Canned Reindeer Meat Is Actually Real

Can you imagine if the infamous Popeye downed cans of reindeer meat instead of spinach in order to gain his superhuman strength? Neither can I - but it is a real thing!

If you can imagine eating it, it's likely it comes in a can. That doesn't mean that it's necessarily good, and there are some canned things that are better buys than others.

I think the canned spinach is a better buy when it comes down to this one...

The cuddly, antlered creature of holiday tales is actually an important dietary resource for many cultures of the far northern hemisphere. You probably won't find them in the frozen food section of supermarkets, but reindeer meat is a pretty common staple in Scandinavian cuisine. You can easily find cans of things like reindeer meatballs in supermarkets across Norway, Finland, and Sweden.

You can even find reindeer as a pizza topping in Finland.

Image Source: The Arctic Pure (Finland Canned Reindeer Meat)

Eating reindeer is a great example of a society that is subject to harsh environmental conditions (long winters of the far north) adapting its diet to take advantage of its surroundings.

You can add reindeer to the list of foods that I haven't thought would be canned!