Spam, spam, spam, spam

Hi,
Just saw Spamalot and it reminded me of the first(and last) time I had Spam.

My Gram would serve it for lunch sliced with crackers, lipton tea, and fig newtons.

I loved the tea and fig newtons, which she called "pig bears," why I don't know. She also called us the "whole fam damily." She didn't like to swear.

It still must be on grocery shelves.

Anyone use it, or have any fond, or not, memories?

Happy New Year!
(I've only got two lbs and 4 inches to go)!

Very jealous that you got tickets for Spamalot.

I have only two things to report on the current status of Spam in the U.S., plus one story.

1. It's a very popular food pantry item. There are lots of single men, in particular, who would much prefer a can of spam to a can, or even two or three, of tuna.

2. It's very much a part of Hawaiian cuisine. Spam sushi, spam in bento boxes, spam sandwiches on hamburger buns.

And the story of a lavish feast on Christmas Island, courtesy of Thurston Clarke's Equator: A Journey

A lobster clutching Tootsie Rolls in its claws lay among bread slices smeared with green frosting from a can. Packaged chocolate-chip cookies circled a chicken like tombsones; another bird was stuffed with hard candies and surrounded by cocktail franks, arranged into blossoms. Slabs of corned beef covered sea biscuits on a bed of cold canned peas and canned peach halves cradled meatballs. A fried fish swam though chocolate-wafer waves; another vomited canned ravioli. It was all the food I had loved as a boy and, as an adult, been taught to fear. Some of it was a mystery. "What is that" I asked Korae

He was shocked. "But it's your food!" he said. It was Spam, under a glaze of strawberry frosting.

Spam is proudly served at the Aloha Grill. It's a Hawaiian standard.

I would also note that it comes from Austin, Minnesota. I know this because my husband and I have travelled to "Spam Town USA" as the banners prouldly proclaim, twice when buying our Springer Spanial, Sam, from his breeder. (And yes, we had intended to name him Sam, prior to knowing his hometown's lineage).

My family stopped in Austin, Minnesota last summer and visited the Spam Museum -- yes, there really is such a place, and admission is free. They have great interactive programs all about Spam, with plenty of free spamples being served. This was the first time my kids had tried it -- and they promptly spit it out. Something about the texture. . .

While the museum was free, we had no problem dropping a small fortune on Spam souveniers in the gift shop. We all have Spam t-shirts, and the girls also have some more interesting souveniers, including fake spam tattoos.

Make a point of visiting this gem on your next vacation to Minnesota!!

It is very good fried up for breakfast, instead of bacon/sausage, served with eggs and toast. Or instead of ham in a toasted ham and cheese sandwich.
LO

I use spam in fried rice. I have fond memories of growing up eating spam. My mom would fry some up, and I would eat it when I came home from school (usually cold by then).

We called it "luncheon meat" though. Spam was not around in Singapore then. Our tins were circular and less salty. In fact I heard about Spam for years, when I first came to the US. It was only after I bought a can that I found out that Spam was indeed luncheon meat.

Thank goodness I have some at home. Gonna fry some up for dinner tonight.

When we were in London meeting with friends in 1997, we had the opportunity to meet the elderly parents of a lady with whom we have corresponded for years. She made a big point that what she most appreciated about the US was Spam. Yes, Spam. She told us that the American troops and relief workers provided the Brits with Spam during the Battle for London and she said it was deeply appreciated.

Can't really say if I have eaten it at this point. Maybe my next venture. It just looks like some of the "ham" that I was served in my stints working in Mexico.

A company has developed a meat-free version of Spam for fans in Asia.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/26/asia/spa ... index.html

jlawrence01 wrote:When we were in London meeting with friends in 1997, we had the opportunity to meet the elderly parents of a lady with whom we have corresponded for years. She made a big point that what she most appreciated about the US was Spam. Yes, Spam. She told us that the American troops and relief workers provided the Brits with Spam during the Battle for London and she said it was deeply appreciated.

Can't really say if I have eaten it at this point. Maybe my next venture. It just looks like some of the "ham" that I was served in my stints working in Mexico.

SPAM was hugely important in WWII. Made a huge difference in Britain, but helped everywhere. Nikita Khrushchev even wrote about SPAM in his autobiography -- said it saved Russia.

As for its popularity in Mexico, the fact that there are both chorizo-flavored SPAM and tocina-flavored SPAM suggests that it has definitely found a home there.

My favorite is garlic SPAM.

The tocino flavored spam is Filipino tocino (marinated pork shoulder) rather than Mexican tocino (bacon). The wonders of colonialism.

In 1976/77 I spent a year in the Pacific on a sailboat with another guy. We ate way too much spam. Haven't touched it since.

My experience with Spam has been checkered. I loved it as a kid, still do, but one bad experience led me to take at least a 25 year break from it.

Sliced up a hunk one day and found a cross section of a very large blood vessel, nearly 1/2" across! Threw the whole can out and took a 25 year break! There's enough unidentifiable bits in Spam, I can deal with that, it's the gross ones you CAN identify that put me off.

I had a can a couple of years ago, and although I like the taste, the fear of what I might find has yet to be conquered!

Spam sales hit record high for seventh year in a row.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-59603921?piano-modal