know what the contents of the can are...

Like the Gerber baby food jars [...] the horror of primitive
peoples on seeing these labels is mythological, though.

A true story from my friend Simon Bao years ago, one that has
undoubtedly been repeated by others more than once ...

I've actually seen this before. It sort of contradicts
the attitude expressed by Snopes, which is (if this
story is true, which I hope) I guess unintentionally
albocentric.

Tam set out a bowl of something my godbrother did not recognize.
Some kind of brown meat dish. Chunks of meat in sauce. My god-
brother did not recognize the brown meat dish. And, he says, it
tasted more like a bland American food than a Vietnamese food. No
trace of fish sauce or ginger, no touch of lemongrass or chile
pepper, little or no garlic. Tam had sprinkled some sliced scallion
on top of the meat but that was the only vaguely Vietnamese thing
about it. It looked very much like meat that had been slow-braised
in a Vietnamese caramel sauce, a Thit Kho dish, but there was no
sweetness. And no bones, the meat was boneless and extremely
tender.

Having seen canned dogfood (not recently), the
tenderness was the sponginess of processed meat
and should have been identifiable to just about
anybody as spamoid, not just "extremely tender."

My godbrother wondered if this was some "Frenchified" dish, some
Vietnamese adaptation of a French stew that perhaps Tam's mother had
learned somewhere, so he asked Tam what kind of meat it was.
"Dog. It's so delicious, yes."

A contradiction here to the bland American foodishness,
though that wide-eyed credulity might be attributable to a
preconcceived notion about the quality of the food.

---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.00

Title: Nuoc Cham (Vietnamese Hot Sauce)
Categories: Sauces, Spreads
Yield: 12 servings

1 ea Garlic clove minced 1 t Lime peel minced
1/4 t Pepper flakes red, crushed 2 t Lime juice
2 T Fish sauce 3 T Water
2 t Sugar

Increase the amount of red pepper flakes to suit taste. Combine garlic,
lime peel, and red pepper flakes then add lime juice, fish sauce, water,
and sugar. Whisk until all ingredients are blended and sugar is
dissolved.
Makes about 1/3 cup. Will keep short periods if refrigerated.

Serve: Used on vegetables, meats and fish by the Vietnamese.
Source unknown
-----
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
* Origin: Fido Since 1991 | QWK by Web | BBS.FIDOSYSOP.ORG (1:123/140)