Don’t donate Frey bentos pies to food banks

[isitworthit124]

They need a special can opener to get into them

TBF actual pineapples are quite hard to get into. DH, DD and I once had to get into one in extremis. DD's YouTube skills, DH's brute strength and my cheerful disposition won in the end.

My food bank rules are:

Nothing you wouldn't eat for good reason (out of date etc.)
Nothing cheap that needs something expensive to eat (pancake mix that needs milk and eggs)
Nothing too worthy (don't give chickpeas and frown on biscuits)
Give money not goods if you can.

Oh I loved the chicken one years ago

They were yummy

It the opening scene from Casualty!

How about YOU donate what YOUR local food bank requires. If your food bank is saying no FB pies then so be it, it doesn't mean they'd be unwelcome at others, same as loads of other bloody food and toiletries!!

Yep, this!

Always got a couple in the cupboard if me and DP can’t be arsed doing a full meal, or we just fancy something we don't normally have.
I found that chilling them before cooking got a good rise to the pastry… Can’t remember who said that first, though🤷‍♀️ Probably read it in ‘Best’ or something like that.
As pp said, they last forever, never go off and are a handy stand by. My DS lived on them during lock down when he suddenly lost his job, he reckons they saved him from starvation😁

You’re right. There was something on the radio yesterday saying FB pies used to be really popular at foodbanks but a lot of families can no longer fire the gas/electricity to put the oven on. ☹️

What are you on about?

Just a can opener. We (veggie household) were so pleased when they brought out a couple of vegetarian pies, but they really were not very nice. So that's a good reason not to donate them, the poor already suffer enough.

Isn't it more Corned Beef that's an issue?

So they open with the cheapest tin openers you can get rather than the fancy expensive ones?

Am I getting this right?

They're not for eating, they're for torturing testing the artefact identification and problem solving skills of Feckless Young People. See also tape cassettes (preferably unspooled), rotary dial telephones (unplugged), and floppy discs (both sizes). Make them do whatever it is they're designed to do! while we fall about laughing at you.

Maybe donate a few can openers to your local food bank OP to go with the tinned pies?

Interested in what your definition of a 'standard tin opener' is @isitworthit124

Given the special one required that's perfectly ordinary to open an F B pie.

Many years ago, as a student. We jabbed a dent in and then went from there. To be honest easier than a coconut harder than corned beef with the little key.

Oooo I love a fray bentos pie. It’s a proper filthy treat…. Especially eaten straight from the tin! although the last one we had literally had one cube of beef in it!

I found that chilling them before cooking got a good rise to the pastry… Can’t remember who said that first, though🤷‍♀️ Probably read it in ‘Best’ or something like that.

Woah, woah, stop right there - that's starting to sound suspiciously like a recipe rather than a quick no-brain-required meal option!

Ready Meals sometimes try this outrageous nonsense too, telling me to stop it half-way to add two tablespoons of water and give it a good stir; or to only pierce the lid to start with but then later completely remove it. I didn't buy a no-effort Asda microwave curry only to have to start channelling my inner Nigella

Based on threads I’ve seen in the last few days, no, she isn’t. There will be no explanation whatsoever. The thread will veer off into squabbles and unknown directions until it comes crashing to a halt at 1000 posts.

Yes this, thank you 😊

My DH and I were users of food banks for a year or so. Every week it was the same, the cheapest tinned peaches, porridge, hot dogs etc. I assume these were purchases by the food bank via donations and don't get me wrong, they kept us alive. But the odd time we got nice coffee or chocolate or something kept us feeling like actual humans.

Now we're in a better position we donate by direct debit (for the basics) and always stick something in the box at the supermarket that's a bit more of a treat.

Fray Bentos has never crossed my mind, to be honest 😅 cos I've never eaten one! But I'm willing to bet I could open one with a sharp knife, I can with most tins if necessary

Oh God, who mentioned Corned beef? Love the stuff, but I have 2 scars on my hand from the bloody key opening ‘Krypton Factor’ design!

Never so much as a scratch from a Fray B tin 🥧

Meat in gravy can just be cooked on the hob too, or on top of the woodburner, or in the microwave. Ovens use a lot of energy.

That's fine, canned meat isn't something I'd eat, unless my life depended on it, but it's the only meat that the Foodbank can store. Sometimes its the best option to offer

I loved them when I was young but recently "treated" myself to one. Either they've changed completely or I have 🤣

I think the point is that often people on foodbanks dont have access to an equipped kitchen for even the basics if for e.g. they are in B&B - so really its down to the foodbank to be aware of each families situation e.g. have a home with kitchen or limited to a kettle or similar and no kitchen

BUT having said that they seem to be just gristle

Cheapo ones are £1 a time. That's cheaper than the pie.

So donate a fray bentos with a tin opener occasionally. Problem solved.