Celebrations of food abound in the United States: in Vidalia, Georgia, they have the Vidalia Onion Festival; in Atlanta, it's the Great American Dessert Experience; in Cordele, they celebrate watermelons. In New York City, there's an annual Pizza Fest. Texans celebrate barbeque and jalapenos.
In Hawaii, they have the Wakiki SPAM Jam.
By SPAM, I don't mean the kind that clogs up your e-mail inbox. I'm talking about the kind of SPAM Hormel makes--the variety that comes in a can and is completely edible. It's a delicacy in Hawaii, apparently, worth celebrating with food tastings, entertainment, and (of course) shopping.
In the continental US, sadly, SPAM is considered something of a joke, a food eaten only by Deep South rednecks. As someone who has grown up with a father who survived his childhood solely on hotdogs, PB&J, and fried SPAM, this is a very depressing thought. As an example of how people generally react to SPAM, here's a video that some of my classmates did as part of a project for our advertising seminar on social media. The basis of this project was how advertising "fails" sometimes because it involves "spamming" (as in the electronic kind).
A lot of this misconception comes from the fact that people don't actually know what SPAM...is. Basically, it's canned meat--but not canned "meat" like people think. SPAM is, in actuality, pork shoulder and ham pieces. Yes, edible parts of the pig, people. Personally, I find the thought of consuming liver way more disgusting.
Hormel first started making SPAM in 1937 according to their Web site. The "SPAM History" page is incredible; if you're at all involved in marketing or advertising you seriously need to check out how much Hormel did to market this product. It was originally pushed as convenient meal idea, since it could be eaten cold. SPAM went overseas to support American troops during WWII, and it even had a 60-women dance group that traveled the country to promote Hormel's products. Nowadays, the Broadway musical SPAMALOT attracts huge audiences. Oh--and like Oscar Meyer, SPAM even has its own tour bus! (I'm a dork...I think the Oscar Meyer Weiner car is basically the coolest thing on the road these days, so I'm impressed. Wonder who had the idea first?)
Okay, so back to how you go from pig to can. The pork shoulder and ham come into the processing plant still on the bone. Machines trim the shoulder and the ham is hand-trimmed. The trimmed meat is ground up, flash cooled, and blended together. Salt and sodium nitrate, the two typical other ingredients, are added during the blending stage. The blended mixture is pumped into cans, vacuum-sealed, and cooked. Once they're washed and cooled, the cans are labeled and shipped off to stores.
Just an FYI--sodium nitrate is added to preserve the color of SPAM. It's extremely similar to another color preservative, sodium nitrite, that is also used to cure processed meats. Sodium nitrate has been shown to prevent the growth of Clostridium botulinum bacteria that cause botulism (paralysis), and sodium nitrite to prevent against the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes that cause listeriosis (diarrhea, convulsions, flu-like symptoms...basically all-around suckiness).
*Side note: HowStuffWorks (the show from the Discovery Channel) mentions in this linked page that nitrates/nitrites are possible carcinogens. The site linked to "sodium nitrite" above, however, (Meat Safety) says the complete opposite. Meat Safety looks like it's a lobbyist group, or at least a special interest group, and since I couldn't find any governmental studies (or even from a University, for that matter) about the link between SPAM and cancer, I can't go either way on that. I would advise, however, to eat everything in moderation. Even too much fiber (veggies!) can be harmful if that's all you eat.*
So, savvy meat shoppers, you can buy SPAM in either 12 ounce or 7 ounce cans. Since its inauguration onto food shelves, it now comes in different varieties: Classic, Lite, Less Sodium, Hickory Smoked, with Bacon, with Cheese, and Hot and Spicy. Besides canned SPAM, you can also find these nifty products: Oven Roasted Turkey, Classic Singles, Lite Singles, Spread, and Hot Dogs. The difference between Lite and Less Sodium is that the Lite variety has less fat and calories than Classic, and Less Sodium is just...less sodium.
I've actually had the lovely occasion to taste fried SPAM in the UGA dining halls. I was a little unsure at first (the fact that the SPAM was in a casserole was iffy...not a big casserole fan), but it was...good. It tasted like ham. Duh...that's what it is, but still. Different texture, but definitely good.
My verdict on SPAM? It should be embraced! I know this sounds like a huge endorsement by Hormel, but it's not. I probably wouldn't eat it straight out of a can (or with a spoon, as my classmates did with the video), because it's kind of meant to be sliced like bologna. And since I'm kind of weird and I don't really like "cold" ham (out of a can or not) I would at least heat it up on a microwave and throw it on a sandwich. Be adventurous, people. I mean, you never know until you try it (the only exceptions to this rule are certain unnamed green things, and I'm not talking Dr. Seuss).
In Hawaii, they have the Wakiki SPAM Jam.
By SPAM, I don't mean the kind that clogs up your e-mail inbox. I'm talking about the kind of SPAM Hormel makes--the variety that comes in a can and is completely edible. It's a delicacy in Hawaii, apparently, worth celebrating with food tastings, entertainment, and (of course) shopping.
In the continental US, sadly, SPAM is considered something of a joke, a food eaten only by Deep South rednecks. As someone who has grown up with a father who survived his childhood solely on hotdogs, PB&J, and fried SPAM, this is a very depressing thought. As an example of how people generally react to SPAM, here's a video that some of my classmates did as part of a project for our advertising seminar on social media. The basis of this project was how advertising "fails" sometimes because it involves "spamming" (as in the electronic kind).
A lot of this misconception comes from the fact that people don't actually know what SPAM...is. Basically, it's canned meat--but not canned "meat" like people think. SPAM is, in actuality, pork shoulder and ham pieces. Yes, edible parts of the pig, people. Personally, I find the thought of consuming liver way more disgusting.
Hormel first started making SPAM in 1937 according to their Web site. The "SPAM History" page is incredible; if you're at all involved in marketing or advertising you seriously need to check out how much Hormel did to market this product. It was originally pushed as convenient meal idea, since it could be eaten cold. SPAM went overseas to support American troops during WWII, and it even had a 60-women dance group that traveled the country to promote Hormel's products. Nowadays, the Broadway musical SPAMALOT attracts huge audiences. Oh--and like Oscar Meyer, SPAM even has its own tour bus! (I'm a dork...I think the Oscar Meyer Weiner car is basically the coolest thing on the road these days, so I'm impressed. Wonder who had the idea first?)
Okay, so back to how you go from pig to can. The pork shoulder and ham come into the processing plant still on the bone. Machines trim the shoulder and the ham is hand-trimmed. The trimmed meat is ground up, flash cooled, and blended together. Salt and sodium nitrate, the two typical other ingredients, are added during the blending stage. The blended mixture is pumped into cans, vacuum-sealed, and cooked. Once they're washed and cooled, the cans are labeled and shipped off to stores.
Just an FYI--sodium nitrate is added to preserve the color of SPAM. It's extremely similar to another color preservative, sodium nitrite, that is also used to cure processed meats. Sodium nitrate has been shown to prevent the growth of Clostridium botulinum bacteria that cause botulism (paralysis), and sodium nitrite to prevent against the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes that cause listeriosis (diarrhea, convulsions, flu-like symptoms...basically all-around suckiness).
*Side note: HowStuffWorks (the show from the Discovery Channel) mentions in this linked page that nitrates/nitrites are possible carcinogens. The site linked to "sodium nitrite" above, however, (Meat Safety) says the complete opposite. Meat Safety looks like it's a lobbyist group, or at least a special interest group, and since I couldn't find any governmental studies (or even from a University, for that matter) about the link between SPAM and cancer, I can't go either way on that. I would advise, however, to eat everything in moderation. Even too much fiber (veggies!) can be harmful if that's all you eat.*
So, savvy meat shoppers, you can buy SPAM in either 12 ounce or 7 ounce cans. Since its inauguration onto food shelves, it now comes in different varieties: Classic, Lite, Less Sodium, Hickory Smoked, with Bacon, with Cheese, and Hot and Spicy. Besides canned SPAM, you can also find these nifty products: Oven Roasted Turkey, Classic Singles, Lite Singles, Spread, and Hot Dogs. The difference between Lite and Less Sodium is that the Lite variety has less fat and calories than Classic, and Less Sodium is just...less sodium.
I've actually had the lovely occasion to taste fried SPAM in the UGA dining halls. I was a little unsure at first (the fact that the SPAM was in a casserole was iffy...not a big casserole fan), but it was...good. It tasted like ham. Duh...that's what it is, but still. Different texture, but definitely good.
My verdict on SPAM? It should be embraced! I know this sounds like a huge endorsement by Hormel, but it's not. I probably wouldn't eat it straight out of a can (or with a spoon, as my classmates did with the video), because it's kind of meant to be sliced like bologna. And since I'm kind of weird and I don't really like "cold" ham (out of a can or not) I would at least heat it up on a microwave and throw it on a sandwich. Be adventurous, people. I mean, you never know until you try it (the only exceptions to this rule are certain unnamed green things, and I'm not talking Dr. Seuss).
Even if you can't make it to Hawaii...you can at least eat as if you're there!
I remember that Spam casserole at the dining halls...pretty sure I passed. Spam just has a bad rep! You make it sound slightly more appealing though.
ReplyDeleteAs a child, I thought Spam grilled with slices of pineapple was a delicacy! Mmmmmmmmm! Good memories!
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