What Is Canned Brown Bread And How Do You Eat It?

Boston brown bread sets itself apart from other bread brands in a pretty specific way. It's steamed instead of baked and round instead of rectangular, all thanks to the round 16-ounce No. 303 can it's made in. You'll also need to traipse past the bakery aisle and on over to the canned baked beans section of the grocery store to find it. And nope. Since this bread isn't sold in plastic bags, there ain't no twisty wire bread ties for you to save in the kitchen junk drawer when you open some Boston brown bread. It's canned bread start to finish.

A staple of the New England food scene, canned brown bread has graced the tables of Northeasterners since 1928. It was born in a time when canned food popularity boomed, something that B&M brand took advantage of when it produced the first iterations of the bread. By the time they sent the canned bread to store shelves, it had already rolled out a number of side dishes to go with it, including canned meats and Boston baked beans. 

Traditionally, people have eaten them in a meal that also included the baked beans and crispy hot dogs. Many New Englanders grew up eating this meal, and for some of them, a meal of Boston brown bread, baked beans, and hot dogs is enough to send their childhood sentimentality quotient into overdrive.

Canned brown bread comes in two types, plain and with raisins. Typically, it's made with rye flour, cornmeal, and molasses, so even the non-sweet version — the kind without raisins — is still pretty sweet. Think boxed muffin or cake-like consistency and flavor and you have the right idea.

To open the can of bread, you need to use a can opener to cut off both the top and the bottom lids of the can. This is usually enough to allow the bread just to slide out of the can with just a bit of a shake. However, if it's stubborn, a little push on one end should make it slide out the other end.

Like any bread, you can slice it up and pop it in the toaster for a few. It also heats up fairly well in the microwave or the oven. Butter fans love to slather their favorite spread on it. (French butter – the Champagne of butter – would probably taste amazing on it.) Cream cheese and jelly or even some kind of nut butter would probably offer solid options as well. It can be eaten on its own as breakfast, an afternoon snack, or even as a substitute for dessert. And of course, you can try it the New England way with franks and beans to create the perfect shop-from-your-pantry meal.

Once upon a time, you had to be in the New England area to enjoy a can of this bread any time the mood strikes. However, nowadays, thanks to the Internet and sites like Amazon, it's available pretty much anywhere you live. You just have to order it and wait for UPS to drop it off at your door.

It's shelf stable, so once it arrives at your house, you just need to make room for it in your pantry. An unopened can will likely remain edible for years, precisely because it's canned. However, once the can is opened, the bread will have to be wrapped in plastic or stashed in an air-tight container with a lid. Because the bread's consistency is like cake or muffins, it's probably a safe to assume that it'll keep covered on the counter for just a day or two or in the fridge for up to a week, so wrap it up or eat it quick so you don't have to.