Brazil Corned Beef Cans How to Open

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NOOKS AND CRANNIES

Why are corned beef tins such peculiar shapes?

• THEY CONTINUE to be made in their traditional tapered rectangular shape because it is easier to extract the contents in one piece, thus allowing the block of corned beef to be sliced. That's also why the cans also employ a key that enables the user separate one end of the body of the can: there's no seam to prevent the contents slipping out. Originally, the cans were made by folding up folding tinplate sheet that produced the correct taper and soldering the seam. More recently this has been replaced with cans that are formed from welded cylinders, then reformed and expanded mechanically.

  John Nutting, Editor, The Canmaker magazine, Crawley, West Sussex.

• They're not peculiar - they're the same shape as the corned beef inside.

  Gavin, Cambridge

• No No No The question should be "Why are spam tins the same shape as corned beef tins"?

  Barrie Jones, Niagara Falls, Canada

• Because they are better for slicing for sarnies and cubing for corned beef hash.

  FRANCES LYLE, BRISTOL

• To keep the scottish happy. Cornbeef is widley known to be the main diet of most scottish teenage girls, and everyone knows that scottish girls are in charge of the planet.

  Gavin Bolton , Newcastle UK

• So that the cut edges are ideally suited to cut off your fingers when you try to get the wretched meat out. Why do you think I'm now a vegetarian?

  B Newbury, Feltham UK

• I am unaware as to shape of Canadian Spam cans, but those in the UK are definately not the same shape as corned beef cans. The Spam cans, whether large or small, regular or light, rectangular or round, do not taper. Whether or not this reduces the chance of the opener of the can getting a nasty cut while trying to open said can and remove the meat is another matter, although the safety of the Spam can has been greatly improved since the introduction of the ring pull top.

  Bobby Hooter, Rochester UK

• It won't be long before you will be buying corned beef in pouches.. then you won't think the cans are so peculiar.. you mark my words!!

  Steven Pacitti, Crawley UK

• They were originally made in the tapered shape so that they would fit more compactly in British soldier`s knapsacks in either the Boer War or the 1st World War. My father always swore that British Army cooks in the 2nd World War were issued with a special recipe booklet called 1001 ways to cook bully beef

  Roger Hawkins, Stavanger, Norway

• Why are people in Crawley so knowledgeable on this subject?

  Paul McMahon, Nottingham UK

• To make them more difficult to open.

  Alex, UK

• Alex (UK) has it in a nutshell. And now a major manufacturer of corned beef has raised the stakes further: instead of the tried and (mis)trusted key and twist system, they've introduced the ring-pull corned beef can.

  I don't know what kind of superhuman is required to open one of these, but we don't have one in our household. Ten minutes is the average to time force one of these abominations open. Complaining to the manufacturer resulted in the information that they invested several millions pounds in the new can design, and three one pound vouchers for our trouble.

  I look forward to Steven Pacitti's pouches of corned beef - at least they'd succumb to scissors...

  Steve Craftman, Bristol, England

• To say that the tapered shape of the corned beef tin makes it easier to release the meat is not correct. After all, mathematics shows it will only come out one way ! Unless you want a dollop of beef wasted by forcing the large end via the small end. Roll on the pouch..... Come on it's 2006 now.

  AJ, North Wales UK

• The easy way to get the meat out is to open the can with the key then make a small hole in the top of the can then the meat will just slide out no problem.

  Julie, Manchester, Lancashire

• We had an Argentinian neighbour and she said that all corned beef is made in Argentina, but no Argentinian would ever eat it, because of what it is. Does anyone know if this is true?

  Drew Liston, Edinburgh, Scotland

• You are correct Julie, puncturing the top if the tin does allow meat to slide out more easily, especially if the tin has been chilled. Most labels indicated this in the opening instructions however many people choose to ignore the instructions or label does not have the instructions.

  Rick Smaligo, Chicago, IL USA

• Saying all corned beef is manufactured in Argentina is also incorrect. Brazil also plays a massive part of supplying corned beef worldwide.

  Allan Bennett, Deeside, North Wales, UK

• The tins are that shape so when you clean them out you can use them for perfect Yorkshire pudding tins. Try them - they work a treat.

  Dug Priestley, Eastwood, Nottingham

• I think the tins are very very old fashioned and Sharpe and need changing asap!! I am looking to track down a super sized Corned Beef Key for my Nana who finds it very hard to use the small key provided (or not in some cases). She has owned one before but it has broken from all the corned beef she has eaten!! She can't remember where she got it from. Can anyone help!????

  lucy, Macclesfield, UK

• I went to open a can of corned beef the other day and was shocked with the challenge I faced no wonder the sell by date is 2022 it takes that long to open them dam odd shaped tins! Why do they do this to us? If any government official reads this could we have a referendum on this subject. My life has been turned upside down because of this, i've had many sleepless nights trying to come up with new fangled ideas for the perfect tin, i'm in a corned beef nightmare!!!!! Am i the only one who feels this strongly? please HELP!!!

  Stephen Keys , Gateshead, England

• Forget about the shape of the tin - it's irrelevant. Anyone who has been to a corned beef canning factory (as I have) where a cow walks in at one door and a tin of corned beef comes out the other door will never eat 'corned beef' again.

  Charles A, Cape Town, South Africa

• To stop them from rolling about in your shopping trolley.

  Gavin Bolton, Bolton South Africa

• Please be aware of fake corned beef from China

  Robert Henderson, Bath, UK

• So they can be used as ashtrays.

  Daniel Miller, Whitley Bay, UK

• I never use the key suplied. I use a time opener on both ends and use the narrow end to push the beef out of the tin.

  Al Dorman, Leicester Leicestershire

• To Drew Liston, Edinburgh, Scotland It is true that no Argentinian would eat the tinned corned beef. I would say that the reason is because in Argentina there is such an abundance of good and relatively cheap fresh meat that you wouldn't think of buying a tinned version of it. Also it is made of a very cheap and flavourless cut of meat, which used to be regarded (in my distant childhood) as more apt for feeding the dogs.

  Margot, Camberwell Australia

• If they provided corned beef in pouches it would look entirely too much like dog food for me to choke back. It's bad enough when it comes from the tin. ...and yet it's so yummy... Perhaps the question should be, "Why is corned beef so revolting yet tasty at the same time?"

  Jess, Kettering UK

• From wiki ... 'During 1963 and 1964, tins of Argentinian corned beef were responsible for several outbreaks of Typhoid. The most severe of these hospitalised over 500 people in Aberdeen'. May explain a few things.

  Al, Christchurch, NZ

• Most soldiers know that the corned beef tins are made that shape so that when the key is used to remove a section from the tin the large end will fit over the small end and form its own container for keeping the uneaten part of the corned beef fresh. If you don't believe me then try it.

  Alan Myland, Peterborough, England

• So that you know which end is the bottom for stacking. At least I take it that the small end is the top(head).

  S.Donnelly, Lisburn Ireland

• Can you send corned beef by email? I know many people can get Spam!

  Renee-Margaret Slater, Aberdeen, Scotland

• Corned beef here in the Philippines comes in a cylinder-like tins. Its more user-friendly than those of Americans. I wonder if Americans are more intelligent than we are. :)

  Ruth Hernaez-Gutierrez, Manila, Philippines

• I have recently acquired 4 stitches from opening a corned beef can. It is a little known military secret that "bully beef" cans were a major cause of death and injuries in World War I. The Germans would use trench mortars and fire them into the British lines. In opening them thousands of young soldiers were cut, bleeding to death or dying of blood poisoning. The corned beef can remains on of the most dangerous and cheaply produced anti personnel weapons still in use today. Hence my 4 stitches.

  Stewart McRorie, Beaune, Brugundy France

• Opening the ring pull corned beef tin is easy. Just pull the ring forward over the edge of the tin, this breaks the vacuum then fold the ring back and peel the bottom off the tin.

  Ian Edinborough, Birmingham, Great Britian

• The corned beef I buy is made in New Zealand and it comes in a can-shaped can, like a large tin of tuna or something. All corned beef lovers should immigrate to NZ and enjoy our corned beef and the unremarkable can-opener friendly cans it comes in :)

  Sadie Styx, Northland, New Zealand

• I can never even get the key thing to work.

  MMMBop, Middle Of Nowhere, Albertane

• I love corned beef, as do many other people. Why are the tins (from Brazil) the worst tins to open (with the stupid key thing which we have had for years and years)? 98% of tins are easy to open. The corned beef one with its peculiar shape is terrible. I can only acheive a 30% success rate for opening. Then the shape of the tin is not tin opener friendly. Am I just one of these old codgers or do younger people not buy the product. Has any one else complained? Do they intend to make the product as easily openable as all your other products or do Brazilians not know how to make proper tins? Please do not laugh but treat this in way the query is intended

  John Heath, Upton Snodsbury, UK

• I JUST LOVE EATING THE MEAT STRAIGHT OUT OF THE TIN. ME AND MY DOG GET THROUGH AT LEAST 20 A DAY.I WAS TOLD EATING CORNED BEEF WOULD MAKE MY HAIR A NORMAL COLOUR NOT GINGER THE EMPTY TINS ARE GOOD TO KEEP PELLETS IN FOR MY RAT CATCHER AIR RIFLE OR TO KEEP SMALL BISCUITS IN NOT GINGER NUTS THOUGH

  ginger ninja (craig merrin), brinsley notts

• I always buy the 6lb rectangular tin of corned beef ('Sussex Brand' - Brazil) from the 'out-of-date' catering stall at the boot sale. It is imported and packed by MCO TRADING LTD, 25 Ship Street, Brighton BN1 1AD. You can easily put this in smaller 'foodsaver' freezer bags. The Stall lets these go at £2 per tin!

  Tony Brooks, Kenninghall, UK

• What does it matter? A regular tin opener will open the can

  D Dineen, London England

• I gave up with the tins and buy it in large slices wrapped in plastic from my local supermarket. I love it on bread with freshly sliced onions mmmmmmmmmmmm.

  Martin Dawson, Manchester UK

• The tins are the shape they are because: A. That's the shape of the product inside. B. To keep the product from spoiling. Anyone having trouble getting the tins open or damaging himself doing it should leave that task to his minder. He should also have assistance donning his undies lest he unman himself in the process. For cryin' out loud people, do some growing up.

  Gerry N., Mountlake Terrace USA

• I am from Argentina and I must say I've never seen or heard about such as a thing as corned beef in my whole life. We do have tinned fishes, vegetables, and other canned foods but definitely no one in their right mind would ever buy beef in a can around here.

  Nahuel Benedetti, Banfield, Argentina

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Source: https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-2642,00.html

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