7 Modern Foods That Were Old-School Pantry Must-Haves

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

When you're about to throw some ribs on the grill, you go to the fridge, not the pantry. But for many, this wasn't always the case. A ton of foods that we now store in the pantry or fridge — including tortillas, pudding, and bacon — once came in cans. When we look at the history of how food was stored in homes over the past few centuries, it makes sense. Refrigerators didn't become commonplace until the late 1920s. Before that, home chefs relied on iceboxes (which required the regular delivery of ice slabs) and canned items to help perishable food hold up over time. Canning actually got started in the early 1800s, with the first commercial canning manufacturer opening in 1812. 

While widespread canning certainly made sense back in the day, it can be strange to think that many of the foods we now buy in boxes or plastic packaging, or place in the fridge without a second thought, once sat in cans on grocery store shelves. Here, we'll explore some of the foods that were once widely canned staples but are packaged very differently now. While you can still find some of the foods on this list in cans (especially in industrial sizes), most don't primarily buy them this way in today's world.

Everyone is familiar with the brown plastic bottles of Hershey's syrup that are kept in the fridge today, but once upon a time, the sweet liquid came in a can. Some even say that it tasted better than the stuff that's in the plastic bottles; if you don't mind paying a pretty penny, you may still be able to find a can on eBay to do an at-home taste test.

Most now either buy tortillas in a bag or make them fresh at home, but once upon a time, they were found in the canned goods section. On Reddit, some people remember them fondly, saying they packed in quite a bit of flavor.

These days, it's common to grab a box when looking for a quick mac and cheese fix, but back in the '60s, a canned version from an iconic Franco-American brand was popular. You may still be able to find canned mac and cheese (the Chef Boyardee version) at the grocery store, but the reviews aren't exactly positive, with some saying that the taste and texture aren't quite right.

Hunt's Pudding cans were a mainstay of lunchboxes and pantries. The treats came in a variety of flavors, including butterscotch, lemon, chocolate, and vanilla. While there aren't a ton of canned pudding options in the U.S. outside of cafeteria-sized, multi-pound containers, it's still produced across the pond — British manufacturer Ambrosia makes an old school canned rice pudding dessert that's still around today.

Popular among survival enthusiasts, canned bacon was (and still is, for some) totally a thing. Some people on social media said it was great for camping trips, as it was easy to pop open the can and roast the bacon over a fire without worrying about keeping it cold beforehand.

Making ham salad at home is a bit of a pain, as you'll have to haul out the food processor. That being said, most pick up a container of the delicious salty stuff at the deli — but once upon a time, tons of households bought ham salad in a can. Underwood deviled ham spread was one of the canned foods that everyone ate in the '60s, and you can still find it on store shelves today.

Armour has had some absolute hits when it comes to canned meats — Vienna sausages are a mainstay of many pantries. That being said, not all of the brand's canned meats have stuck around. Despite the Armour company's best efforts, canned ribs failed as a concept after a brief hit when they were introduced in the '60s.