Canned PB&Js Are A Real Food, But Where Can You Get Them?

Peanut butter and jelly just might be the most iconic American sandwich, a meal so universal and easy to prepare that virtually everyone eats them as kids (even if the British are strangely horrified by the idea). And despite its seemingly unbounded convenience and countless combinations, there are still attempts to create versions of the classic PB&J that are even easier than opening a couple of jars and going to town with a butter knife. After all, Smuckers Goobers – one jar containing both peanut butter and either grape or strawberry jelly — has existed for a long time.

But now there's a new attempt to make peanut butter and jelly even more of a convenience food, and to say it's unusual would be quite the understatement. Soon, you can buy peanut butter and jelly in a can, readily available in soda vending machines near you and for order online.

The company calls itself Candwich (hey, at least they're leaning into the identity), and it isn't shy about how great an idea it thinks canned PB&J is. Made with "100% whole wheat," its canned peanut butter and jelly sandwich kits come (much like the Smuckers combo product) in either grape or strawberry varieties. It's seemingly the first of a planned line of canned sandwiches because when the market cries out for something new, it cries out hard. Future offerings are said to include BBQ chicken, pepperoni pizza, and french toast sandwiches, all in convenient canned form. As for where, specifically, you can get it, it can be found not only in vending machines but also for order on the Candwich website.

Regardless of the need for this, there is some value to Candwich as a product. It's shelf-stable for up to a year, and thankfully, it doesn't come pre-assembled: each kit comes with pre-sliced bread, separate packets for peanut butter and jelly, a spreader, and a wet nap. That's good because otherwise, it's difficult to imagine how bad the sogginess factor would get.

Canned PB&J is far from the only odd choice for a product human beings have decided to try to can. Canned bread (often known as Boston brown bread for its association with the American northeast) is a surprisingly popular product, although it's unsurprisingly a divisive one among locals. Canned whole chicken is a product you can buy if the main thing you value in your poultry is shelf stability — it's more expensive than a fresh rotisserie chicken.

But there are even more unique canned products available, both within the U.S. and around the globe. Russia offers canned toothy herring (which is exactly what it sounds like), Scotland has canned haggis, the U.K. has a full English breakfast in a can, and you can find cans of bird's nest drink across Asia. The truism seems that if a food product exists, someone will eventually try to can it.