CORNED BEEF IN A CAN

Corned Beef and Cabbage is one of my favorite meals and we always use a can of corned beef, because that's how Mother always did it. The canned corned beef is entirely different from the corned beef brisket I fix for Saint Patrick's Day. Les and I were always amused that, no matter what brands of canned corned beef I buy (Hormel, Armour, Goya or Libby's, e.g.) they were always labeled "Product of Brazil". We oftentimes wondered if that were the only place which produced canned corned beef.

Last week I put canned corned beef on my grocery list and it was not available locally at Kroger, Community Market, WalMart or Aldi's. I thought that was strange, but I knew we were going to Chillicothe to eat and I told Gerald I'd like to stop at KMart as it's right across the street from Olive Garden. To my surprise, there was no canned corned beef there. We went to Big Lots and Kroger and and there was also none there. I said, "This is unbelievable; I'm going to check on the internet when I get home."

WHO KNEW? There is now a world-wide shortage of canned corned beef because of a recall of the largest supplier from BRAZIL! (CLICK HERE to see the article.)

Who would have thought this would be a major impact? Amazon.com actually now has a WAIT LIST for canned corned beef when it becomes available!

I went to Libby's website and it led me to available stores; I typed in 30-mile radius and it gave the KMart stores in London and Xenia! I called the London store and I was told there was 1 can available on the shelf. I called the Xenia store and they have 8 cans! Yes, I like canned corned beef enough to make the trip and if the expiration date is not too close, I'll buy all of them!

In researching this, I learned the answer to a question I've wondered since childhood: why is canned corned beef in those peculiar-shaped cans?

The cans continue to be made in the traditional tapered rectangular shape, because it's easier to extract the contents in one piece, enabling it to be sliced. The cans also employ the use of a key which enables the user to separate one end of the can and as there's no seam it allows the contents to slide out easily! Les and I always make the "shlurping" sound as it slides from the can!