There is no accounting for taste, but you probably know by now that the Swiss like to eat and drink some things that may very well turn other people’s stomachs.

Here are some of them:

• How can we explain the Swiss obsession with the drink Rivella?
• Le Parfait: How Switzerland fell in love with a pork liver spread
• ‘One of the worst rice dishes in the world’: What is the Swiss dish Riz Casimir?

They either enjoy the taste – or the history behind these foods and beverages… which may also explain why so many swear by canned ravioli.

A timeless classic

Back in 1866 in a small town of Lenzburg in canton Aargau a Hero was born.

Not literally, of course, but the company bearing this name started to preserve fruits and vegetables so they could retain their freshness longer.

In fact, Hero-label jams as well as canned fruits and vegetables are still a common sight on Swiss supermarket shelves.

The next milestone in the company’s history came in 1948, when Hero started canning meat ravioli in tomato sauce. This meal is widely sold to this day, which means it is ‘celebrating’, as it were, its 75th anniversary.

Though cans themselves may have changed with time, the ravioli hasn’t

If you wince at the mere thought of eating canned meat ravioli, don’t let the Swiss see it.

Because for millions of them, the fond memory of opening the can, pouring the contents into a dish, and delving into the sweetish tomato sauce, is part of their childhoods.

This is even more the case if you were a scout and remember sharing cans of Hero raviolis with your troop, or maybe a student living in a dormitory on a tight budget.

Seventy-five years of preserving memories

In this context, the word ‘preserve’ has a double meaning, but you get the gist: given the nostalgia, the canned ravioli in tomato sauce is a true Swiss classic.

Soon after the product was first launched, Hero ran an advertising campaign geared to men. It was based on a premise that though they may have been inept at cooking from scratch, they could certainly open a can and heat up the ravioli all by themselves.

A slogan popular in the 1950s said that canned ravioli is so simple to make that even “Uncle Otto cooks himself.” (Thankfully, it didn’t sound quite so weird in German — “Onkel Otto kocht selber.”

That was then, but what about now?

The company has launched an anniversary campaign this year to spread the message among the younger generation that Hero’s ravioli has been “hot since 75 years”.

Yes, but what exactly is in it?

The manufacturer says that only free-range eggs are used for the dough, and they exclusively use Swiss beef and pork for the filling.

The secret of the taste, according to the company, lies in the special herb and spice mix, as well as in the tomato sauce.

However, back in 1978, allegations were made that Hero used pig heads, stomachs, hearts and lungs for their meat filling. The company denied the accusation and this 45-year-old affair is now only vaguely remembered as Switzerland’s ‘ravioli scandal.’

Whether this is better (or worse) than a banking scandal is not for us to say.