I’M a fan of the Heinz brand. I was brought up on Heinz and my loyalty to the brand is is still pretty strong. My champion Heinz products are Beanz (which I still call Baked Beanz), Five Beanz and Mayonnaise.
The Heinz brand was a huge part of my childhood: my dad worked at the Heinz factory in Harlesden, London, and that meant our kitchen cupboards were well stocked with products from the Heinz staff shop. My consumption of Heinz products began with canned baby food before progressing onto Spaghetti Hoops and then onto their wider varieties.
The products my dad brought home were somewhat of an unknown because many of the cans were unlabelled. Dad told us that if the can had the code ZBV on them then it was baked beanz, but there were times when we opened the ZBV can to be greeted by spaghetti or soup!
There were three products that I absolutely loved, which sadly have been discontinued by the company. The first of lost trio is Toast Toppers. They came in cute small cans and they were perfect for my late evening snack. I’d love spreading them on a lightly toasted slice of Mother’s Pride bread, sliding them under the cooker toaster for a few minutes and then scoffing them down like a greedy little boy. There are many times now when I say to myself I could really eat a toast topper!
The second of the lost trio are the Sponge Puddings. These were an absolute treat. We would steam cook them in the can. I remember the can bulging after cooking the the aroma when the can was opened was delightful. My favourite was the treacle closely followed by the chocolate. I’d rather have a piece of Heinz sponge pudding over our regular Sunday servings of canned fruit cocktail, canned peaches or jelly and ice cream.
The third and final product in the lost trio are BeefBurgers. Yes, I’m going right back to the 1970s, but Heinz did in fact make burgers in a can! I remember that these came with a generous coating of hard white fat that meant it was ready it be tossed into a frying pan without needing any oil. They were tasty with a couple scoops of mashed potato and baked beanz.
I’ve seen petitions online and some passionate posts about bringing back discontinued favourites. So, I’m now going to pretend to be a Heinz marketeer and give an honest assessment as to whether any of the lost trio could or should make a return…
Toast Toppers: considering the current trend of gaming (where gamers lose themselves in a fantasy world whilst reaching over to grab a handful of crisps) and with the snacking category jam-packed with quick and convenient options, there is very little scope for delicious toast toppers, but, hold on… we could market it as a nice savoury toasted snack that can be knocked-up between television commercial breaks – they would be ideal as a warm comforting snack during the winter months. Let’s do limited editions from October through to March. Chances of making a return: a promising 7/10.
Sponge Pudding: we have a similar situation as we had with toast toppers – there are so many other more quick and convenient options available, but, hold your horses, why not allow the consumer to cook in the microwave? No, we’ve already tried that! Chances of making a return: an unlikely 3/10 but limited retro editions could be an option.
BeefBurgers: let’s not waste waste time on this one… chances of making a return: 0/10.
So, Heinz company of more than 57 food varieties, based on my brief nostalgic look back and honest, realistic assessment, I demand that you bring back Toast Toppers. We’re currently in June so you have a good three months to get these back on our supermarket shelves… chop-chop!
Subscribe to Retrohen to enjoy the following:
- Original posts written by me!
- No pop-ups to distract your reading pleasure.
- There are some sites, that once you’ve subscribed, you wish you hadn’t – with Retrohen you’ll only receive nostalgic memories.
- Landing straight to your inbox – no need for any frustrating searches.
- No annoying adverts flashing.
More essential retro reading
Hi I really enjoyed your article. Heinz products were a really big hit in the states as you can well imagine. Some of the cooler items were actually called a different company, but on the label you would see it’s a Heinz. Although I recently discovered that I’m part Italian, I can’t now admit to loving Chef Boyardee! Also a pal once put ketchup on an marshmallow Easter treat. I was intrigued!
Thanks for your comment, Linda. Ketchup on a marshmallow Easter treat… very intriguing!
Can’t beat Heinz, I say! How cool that your dad worked at the factory. I like the idea of the mystery tins and never knowing what you’re going to get. Eat your heart out Forrest Gump! I remember our teacher talking about tinned burgers and we didn’t know what on earth he was talking about. When we told him we’d never had a tinned burger in our lives he replied with, “Believe me – you wouldn’t want to!” I adored those tinned puddings and like you, treacle – closely followed by the chocolate- were my faves. I’d love to see those make a comeback. And even though I was generally a fan of the dessert, I didn’t like the tinned spotted Dick. Or ‘suet pudding heavily sprinkled with currants’ if I want to channel my inner Hyacinth Bucket! 😀 But it deeply saddens me to admit, that despite looking longingly at them on supermarket shelves, I’ve never had a Toast Topper in my life – and now I never will. Would have loved to have tried the mushroom. Great post – a really enjoyable read! 🙂
You really missed out on the Toast Toppers as they were absolutely delicious. As for the tinned burgers, they tasted delicious back then, but would not stand a chance against the higher quality burgers these days. I’m glad you enjoyed the post and thanks for your comment 😀👍🏾
Argh, now I really do feel sad at having missed out on the Toast Toppers. 🙁 But who knows… maybe they’ll make a return. And while I believe you, I still think I’d have given the tinned burgers a miss! :/ No worries mate – you’re welcome!