United States-Spam.
UNITED STATES-SPAM OR SPAM.
Why do we still eat ham for Easter? Originally, meat was slaughtered in the fall, and there was no refrigeration. The process of curing pork took a long time -- the first hams were ready right around Easter, in fact. Ham was handy.
But today we have the technology to precook and can spiced ham with an indefinite shelf life. Now, that’s something to celebrate.
SPAM is simply "ham that has taken on a new form," says Dan Armstrong, co-author of The Book of SPAM (Atria, $23.95). "And isn’t that the reason for the season?"
It’s much easier to prepare than ham. Armstrong suggests that every guest get their own block of SPAM with a honey glaze on it.
"You could even cut it into egg shapes and hide it around the yard for the kids to find," he says.
So maybe the question you should be asking yourself is, "Why not SPAM?"
We have four good reasons to shake up your holiday tradition.
1. SPAM is flexible.
"You can use it for any possible application," says Mike Nickerson of Kenosha, Wis., an accomplished cook and assistant director of the food co-op for the Bristol Renaissance Faire.
Nickerson is of a rare breed: a foodie who enjoys SPAM, and isn’t ashamed to say it. He’s made SPAM potstickers, SPAM meatballs, SPAM topped with maple sugar, country-fried SPAM ... "I just look at a can and I think of the possibilities of using it, and I run with it," he says.
He’s not sure why people can be snobs when it comes to SPAM.
"They think ’mystery meat,’ but it’s pork shoulder," Nickerson says. "It’s the same type of cut they use for pulled pork."
SPAM also is sugar, salt, water, potato starch and a hint of sodium nitrite to help keep its "gorgeous pink color," Hormel says.
Your grandma probably served SPAM topped with pineapple during the lean times, but there is something about a can that brings out the creative side in cooks. John Dale Kennedy, the 2008 Illinois State Fair SPAM recipe contest winner, is the mastermind behind SPAM shooters -- just add shot glasses.
Dessert, in fact, is probably the only course that isn’t well suited for SPAM (although there have been reports of SPAM brownies in hard-core Austin, Minn., where SPAM is processed).
2. SPAM is cheap.
It enjoyed its first popularity, after all, during the Great Depression, when families didn’t have many options for protein at meals.
In February, Hormel CEO Jeffrey M. Ettinger announced its most recent earnings: "Sales of the SPAM family of products were up double-digits during the quarter."
More than 122 million cans of SPAM are sold worldwide each year, and 90 million in the United States alone -- three cans every second.
In short, the price is right, especially when compared to ham. The average price of a 6-ounce can is $2.62, which is about 44 cents an ounce. A HoneyBaked ham will run you about 70 cents an ounce. Over the course of a year, that could add up.
"Realistically, for most families, we’re talking hundreds of dollars," Armstrong says. "It’s a win-win situation for America. Meaty times are ahead."
In November, the New York Times reported that the Hormel plant in Austin, Minn., had two shifts working seven days a week to meet demand.
In December, AdAge.com listed SPAM on its list of recession-proof businesses at No. 9. It came in after Walmart (No. 4), laxatives (No. 6) and guns (No. 8).
3. SPAM is comfort food.
"Sometimes retro foods were the best foods," says SPAM enthusiast Nickerson. "What was the best food you ever had in your life? It was your mother’s meatloaf, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese ... It made you think about home."
Most of us are familiar with the SPAM sandwiches our thrifty moms fried up for us. But in Hawaii, SPAM is practically worshipped. Some call it "Hawaiian steak."
It’s so popular at Aloha Eats, 2534 N. Clark, that it figures in four menu items: SPAM with eggs and rice, SPAM with eggs and brown gravy, SPAM noodle soup, and grilled sliced SPAM.
The restaurant’s advertising manager, Hawaiian Ivan Lee, is nostalgic about SPAM.
"I think it has its roots in World War II," he theorizes. "There was a large military presence in Hawaii, and SPAM was just about the only thing not rationed."
Chris Auld, one of the owners of Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine at 720 N. State, thinks that most SPAM lovers are repeat customers, not converts because of the economy.
"My mom used to cook SPAM," Auld says. Its flavor, he says, is a perfect fit with rice.
Auld hasn’t added any SPAM to his menu but will if there’s demand for it. If they order SPAM, "they would have had to have grown up on it," he says.
4. SPAM is patriotic.
In these uncertain times, Americans need to focus on what brings us together. And in a third of U.S. households, the common denominator is SPAM.
It’s likely a staple in the White House, too. On his last vacation to Hawaii, President Obama was spotted ordering two fried-egg SPAM musubi -- similar to sushi -- at a snack bar during a round of golf. That’s quite an endorsement.
History buffs will recall that SPAM played a part in the Allied victory in World War II. As our military forces were fighting to liberate Europe, SPAM flew 15 million cans of the miracle meat to the troops every week.
According to the Hormel Web site, "SPAM luncheon meat became an essential item in soldiers’ diets, often serving as the last line of defense between battle-weary soldiers and starvation."
Dwight Eisenhower, Margaret Thatcher and Nikita Kruschchev all have spoken highly of the heroic ham.
If for no other reason, do it for your country, says Armstrong, who has been a "SPAMvangelist" for almost 10 years now.
"We have invited or tricked almost everyone we know into eating SPAM," he says. "It’s our civic duty. It’s a rite of passage for every American. It’s the flavor of freedom."
