don't remember much about the taste.

I've seen it locally for about $3-4 can.  Have threatened my wife I'll buy some and maker her eat it, never have though.   For now, we'll just keep feeding the sourdough and keep trucking along.

[echo83]

Is this really $8.36 a can!?

Geez that is a lot for a loaf of bread.

Yeah, the prices for it are all over the place.  In the past I could usually find it for about $3 - 3.50 / can, but periodically I've seen it listed for much more.  The plain is cheaper than getting it with raisins.  If you buy a case of it (12 cans) on Amazon right now it's $47, which is expensive, but not nearly as bad:  https://smile.amazon.com/Brown-Bread-Raisin-Ounce-Pack/dp/B0025UCIGC

The funny part for me is that I've eaten this since I was a kid, but it was my mom making it at home.  Whatever the recipe was that she used almost exactly duplicated the taste of the store-bought stuff.  Probably should ask her for a copy of it.

Best eaten with lots of butter and it's good either cold (refrigerated) or toasted/warmed.  Yum!

I'd be interested in that recipe.  Using a FoodSaver on it would cut down on the weight of the can, plus you could make and store it in individual serving sizes for easy rationing.

Best of both worlds! Plus, it saves me the trouble (?) of eating an entire can myself. Not that there's, uh, anything the matter with that. At our house we either bake it and serve with butter, or make a sandwich with cream cheese in it. It's pretty delicious.

[rlail]

Could you theoretically make the recipe, then can it yourself, ala mason jars?

[Anianna]

Could you theoretically make the recipe, then can it yourself, ala mason jars?

From the National Center for Home Food Preservation:

Can I can bread or cake in a jar?
These products are not recommended for canning; choose recipes that you can freeze. In fact, most of these products are not really "canned." The directions call for baking in the jar and then closing with a canning lid. Many recipes for quick breads and cakes are low-acid and have the potential for supporting the growth of a bacteria like Clostridium botulinum if it is present inside the closed jar. One university's research showed a high potential for problems. You will see these products made commercially; however, additives, preservatives and processing controls not available for home recipes are used. Canning jar manufacturers also don't endorse baking in their canning jars.

[rlail]

Could you theoretically make the recipe, then can it yourself, ala mason jars?

From the National Center for Home Food Preservation:

Can I can bread or cake in a jar?
These products are not recommended for canning; choose recipes that you can freeze. In fact, most of these products are not really "canned." The directions call for baking in the jar and then closing with a canning lid. Many recipes for quick breads and cakes are low-acid and have the potential for supporting the growth of a bacteria like Clostridium botulinum if it is present inside the closed jar. One university's research showed a high potential for problems. You will see these products made commercially; however, additives, preservatives and processing controls not available for home recipes are used. Canning jar manufacturers also don't endorse baking in their canning jars.

Thanks!

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

Either they don't sell it in my AO or I'm shopping at the wrong stores because I don't recall ever seeing this stuff around here.

I've heard of it, but I've never seen it for sale at any of the stores in my area. Either that or I'm an idiot and just haven't noticed it.

That last part is probably the more likely scenario.

[CG]

Either they don't sell it in my AO or I'm shopping at the wrong stores because I don't recall ever seeing this stuff around here.

I've heard of it, but I've never seen it for sale at any of the stores in my area. Either that or I'm an idiot and just haven't noticed it.

That last part is probably the more likely scenario.

I have not seen it either.  Not even sure where in the store it would be if they did carry it.

[Anianna]

I've never seen it locally and it doesn't show up in the online version of local stores.  Online from shippers, it seems wildly expensive ($16+ per can) unless you find a seller trying to offload damaged cans and even then they're fairly expensive (except the raisin version which several people think is an abomination).

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

Either they don't sell it in my AO or I'm shopping at the wrong stores because I don't recall ever seeing this stuff around here.

I've heard of it, but I've never seen it for sale at any of the stores in my area. Either that or I'm an idiot and just haven't noticed it.

That last part is probably the more likely scenario.

I have not seen it either.  Not even sure where in the store it would be if they did carry it.

I'd figure it'd possibly be in the canned food section, but it could also be in the bread section. I honestly have no clue where it'd be in the stores either.