This year we celebrate the 60th birthday of the most famous canned food, the classic ravioli from Maggi, here in Germany. This can and its delicious inside are some kind of cultural artefact and you will probably find nobody, who doesn’t know it. For me it’s part of my whole life. As a child we often ate ravioli when we needed a quick but tasty lunch. When I became older, I learned that these wonderful noodles were perfect as festival food and a satisfying meal as a poor student at the end of the month, too. You can see, canned ravioli are an essential part of my whole life and I’m sure share quite similar memories with millions of other people in my country.

In other parts of Europe and in the USA the canned ravioli were popularized by big companies like Heinz and Buitoni. They were produced in many different forms. Fillings with beef, cheese, chicken, or Italian sausage and served in tomato, tomato-meat, or tomato-cheese sauce. In St. Louis you can still eat a very special version of the popular noodles, the toasted ravioli.  

A Piece of Home out of The Can

It was back in 1958 in a small town called Singen, when the first ravioli can was made by the company Maggi. It was a pioneering idea to produce ravioli in cans for the German market, especially in this time. With the “Wirtschaftswunder” in the 50’s in Germany, also the people’s wealth raised and made it possible for them to travel, for instance. One favourite destination for millions of German tourists was Italy and with every new tourist the demand for Italian food became bigger. Additionally, it was no standard in the 50s to have a fridge, so that most meals were cooked directly from fresh ingredients. The new canned food did not only fit people’s desire for Italian food but made also their daily life easier. Suddenly, it was possible to eat fresh and tasty ravioli simply out of a can. This led in turn to a real fun fact: as most German tourists camped in Italy, they took dozens of ravioli cans with them into the land of pasta, mostly to save money. 😉

Traditional Quality in a Can

Still today, the demand for canned ravioli is undefeated. Last year 29,3 million cans of ravioli were produced in Singen and the amount is rising. Today, the modern ravioli enthusiast can choose from different types of ravioli. The classic ones got extended by a spicy version called Diavoli, a vegetarian one with vegetable filling, and the Raviolini for the youngest can-lovers. One major fact for the popularity might also be the quality of the manufacturing. The beef is 100 percent from Germany and minced by the company itself. Plus, the pasta dough and the smoked bacon is “handmade”, too, as they make both fresh in their factory in Singen. Besides, the tomatoes come from a sustainable cultivation in Spain. Long story short: there’s nothing left to chance when it comes to the quality of Maggi’s ravioli.   

Last but not least: Happy Birthday canned ravioli and stay as you are! We love you. 😉  

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