Canned fish has been cool for a while now. The unexpected plot twist of 2026? Vegetables are joining them on the shelf — and in your backpack.
The story starts in Idaho's Teton Valley, just over the pass from Jackson Hole, at a small specialty grocer called Food Shed Idaho. Owner Cecily Costa provisions hikers and anglers from one of the country's best-stocked country stores, and her current obsession is a slim tin of Sweet Prince tomatoes small enough to fit in a jacket pocket. Anyone who has watched a ripe tomato turn to mush in a daypack will see the appeal immediately.
The tins come from Row 7 Seed Company, co-founded by chef Dan Barber to push back against commodity breeding that prioritises yield and shipping durability over taste. The company works with breeders using traditional cross-pollination, then partners with farmers to grow the results — produce you may already have spotted at Whole Foods. Now three varieties are sold ready to eat: the Sweet Prince tomatoes, tinned at peak summer sweetness with a sharp acidity; a confited garlic-leek hybrid called Sweet Garleek, dressed in olive oil, white balsamic and Dijon; and the Badger Flame beet, a golden variety bred to lose the earthy funk that puts so many people off beets, cut into snackable cubes.
Row 7's approach echoes a much older Spanish tradition: conservas, where prized varieties are preserved in tins during their brief peak season. The gold standard is El Navarrico's fat white asparagus from Navarra, grown under mounded soil to block photosynthesis and any bitterness, then packed with nothing but water and salt. The author even rates the brine as a better trail electrolyte source than a sports drink. Spain is clearly the spiritual home of the format — Nacho Valle, who founded the New York importer Lata with three friends in 2021 after years of tin-and-vermouth evenings, now sells the biggest plant-based conserva selection around, including Galician seaweed from Porto-Muiños that works as a briny caviar substitute, and a smoky celery-root 'whitefish' from Canadian brand Seed to Surf.
The serving method is pleasingly low-effort: eat straight from the tin, Spanish-style, scooping with crisp olive-oil-fried potato chips — Bonilla a la Vista is the classic choice, and yes, the chips come in a tin too.
For travellers, this is more than a food trend piece. It's a packing solution for anyone who camps, hikes, picnics or drives long distances and wants real food without a cooler. It's also a solid souvenir strategy: a tin of Navarran asparagus or Galician seaweed weighs nothing, survives a suitcase, and makes for an instant tapas night at home. Whether you're provisioning in the Tetons or browsing Lata's online shop from your sofa, tinned vegetables have officially earned a spot next to the sardines.
